Sustainable Development Goals and Ghana

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The SDGs, also called the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that everyone enjoys peace and prosperity by 2030. It was adopted by 193 countries, with Ghana inclusive. The SDGs came into effect in January 2016. Its objectives are to ensure social inclusion, protect the environment and foster economic growth. Governments, private sector, research, academia and CSOs receive support from the UN as the SDGs encourage partnerships. It ensures the right choices are adopted now to improve life for future generations in a sustainable way. The SDGs are interconnected.

According to the president Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, “We were the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to free ourselves from colonialism; we were the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve the goal of halving poverty, as contained in Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals; and we were the first country in Africa to eliminate trachoma,”{{Cite news|title=SDGs implementation: Ghana will be a shinning example' – Akufo-Addo|language=en-gb|work=Graphic Online|url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/sdgs-implementation-ghana-will-be-a-shinning-example-akufo-addo.html|access-date=2020-09-22}}

Ghana aims to align its development priorities in partnership with CSOs and the private sector to achieve the SDGs together. The Agenda 2030 is said to have five overarching themes, known as the five Ps, namely; People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships, which span across the 17 SDGs.{{Cite book|url=https://www.undp.org/content/dam/unct/ghana/docs/SDGs/UNCT-GH-SDGs-in-Ghana-Avocacy-Messages-2017.pdf|title=The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ghana|publisher=UN Communications Group (UNCG) and CSO Platform on SDGs|year=2017|location=Ghana}}

Ghana is working on all 17 goals.{{cite web|title=Sustainable Development Goals {{!}} United Nations in Ghana|url=https://ghana.un.org/en/sdgs|access-date=2020-09-21|website=ghana.un.org|language=en}} {{Citation|last1=Bedi|first1=Ibrahim|title=Public Finance and the SDGs in Ghana|date=2020|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14857-7_9|work=Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals|pages=91–99|editor-last=Ramutsindela|editor-first=Maano|series=Sustainable Development Goals Series|place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-14857-7_9|isbn=978-3-030-14857-7|access-date=2020-09-22|last2=Coffie|first2=William|s2cid=198572838 |editor2-last=Mickler|editor2-first=David|url-access=subscription}}

The Speaker of Parliament of Ghana urged the parliament to form a seven-member Ad Hoc committee to monitor the country's progress on the Implementation of the SDGs.{{cite web|title=Parliament of Ghana|url=https://www.parliament.gh/news?CO=66|access-date=2020-09-22|website=www.parliament.gh}}

The Ministry of Finance in Ghana in partnership with other organizations hosted a dialogue with some corporations in the country to drive the achievement of SDGs.{{cite web|title=Ghanaian CEOs Partner for the SDGs {{!}} SDG Philanthropy Platform|url=https://www.sdgphilanthropy.org/CEO-Breakfast-Philanthropy-Ghana|access-date=2020-09-22|website=www.sdgphilanthropy.org}}

An initiative of the World Economic Forum called the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership partnered with the Government of Ghana and the UNDP to hold the first ‘Ghana SDGs Country Financing Roadmap Roundtable’ in Accra.{{cite web|date=2020-09-21|title=SDGs in Ghana complete first Country Financing Roadmap Roundtable in Accra|url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/national/sdgs-in-ghana-complete-first-country-financing-roadmap-roundtable-in-accra/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=MyJoyOnline.com|language=en-US}}

In November 2019, the Ministry of Finance partnered with other organizations to organize the Accra SDGs Investment Fair.{{cite web|last=Officer|first=Information|title=SDGs INVESTMENT FAIR- 2019 {{!}} SE Ghana|url=https://seghana.net/sdgs-investment-fair-2019/|access-date=2020-09-22|language=en-US}}

The Government of Ghana collaborated with other non-state actors to push the 2030 Agenda for SDG at the UN in New York.{{cite web|date=2019-07-13|title=Partnership arrangements for the implementation of SDGs – Ghana's story|url=https://www.ghanamissionun.org/partnership-arrangements-for-the-implementation-of-sdgs-ghanas-story/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=Ghana Permanent Mission to the United Nations|language=en}}

