The Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed and President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia met with the people of Somali who are suffering from drought-provoked crises. February 2022. Credit: UNECA/Daniel Getachaw

By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 21 2022 (IPS)

The “Africa We Want” – as outlined in Agenda 2063 – embodies the African Union’s bold vision of an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful continent.

An Africa shaped by its own narrative, informed by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force on the world stage. The United Nations shares this vision and its realization through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Today’s event provides a global platform for African Member States and the United Nations and partners to share progress and reaffirm that giving light to this vision remains our shared priority. Sadly, Africa’s development gains are at risk, as a consequence of the current three ongoing crises.

First, the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effects of the pandemic have reversed progress made over the past two decades, and further shrank an already limited fiscal space.

Social inequalities have been exposed and exacerbated in nearly every sphere: in vaccine distribution, in economic growth, in access to education and health care, and in terms of job and income losses.

For the first time in over 20 years poverty has increased. Women and informal workers have been disproportionately affected.

Second, climate change continues to threaten Africa’s future. Droughts, floods and hurricanes are growing in number and severity and African countries are on the front line. Even though this week, we are witnessing record hight temperatures in Europe and UK, where forest fires and homes burring have taken lives.

COP27 in Egypt will be the African COP. It will be the opportunity to build on the outcomes of Glasgow and to signal the ambition of the stock take COP28.

There is a unique opportunity to lift the ambition and keep the promise of the 2030 Agenda, including the Paris agreement and the promise of the Agenda 2063.

To scale-up and speed-up investments in climate adaptation solutions that that protect people and ecosystems, building resilience for the crises to come.

Third, the war in Ukraine.

The war is not only causing immense human suffering — it is now precipitating a global food, energy, and finance crisis. 71 million people in developing countries have fallen into poverty in the space of just 3 months, as a direct consequence of global food and energy price surges.

People living in regions like the Sahel and the Horn of Africa are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. As the Secretary-General has warned, “there is a real risk that multiple famines will be declared in 2022. And 2023 could be even worse.”

The Africa we want is still within reach. To get there, we need to change our mindsets and turn the triple crisis into an opportunity. To do so, we must focus on five, amongst many of our key issues:

First, building effective and reliable policy frameworks and institutions.

To be clear: policy choices have the capacity to make or break this world. Without a forceful policy response to today’s challenges, there is a risk that inequality will become entrenched.

For an inclusive economic recovery, policy responses need to put human capital and future resilience at the centre of policy making. We need to promote the complementarity between formal and informal social protection networks as tools to achieve income distribution.

Second, we must future-proof Africa’s infrastructure by investing in connectivity and digital technologies.

The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area provides an exciting opportunity for African countries to industrialize, diversify and digitize their economies, and enhance regional cooperation and resilience.

Third, education and skills-development are enablers of Africa’s industrialization.

Digital skills, science, technology, engineering and mathematics need to be integrated into the curricula of African schools and education institutions. This is the only way that the continent will be able to build a skilled workforce that is able to realize the fourth industrial revolution.

The Transforming Education Summit that the Secretary-General will convene in September will help to radically redesign our education systems for the world of tomorrow, today.

Fourth, achieving sustainable energy for all across the continent.

The global rise in energy prices that we are witnessing should prompt African countries to accelerate energy access and a just transition, including through scaled-up domestic renewable energy production and energy efficiency. But this is an opportunity for foreign direct investment in many of these economies that will pave a way for that industrialization that we speak to.

Finally, we need an overall of our approach to financing.

In the short term, African countries need immediate relief to ensure they can survive the immediate next years — through the re-channeling of unused Special Drawing Rights, increased concessional grants, and the renewal of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.

In the long term, we will need to re-prioritize where and how investments get made. This requires massively scaling up investments in the sectors that remain critical to bolstering resilience and inclusive growth.

And this requires redistributing funds away from sectors that undermine these efforts—while supporting a just transition for all in the process.

The Africa We Want is not only good for the Continent — it is good for the world.

Building the Africa We Want means delivering the urgent scale in the support that Africa needs, it also means putting at the centre our youth and women.

Now is the time to urgently rescue the SDGs in Africa and lay the foundation for the ambition of the 2063 Agenda – and in the world at large.

Today, let us recommit to our ambitious vision and to continue to work alongside African countries to realise a greener, more sustainable, and more inclusive future for all.

