Ethiopian Informer
By Habtamu W. Liben
ADDIS ABABA (EI) — African stakeholders, including ministers, senior government officials, experts and civil society, have adopted the Addis Ababa Declaration, calling for “urgent, coordinated and transformative action” to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union (AU)’s 50-year continental development blueprint Agenda 2063.
The declaration was adopted as the twelfth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development concluded on Thursday. The three-day continental forum was held under the theme “Turning the Tide: Transformative and Coordinated Actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063,” at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) headquarters in Addis Ababa.
Organized by the UNECA in collaboration with the AU, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and United Nations system entities, the forum brought together African ministers, senior government officials, parliamentarians, experts, representatives of the AU Commission, UN agencies, regional organizations, and private sector leaders, among others.
Participants, through the Addis Ababa Declaration, noted “with deep concern” that Africa remains far off track in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, with progress slow on 12 Sustainable Development Goals, and regressing on five.
The declaration highlighted major gaps, including limited access to safe drinking water and sanitation, energy poverty affecting about 600 million Africans, weak industrialization, rapid urbanization, rising debt burdens and an annual SDG financing gap estimated at between 670 billion USD and 848 billion USD .
The declaration emphasized the “urgent and scaled-up action” in five SDG areas under review in 2026,namely clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, as well as partnerships for the SDGs.
On water and sanitation, ministers called for stronger political leadership, sustainable financing, better water governance, protection of ecosystems, reduced pollution, expanded wastewater treatment and greater recognition of water as a strategic driver of jobs, growth, resilience and peace-building.
On energy, the Declaration calls for accelerated investment in decentralized renewable energy, clean cooking, regional power pools, energy efficiency, digitalization and financing models that can expand access to affordable and reliable power for households, industry and essential social services.
On industry, innovation and infrastructure, ministers urged countries to adopt forward-looking industrial strategies that respond to mega-trends such as artificial intelligence, the green transition, digital connectivity, shifting supply chains and demographic change.
it also called for greater investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, digital skills, science and technology, and regional value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The declaration further called for cities to be treated as engines of inclusive growth and structural transformation. It urges increased investment in affordable housing, slum upgrading, resilient urban infrastructure, land-use planning, own-source revenue generation, digital public infrastructure and safer urban environments for vulnerable communities, including children.
On financing and partnerships, African ministers at the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development called for reforms to the international financial architecture, stronger domestic resource mobilization, local currency capital markets, blended finance, debt solutions, investment-ready project pipelines and the operationalization of the Africa credit rating agency to help reduce borrowing costs and improve investor confidence.
The Addis Ababa Declaration is expected to serve as Africa’s regional input to the 2026 high-level political forum on sustainable development, the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, the World Water Forum and other major global processes. It also sets out Africa’s priorities for follow-up to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the Second World Summit for Social Development and the thirtieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
African ministers, through the joint declaration, also welcomed Ethiopia’s forthcoming hosting of COP32, describing it as an opportunity for Africa to drive the shift from commitments to implementation, advance Africa-led solutions on adaptation and resilience, and secure climate outcomes that respond to the continent’s development priorities.
Looking beyond 2030, the ministers urged African countries to engage actively and collectively in shaping the next global sustainable development framework, ensuring that Africa’s priorities, experiences and lessons are fully reflected. They called for any post-2030 framework to align with Agenda 2063, strengthen accountability, go beyond gross domestic product as a measure of progress and prioritize financing, technology transfer, trade, capacity-building and inclusion.
The Declaration places particular emphasis on young people, women and vulnerable communities, recognizing them not only as beneficiaries but also as co-creators, leaders and drivers of sustainable development. It calls for stronger participation, targeted investment, access to finance and technology, and future-oriented skills for Africa’s burgeoning youth.
Photo credit – UN Ethiopia