The Government with the effort of the Ministry of Business Development in Ghana collaborated with other organizations and launched the post-COVID-19 business recovery initiative. This was in line to advance the UN SDGs and aimed at achieving those objectives. This was launched in Accra by the President Nana Akufo-Addo.{{cite web|title=Post-COVID-19 business recovery initiative launched|url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/post-covid-19-business-recovery-initiative-launched.html|access-date=2020-10-08|website=Graphic Online|language=en-gb}}

The Government together with the UN Office in the country launched a project towards the achievement of SDGs. This project was claimed to raise about $2.3 million over the two-year period from the SDG Fund. It was launched in Accra on 30 October 2020 by the UN Ghana Country Rep.{{cite web|title=Government, UN project to mobilise funds for SDGs|url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/ghana-news-government-un-project-to-mobilise-funds-for-sdgs.html|access-date=2020-10-31|website=Graphic Online|language=en-gb}}

Ghana was part of the 2019 Voluntary Review of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The reviews were on:

• National Ownership
• Multi-stakeholder partnerships
• Awareness creation
• Progress of Implementation of the Goals
• Leave no one behind
• Synergies across the goals
• Institutional Arrangement
• Data{{cite web|title=Ghana .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/ghana|access-date=2020-09-22|website=sustainabledevelopment.un.org}}

In 2017, a publication suggested why each of the SDGs matters to everyone and what can be done to ensure successful implementation in Ghana.{{cite web|title=Ghana Indicators For The Sustainable Development Goals|url=https://sustainabledevelopment-ghana.github.io/publications/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=sustainabledevelopment-ghana.github.io}}

In 2018, there was a report which served as a template for a series of yearly SDG-budgeting reports. Its reason was in threefolds.

In 2019, there was a report on how Ghana was developing a strategy for targeted SDGs tracking and budgeting and also involving the SDG Impact Investment ecosystem in the financing of the SDGs, four years into its implementation.{{cite web|title=Ghana's 2019 SDGs Budget Report {{!}} Ministry of Finance {{!}} Ghana|url=https://www.mofep.gov.gh/news-and-events/2019-07-08/ghana-2019-SDGs-budget-report|access-date=2020-09-22|website=www.mofep.gov.gh}}

A coalition called for the redoubling of efforts to achieve the water and sanitation targets of the SDGs.{{cite web|title=Ghana's water and sanitation policies yet to be sufficiently aligned with SDGs|url=https://www.businessghana.com/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=BusinessGhana}}

The CEO of GIPC claimed the center would incentivize companies who would help the country achieve the SDGs.{{cite web|title=We Will Incentivize Companies that Drive Achievement of SDGs- GIPC - Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC)|url=https://www.gipcghana.com/press-and-media/756-we-will-incentivize-companies-that-drive-achievement-of-sdgs-gipc.html|access-date=2020-09-22|website=www.gipcghana.com}}

The CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation claimed Ghana has covered 14 out of the 17 goals and lauded the government for its commitment to achieving the SDGs.{{cite web|last=emmakd|date=2018-09-26|title=Ghana has covered 14 out of 17 SDGs – PEF|url=https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2018/09/26/ghana-has-covered-14-out-of-17-sdgs-pef/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=Ghana Business News|language=en-US}}

The Communications Specialist at MoDB claimed the President of Ghana achieved a number of the SDGs such as SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 8, SDG 9 and SDG 10.{{cite web|title=Twum Boafo praises Akufo Addo for achieving a good number of SDGs|url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/twum-boafo-praises-akufo-addo-for-achieving-a-good-number-of-sdgs.html|access-date=2020-10-24|website=Graphic Online|language=en-gb}}

In January 2021, the GSS published a report called the 'Multi-dimensional Poverty-Ghana'. In this report, a decline in the incidence of poverty and also extreme poverty was found. This made Ghana the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to "achieve the MDGs target of halving extreme poverty in 2006 way ahead of the global deadline of 2015".{{cite web|title=14 Million Ghanaians poor in many ways — Survey|url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/14-million-ghanaians-poor-in-many-ways-survey.html|access-date=2021-01-14|website=Graphic Online|language=en-gb}}

