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Add to Preferred SourcesThe main UN platform following up on Member States’ actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continued its work taking up the issue of finance, including examining ways to better align and distribute funds for development at national, as well as global levels.
Meeting for two panel discussions, respectively on the theme ‘Financing the SDGs: Moving from words to action’, and ‘Four years of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs): what have we learned on implementing the SDGs?’ the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) heard a diverse group of speakers underscoring the need to more effectively support poorer countries in reaching development objectives.
Government spending on the SDGs has reached $20 trillion and is due to increase, possibly reaching $30 trillion by 2030, the year all countries are expected to have attained the Goals.
“The problem is that almost all the current spending is done in high‑income and upper-middle-income economies and very little spending is being done in low‑income economies,” said Homi Kharas of the Brookings Institution, the morning Panel’s Keynote Speaker.
Significant gaps emerge between minimum spending needs and actual spending levels — creating a cumulative gap of $840 billion per year. These gaps are heavily concentrated in lower-middle-income countries, which also have the largest economies and populations.
Brooking research noted that there were eight major replenishments happening in the next 12-18 months, with total “ask” of $70 billion. They include: International Development Association, the African Development Fund, the Global Fund, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Global Partnership for Education, and the International Finance Facility for Education
“Replenishment negotiations should focus squarely on SDG needs and the ability of organizations to deliver resources to meet SDG outcomes,” Brooking stressed.
As for the second panel, Government officials joined civil society representatives in an interactive discussion exploring the usefulness of the voluntary national review process — namely, the structure through which countries report to the Forum on their progress in implementing the 2030 Agenda.
While the international community is on the right path, no Goal or target should be considered met unless met for all social and economic groups.
Original source: UN News
Published on 15 July 2019