A report that examines the progress of nations in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has placed Uganda in the eighteenth position out of 52 African countries assessed based on the 97 indicators across all the goals.

According to the Voluntary National Review (VNR), Uganda got an overall score of 54.88, indicating that the country is pacing more than 50 percent of the way toward achieving the SDGs by 2030. The report notes that while Uganda has made progress on SDG13 on Climate Action as well as SDG8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, several SDGs including SDG1 (No Poverty), SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG4 (Quality Education), SDG6 (Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG15 (Life on Land) and SDG16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) may not achieve their 2030 targets under the current momentum.

This report was presented to the 2020 High-level Political Forum (HLPF), hosted by the United Nations, from 10 July to 16 July 2020 and was hosted as a digital summit due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Set annually, this gathering allowed for 47 countries to present their VNR reports. These included Uganda which presented its second VNR Report that was produced by the SDG Secretariat within the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda (OPM) with support of UNDP.

The report was presented by Hon. Mary Karooro Okurut, Minister for General Duties/Focal Point Minister for SDGs in the Office of the Prime Minister. Okurut opened the presentation by offering background on Uganda’s positioning compared to other African nations, followed by synthesized highlights on the enablers, successes and challenges encountered in delivering on the SDGs.

Climate action pacing strong toward 2030 goal

The findings of the VNR report includes reviews of progress on each of the 17 SDGs and the ranking of 52 African countries based on 97 indicators across all 17 goals.

One of Uganda’s best performances is on SDG13, Climate Action, where the report shows that the country is on track for several of the indicators: the number of people affected by climate-related disasters; carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per capita that arise from the consumption of energy (at 0.1 tonnes CO₂ /capita); and imports of CO₂ emissions embodied in goods (at 0.2 tonnes CO₂ /capita).

However, the report also stated that extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and floods - exacerbated by climate change – have compromised food security, agricultural production, and increased health risks.

“While there are positive steps in terms of climate finance flows and the development of Nationally Determined Contributions, far more ambitious plans and accelerated action are needed on mitigation and adaptation,” reads the report. It adds, “Supporting vulnerable regions will directly contribute not only to Goal13 but also to the other SDGs. These actions must also go hand in hand with efforts to integrate disaster risk measures, sustainable natural resource management and human security in national development strategies.”

Poverty, hunger and gender equity among the targets facing challenges

Despite notable progress on climate and environment as well as decent work and economic growth-related SDGs, the VNR report anticipates that several SDGs will not achieve their 2030 target under the current momentum: no poverty (SDG1), zero hunger (SDG2), quality education (SDG4), clean water and sanitation (SDG6), affordable and clean energy (SDG7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11), life on land (SDG15) and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG16). Uganda’s performance on these goals is stagnating, meaning the scores on relevant indicators are unmoving or trending below a 50 percent growth rate. For other SDGs, there have been improvements but with limited acceleration interventions, risking the chance of meeting these goals by 2030. There was an improvement of SDG scores on health (SDG3), gender equality (SDG5), decent work and economic growth (SDG8), partnerships (SDG17), and industrial innovation and infrastructure (SDG9). However, the growth rate remains below the needed pace to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

The report reinforces Uganda’s commitment to the ‘Leave No One Behind’ principle, emphasizing three cornerstones the country needs to embrace to accelerate progress towards achievement of the SDGs: (1) empower, through civic engagement and voice; (2) enact, through integrated, equity-focused SDG policies, interventions and budgets; and (3) examine, through use of disaggregated and people-driven data and information.

Forging ahead, the report also identifies the following focus areas to accelerate progress:

1.       Stronger partnerships, coordination and collaboration;

2.       Deeper localization and popularization of the SDGs agenda;

3.       Building a leadership culture for the SDGs agenda at all levels;

4.       Promoting SDGs-focused innovation by all the people in Uganda, especially young people;

5.       Focusing on financing for SDGs – Harnessing Uganda’s potential; and

6.       Strengthening technology and information systems in SDG reporting.

UNDP assistance in SDG measurement and delivery

In addition to producing the VNR report, UNDP supported the SDG Secretariat though the advanced coordination and implementation of several projects. Notably, it contributed to the SDG Roadmap – a guide to create an enabling environment to deliver on the SDGs. Out of 72 critical interventions, UNDP supported 14 with an investment of US$3.3 million (about Shs 12.4 billion). Additionally, UNDP spearheaded the preparations of Uganda’s SDG Progress Report 2020, invested in an SDG Senior Technical Advisor, established the operationalization of a Coordination Framework, and even designed an official SDG website. This will act as an interactive hub for SDG data and will be used by the government, the SDG Secretariat and all other stakeholders alike.

Further, UNDP contributed to the update of the SDG indicator matrix, a tool crucial to the SDG analysis process that helps to interpret and measure progress. Through this innovation, Uganda is now able to report on 92 indicators, a significant increase from 45 indicators from the previous year.

As a result of co-chairing the United Nations SDG Technical Working Group in 2019 and 2020, UNDP supported OPM in launching and managing the VNR e-platform. This portal hosted pertinent information about the VNR process, key messages, and offered a survey that enabled the Secretariat to obtain stakeholder views on SDG implementation in light of COVID-19. More than 600 people across the country, ranging from individual citizens to private sector and civil society organizations, shared their views on: areas Uganda is performing well; areas  that require improvement; how local government can expedite the advancement of the SDGs; local innovations that have moved forward the SDGs; and how the country can better progress in its ‘Leave No One Behind’ aspiration.

These key contributions were integral to producing the rich insights shared in the VNR Report, which was officially signed off on 3 June 2020 by President Yoweri Museveni.

The full report is available for download here.