IPS UN Bureau

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Excerpt:

Amina Mohammed. Credit: United Nations

By Amina J. Mohammed
GENEVA, Jun 18 2020 (IPS)

I welcome this opportunity to speak to this urgent and necessary debate of the Human Rights Council.

I bring you warm greetings from Secretary-General António Guterres, who shares your abhorrence of racism and is committed to fighting it with every tool we have.

Allow me to quote from the letter he sent last week to all UN staff: “The position of the United Nations on racism is crystal clear: this scourge violates the United Nations Charter and debases our core values.”

The Secretary-General has called for dismantling racist structures and confronting the systemic ills of institutions. In the UN, he has launched a one-year process to address these grave staff concerns.

He has also called for massive investments in social cohesion. Diversity, he has stressed, “is a richness, not a threat”.

I wish to echo the recent cogent words of UN Under-Secretaries-General who are African or of African Descent. In a statement three days ago, they stressed that: “Not enough can ever be said about the deep trauma and inter-generational suffering that has resulted from the racial injustice perpetrated through centuries, particularly against people of African descent. To merely condemn expressions and acts of racism is not enough. We must go beyond and do more.”

The Human Rights Council meets as marches for racial justice and equality fill the streets of cities and towns around the world. The most recent trigger for these protests was the killing of George Floyd in an appalling act of police brutality.

But the violence spans history and borders alike, across the globe. Today, people are saying, loudly and movingly, “Enough”.

The United Nations has a duty to respond to the anguish that has been felt by so many for so long. This cause is at the heart of our Organization’s identity.

Equal rights are enshrined in our founding Charter. Just as we fought apartheid years ago, so must we fight the hatred, oppression and humiliation today.

UN Human Rights Council in session. Credit: UN Photo / Violaine Martin

We must also never forget the crimes and the negative impacts, in Africa and beyond, of the transatlantic slave trade, one of history’s most appalling manifestations of human barbarity.

Across the world, Afro-descendants continue to be trapped in generational cycles of poverty created by unfair obstacles to their development.

They receive unequal services, and face unjustifiable housing and employment practises. Racial profiling is widespread. And because of poverty and structural racism, they are also among the communities hardest-hit by COVID-19.

As we recover from the pandemic, returning to these systems is out of the question. We also need measures that will genuinely re-set law enforcement.

The battle against racism did not end with this or that legislation, and racism was not vanquished by this or that election. The poison of racism still rages, and so the fight must still be waged.

On a personal level, from my high school days in the United Kingdom through my career across the private sector, civil society and now international public service, I have grown thick skin. I have even become numb, to the extent that one has forgotten how to feel the injustice of racial slurs and my human right to live a life of dignity and respect.

When I consider the beauty of my diversity and the amazing diversity of race… When I consider that we are born equal, only to find that the colour of one’s skin sentences us to a life of discrimination and injustice…

I ask myself, I ask all of you, I ask people everywhere : How can we possibly continue to turn the other way? Enough is enough.

The world must rise to end racism in all its obnoxious forms. Let us turn the page of history today by making this a turning point when we agree that all humans have the right to thrive with dignity and freedom from racism and discrimination in all its forms.

I too, like Martin Luther King Jr, have a dream where my granddaughter Maya will grow up in a world where she will not be judged by the colour of her skin but by the strength of her character.

Lasting peace, and sustainable development can only be built on the equality, human rights and dignity of everyone. The United Nations, its leadership and staff, stands with all those who are pursuing the end of the scourge of racism in all its forms.

This is today’s sacred battle.

Excerpt:

Social Protection and Financing Social Development

By Amina J. Mohammed
BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar 28 2019 (IPS)

2019 will be a defining year for the 2030 Agenda; and the regional forums will pave the way for our first stocktaking on the SDGs in the General Assembly in September.

Asia-Pacific is a region like no other. This is an incredibly diverse group of countries. From large economies to the small island states. From G20 economies to countries facing long-lasting crises and seeking a transition back into development. From middle to low income countries – this region is a microcosm of our global community.

Each face unique challenges, but all driven by the same ambition of a better future for all. Over recent years, I have watched with fascination the progress of nations of Asia and the Pacific in their road to sustainable development.

Your governments have taken on the challenge of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with decisive leadership. You are making significant investments to enhance data and statistical coverage, take partnerships to scale and promote people-centered policies, strategies and programmes.

This region has also established strong foundations for cooperation and peer exchange. And here I want to acknowledge the leadership of our ESCAP Executive Secretary, for ensuring that you are well supported.

