Ethiopia presents its Voluntary National Review at UN High Level Political Forum

Addis Ababa, July 16, 2022 (FBC) – The United Nations High-level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF 2022) is being held in New York under the theme: “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” under the auspices of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The Forum, which started on Wednesday will be held until Monday and more than 40 countries are slated to present voluntary national reviews of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Assefa (PhD) presented Ethiopia’s voluntary national review report, the second one since the 2017 report, highlighting that Ethiopia’s development aspiration is aligned with the fundamental principles of sustainable development.

She said Ethiopia’s current development agenda is rooted in the country’s vision of making Ethiopia an “African Beacon of Prosperity”. The Vision is realized through the implementation of the Ten-year Development Plan (TYDP, 2021-2030).

According to the Minister, Ethiopia has achieved significant strides in reducing poverty and hunger, and improving health, education and gender outcomes.

In this regard, she said, Poverty declined from 23.5 percent in 2015/16 to 19 percent in 2019/20, while Ethiopia has also made progress in increasing enrolment rates, reducing stunting and wasting, and improving both maternal and child health.

Ethiopia has made substantive progress in achieving economic growth and improving key infrastructures, she said, although the COVID-19 pandemic, internal conflict and drought have taken a heavy economic toll by lowering the expected dividend from the country’s comprehensive reform.

The voluntary national reviews aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The High Level Political Forum is the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs at the global level.

Minister Fitsum Assefa also met Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations on the margins of the forum and discussed efforts to achieve sustainable peace and development amid various challenges facing Ethiopia.