Strengthening local and national government capacities for SDG localization in Africa

With 65 per cent of SDG targets estimated to be linked to the work of local and regional governments, effective localization is a pre-condition for achieving SDGs. In recent years, the role of local governments has gained prominence and visibility at the international level, recognized by Member States in General Assembly resolutions and HLPF Political Declarations, and by the Secretary-General in his reports “Our Common Agenda” and “Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet 2023”. In the face of multiple global crises that have slowed, and in some cases, reversed progress on SDG implementation, localization has become more important than ever and local governments from all regions have been “rising to the occasion,” increasingly seizing upon the 2030 Agenda and working to make it a reality in their local contexts. One of the ways that local governments have been doing this is through the process of preparing sub-national reviews of their SDG implementation (voluntary local reviews) to reinforce vertical and horizontal policy coherence and complement voluntary national reviews (VNRs). At the same time, local and regional governments particularly, as detailed below, in the Africa region, face significant challenges in delivering on the 2030 Agenda. The present project will support both national and local governments in selected African countries to accelerate inclusive implementation of the 2030 Agenda through strengthening local and national government capacities for localization of the SDGs. It will do so by building on the successful implementation of the Italian funded project on Improved local and national government capacities for localizing SDGs progress through Voluntary Local Reviews (2022-2024), providing continued support for review and reporting on SDG implementation and further supporting national and local governments to address financing challenges for SDG delivery by local governments and to strengthen planning for SDG achievement.