You have a regional roadmap for implementing the 2030 Agenda, which ensures clarity in the direction of travel. Your follow-up and review infrastructures re designed to allow you to understand the human stories behind the numbers and to exchange best practices to move forward.

Many of you are leaders in south-south cooperation and – as we were reminded in Buenos Aires last week – cooperation amongst countries from the south is an invaluable asset to advance sustainable development.

And you are taking steps, together, to leave no one behind – today’s focus on inclusion and equality speaks to that commitment.

This is a powerful message of the 2030: no matter where you are born, how marginalized your community is – the world is determined to carry everyone along in our journey to 2030.

I encourage you to take advantage of the discussions today to address a few fundamental questions: Who are the “no-ones” that we pledge to not leave behind? What determines their exclusion? What does it mean to feel included – or excluded? Are we doing enough, collective, to empower all individuals in our human family?

These are not theoretical questions voiced through microphones in meeting rooms of New York, Bangkok or other capitals of the world.

These are real-life dilemmas for billions around the world, who look at the 2030 Agenda as a life-changing possibility for a better future.

We must recognize that we are not on track to deliver on the ambitions we set for ourselves. The data starting to emerge indicates that the world is not on track to achieve the SDGs.

In Asia-Pacific, rising inequalities have become a major obstacle to accelerating progress. Inequality of wealth, of access to basic services and inequality in the ability to withstand setbacks and respond to the ravages wrought by climate change, are all on the rise. The numbers are clear.

The region’s combined income inequality has increased by over 5 percent in the past two decades, including in the region’s most populous countries – China, India and Indonesia.

As a result, 70 per cent of the population in this region lives in countries where inequality has grown over recent years.

Gender inequality continues to hinder progress. Close to two-thirds of all working women are in the informal sector, with insecure employment and little – if any – social protection.

And while the region is now home to the largest number of billionaires in the world, millions of people lack access to fundamental services. This erodes social and economic progress, but also undermines the social contract, with consequences for peace and stability.

Environmental degradation is also taking its toll. The average loss in productivity due to pollution is roughly 8 times higher in developing countries than in developed countries in the region.

I know I speak for all of us when I say that it is time to share the benefits of growth and globalization more widely. It is a matter of urgency to empower our women and girls; to leverage the immense potential of youth for positive change and innovation; to reverse the trend on inequalities; and to put people and planet at the center.

There is no need to look far. There are abundant examples in this region that point the way forward for empowerment and inclusion of everyone.

But the question we must all address is: how can we increase ambition and accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda?

Allow me to highlight three drivers. First, we need to break down the silos that constrain policy action across sectoral lines. The paradigm shift ushered in by the 2030 Agenda is not complete.

We have not yet fully transitioned from the Millennium Development Goals into the era of the SDGs. For example, addressing climate change is not only about preventing catastrophic events; reducing fossil fuels use has also direct and immediate benefits on health.

Second, we need to match intentions with finance – both public and private. There is growing private interest in SDG financing and a proliferation of impact investment in the region. This is great. But we are still far from the “trillions” that are required to achieve the SDGs everywhere, for everyone.

Third, we need to take action to scale to partnerships at a scale that we have not witnessed before. We will not achieve the 2030 Agenda – nor win the race against climate change – without involving all sectors of society towards our common goals.

You can count on the United Nations to continue to transform and better support your efforts. The Secretary-General is leading a deep reform of the United Nations, to place prevention at the center and ensure that the Organization is better positioned to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

We now have a roadmap for change and clear and ambitious mandates by the UN General Assembly. And we are moving forward at full speed.

We know many of you are already engaged with our UN Country Teams to leverage these reforms and effect change on the ground. At the end of this process, you can expect to see more cohesive, effective and accountable UN Country Teams. We want to adapt more closely to the priorities and needs of each developing country, with an empowered leader for development, with much better coordination.

Resident Coordinators will be critical to leverage more systematically all the expertise ad assets that are scattered across the UN – including in our Regional Economic Commissions and specialized agencies.

We are currently working on the review of all our regional assets, to see how we can maximize our impact in support to country action. We need a architecture that responds to the heightened demands of the 2030 Agenda.

On 1 January, we have crossed a major milestone in this reform process with the creation of an independent and empower system to coordinate all development activities of the UN.

Resident Coordinators were also Representatives of the UN Development Programme. Now they dedicate full attention to the coordination, policy and partnerships needs of the SDGs.