CSOs on SDGs called for measures to protect the vulnerable and the poor to cushion them against COVID-19 pandemic effects.{{cite web|title=CSOs CALL FOR EXTENSIVE MEASURES TO PROTECT THE POOR AND VULNERABLE IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19 {{!}} CSO Platform SDG|url=http://ghanacsoplatformsdg.org/csos-call-for-extensive-measures-to-protect-the-poor-and-vulnerable-in-the-wake-of-covid-9/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013120504/http://ghanacsoplatformsdg.org/csos-call-for-extensive-measures-to-protect-the-poor-and-vulnerable-in-the-wake-of-covid-9/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 13, 2022|access-date=2020-09-22|language=en-US}} The Ghana CSOs platform on SDGs worked closely with others to set up the CSO COVID-19 Response Committee to coordinate efforts of CSOs in the COVID-19 national emergency measures announced by the President of Ghana.{{cite web|title=CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CSO COVID-19 RESPONSE FUND {{!}} CSO Platform SDG|url=http://ghanacsoplatformsdg.org/contributors-to-the-cso-covid-19-response-fund/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121151612/http://ghanacsoplatformsdg.org/contributors-to-the-cso-covid-19-response-fund/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=January 21, 2022|access-date=2020-09-22|language=en-US}}

The Ghanaian advocate of the SDGs in 2019/20 is President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Co-chair of SDGs Advocates.{{cite web|title=Ghana|url=https://www.data4sdgs.org/Ghana|access-date=2020-09-22|website=www.data4sdgs.org}}{{cite web|title=Members|url=https://www.unsdgadvocates.org/members|access-date=2020-09-22|website=SDG Advocates|language=en-US}}

File:Ghana Impact Summit 01.jpg Auditorium, Accra]]

File:Ghana Impact Summit 02.jpg Auditorium, Accra]]

• In 2019, Ghana hosted over 1100 people from over 25 countries for the first-ever Africa's Global SDGs Youth Summit in Accra.{{cite web|title=GLOBAL SDGs YOUTH SUMMIT 2019 {{!}} Institute of Applied Science and Technology|url=https://www.ug.edu.gh/iast/news-information/global-sdgs-youth-summit-2019|access-date=2020-09-22|website=www.ug.edu.gh}}
• The University of Education in Winneba signed a MoU with the MPA to enhance the achievement of SDGs in Ghana.{{cite web|last=Yarboi-Tetteh|first=David O.|date=2020-01-23|title=Ghana: UEW, MPA Sign MOU to Integrate SDGs Into Curriculum|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/202001230824.html|access-date=2020-09-22|website=allAfrica.com|language=en}}
• On the World Tourism Day, a field trip, sightseeing, excursion, adventure, among others, which is planned, organized and hosted annually by the UNWTO is said to be hosted by a Ghanaian Private Sector Social Enterprise free of charge. This is for persons living with disabilities. It is relative to strengthening, promoting, and accelerating the achievement and maintenance of SDG 10, SDG 17, and SDG 9.{{cite web|title=Challenged Expedition – Tourism for SDGs|url=http://tourism4sdgs.org/initiatives/challenged-expedition/|access-date=2020-09-22}}
• In September 2020 World Maritime Day, the Director-General of the GMA made an address under the theme ‘Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet’ stated that it was part of the authority's plans to support UN to achieve the SDGs such as SDG3, SDG11, SDG13 and SDG14. He claimed, “This year’s World Maritime Day is closely tied to the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for sustainable development that our world leaders pledged to support in 2015, and provides a unique opportunity to showcase the importance of the maritime sector to achieve the SDGs.” {{cite web|url=https://www.thefinderonline.com/news/item/20053-sustainable-shipping-crucial-to-achievement-of-sdgs-maritime-authority-boss|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004041140/https://thefinderonline.com/news/item/20053-sustainable-shipping-crucial-to-achievement-of-sdgs-maritime-authority-boss|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 4, 2020|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.thefinderonline.com|title=The finder Online - Sustainable shipping crucial to achievement of SDGS - Maritime Authority boss }} It was undertaken to provide a platform to raise awareness of the SDGs and to also show what the IMO and its member states do in order to achieve these targets.{{cite web|title=World Maritime Day slated for Sept 24|url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/business/world-maritime-day-slated-for-sept-24.html|access-date=2020-09-25|website=Graphic Online|language=en-gb}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://ghana.un.org/en/sdgs Official United Nations in Ghana website]

{{Sustainable Development Goals}}

Category:Economy of Ghana

Category:Sustainable Development Goals