The Sustainable Development Goals will only be achieved if countries and international organizations work to ensure that the poorest and most marginalized people are not left behind, says Mubarack Lo, Chief Economist at the Office of the Senegalese Prime Minister.
Speaking at a pre-event meeting at the beginning of the fourth session of the African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development on the state of affairs of the “Leave no one in Africa” issue, Mr. Lo said that nations must to be more ambitious and aim for a quality of life and not seek to eradicate extreme poverty, as they seek to keep the commitment to leave no one behind by eliminating the poverty of the communities.
“We are aiming for sustainable development for all by 2030, so that everyone has a standard of quality of life,” he says.
“We have to understand what we mean by that. For me, it’s the quality of life for everyone and not just basic needs. If it’s water, let people have quality water, quality schools, quality health, energy and all the rest of quality. We should raise the bar in Africa. We have moved from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals and poverty reduction is no longer the paradigm, the paradigm is now about the quality of life for all. That’s why the SDGs are important. ”
Mr. Lo said governments should not waste time but act now to make sure that it is not difficult for them to keep their promises by 2030.
He added that Senegal is doing everything in its power to provide quality services to its population, as it seeks to keep its promise to leave no one behind.
“We are developing a quality of life index and we will use it as a tool to monitor it and ensure that we will meet the targets of our SDGs because the total cost of leaving no one behind is much higher than All of us can do this and make sure they all have quality lives on both sides, “says Lo.
Many people around the world continue to face social exclusion and limited access to social, economic and political opportunities, despite remarkable progress over the years.
The preliminary event seeks to discuss the means to be put in place to combat social exclusion, in particular what face this struggle would show for Africa.
“That’s what we need to fight and end, making sure we do not take one group out of poverty and leave another. In Senegal, we prosper for quality of life for all, “says Lo.
In a context of uneven progress, inclusion and shared prosperity have emerged as core aspirations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The central commitment on the agenda is to ensure that no one be left behind and see all goals and targets achieved for all nations, peoples and sectors of society.
In Africa, the 2030 Agenda is being implemented in conjunction with the continent’s 50-year development plan, Agenda 2063.
Published by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
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Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
Such. +251 11 551 5826
E-mail address: eca-info@un.org
Sophia Denekew
Communications Section
ACE