Africa's Sustainable Development Goals Progress Stalls

Jul 24 , 2023

Africa needs 194 billion dollars annually to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, according to a report by Africa's Development Dynamics. It points out that the annual sustainable gap is equivalent to seven per cent of Africa's Gross Domestic Product and 34pc of its investments in 2021. The average inflation rate for the continent is projected to reach 15.5pc in 2023. It is at the highest level in 27 years, with peaks above 15pc in 11 African countries. The report suggests that Africa attracts the lowest share of capital from institutional investors compared to other regions, despite growing from 48 billion dollars in 2010 to over 112 billion dollars in 2021. Africa has the world's youngest population, with a median age of 19 years, compared to 30 for Latin America and the Caribbean, 31 for developing Asia, and 42 for Europe. The proportion of African youth completing an upper-secondary or tertiary education could reach 34pc by 2040. The report proposes a new narrative assessing Africa's economic, social, and institutional performance aligned with the African Union 2063 targets. Mousa Faki Mahatmat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, and Mathias Corman, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation, called for the deepening and integration of domestic capital markets, the development of local currency bonds, and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to harmonise policies among countries and facilitate value chains to development.