RWANDAN PRESIDENT LAUNCHES SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS CENTRE FOR AFRICA

Africa has taken its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals a step further by launching an SDG centre for the continent.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda officially launched the centre at an international conference in Kigali. The conference focused on how Africa could achieve the United Nations’ SGDs by 2030.

The centre will provide technical support, advice and expertise to national governments, private sector organisations, the civil society and academic institutions.

“This centre will serve as an important, focal point for advocacy and coordination,” he said. “But like the SDGs themselves this institution is a tool to help us get what we really want, and that is results.”

He added: “These global goals should not be seen as an external agenda, but as an integrated part of a country’s development vision.”

During the conference participants also looked at some of the centre’s current initiatives in terms of building and monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the progress made by African countries towards the SDGs.

“If we are to meet the SDGs, we need to share stories about what works and what doesn’t, develop creative ways to finance projects that will aid in development, and combine our knowledge in order to multiply it,” said Dr Belay Begashaw, the centre’s director general.

By Anca Voinea

Credit: www.thenews.coop