And UNDP can fully focus on its important development mandate, and reassert its role as a though leader that is so deeply valued. Later today, I will meet with Resident Coordinators from the region, who are here to engage in these regional discussions and come back with new tools to support you.

Resident Coordinators are our leaders for development on the ground. And they work to support your efforts and make the 2030 Agenda a reality for all. I know they are excited to proceed in this journey with you.

The clock is ticking on the 2030 Agenda, and the true test of our reforms will be results in each country. It is our collective responsibility to show greater urgency.

I know that we have both the energy and the leadership in this conference room to make it happen. In that spirit of partnership and shared endeavor, I wish you all the best for a successful forum.

Excerpt:

In Bol, Chad, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed meets Halima Yakoy Adam who survived a Boko Haram suicide bombing mission. Credit: Daniel Dickinson / UN News

By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 1 2019 (IPS)

After flying into the city of Bol in the Republic of Chad, over the lush fields and receding lakes, we landed to a rapturous welcome from traditional rulers and local women. Their faces reflected a hope and dignity slipping away under the harsh reality of poverty and insecurity.

The women, smiling at us as we disembarked, showed the same resilience I have seen in women in countless contexts: an ability to survive, even in the face of multiple forms of violence and insecurity at home, in public or from political conflict.

I visited Chad last summer as part of a three-country mission that included South Sudan and Niger, leading a delegation of senior women from the United Nations and the African Union.

In Niger and Chad, we were joined by Margot Wallström, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden, a country that has pioneered the idea of a feminist foreign policy and given prominence to the dynamic between women’s status in society and international peace and security during the country’s two years on the Security Council.

Throughout the mission, I could not shake what we have come to know, that women, and their rights, are the first to suffer in times of crisis. And that this often compounds already high levels of inequality and violence.

I met Halima, a young girl whose life had not been her own. Against her will she was forced to marry. Then her husband, a member of Boko Haram, indoctrinated her with promises of a better afterlife. Halima strapped on a suicide belt, yet never made it to what they were told was a target, as the belts of two other girls went off as they stopped to pray.

Halima lost both her legs. Her future seemed grim, yet she had a measure of hope as she spoke and is working as a paralegal in her community to empower other women.

In Niger, at a centre for fistula survivors, we met girls as young as 12 and 13. Mere children forced into marriage and then raped by their husbands, without any agency or voice over their futures, their bodies, their lives.

Over 75% of girls in Chad and Niger marry before they are 18. They drop out of school and many become pregnant soon after, and because of their young age and complications during pregnancy, these countries have some of the highest maternal mortality rates globally.

Faced with dire poverty and often conflict, families believe they have no choice. They cannot feed their children, but hope maybe a husband can.

As we commemorated 16 days of activism to end violence and harmful practices against women and girls last year, it is important that we acknowledge the multiple forms of violence women and girls face, and the consequences they have for individuals, families, communities, and our shared agendas for development—the 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

From early forced marriage to femicide, from trafficking to sexual harassment, from sexual violence to harmful traditional practices: violence in all its forms is a global impediment to sustainable development, peace and prosperity.

It prevents women from fully engaging in society, scars successive generations, and costs countries millions in health expenses, job days lost, and long-term impacts.

The United Nations, together with partners, national governments and civil society, is leading efforts to end all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. And we have existing efforts we can build on.

During our trip, we met traditional leaders, in particular men, who are taking actions in their own communities to stop early marriage. We talked to fisherwomen on Lake Chad who have taken over a traditionally male job in order to provide for their families and who are engaged in sustainable resource management, income generation and empowerment.

And across a number of countries in Africa, we are implementing a new effort with the European Union—the Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls. The approximately $300 million investment in Africa will target all forms of gender-based violence, with a particular focus on child marriages, female genital mutilation and the sexual and reproductive health needs of women and girls.

I finished my travels with a great sense of urgency and hope. The visit reinforced my conviction that we need to implement our global agenda on sustainable development—the 2030 Agenda—with urgency, and gender equality is at the very heart of this.

I am inspired and hopeful because of women like Halima, like the survivors of marriages they never chose, like the girls who were forced into sex and pregnancy long before their bodies were ready. They survived. They are telling their story, and they are determined to have a better future, not only for themselves, but also for their sisters.

In the words of the late Kofi Annan, “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”

The link to the original article:
https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2018-march-2019/ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-sahel-crucial-sustainable

Excerpt:

Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed addresses the Economic and Social Council's third Financing for Development follow-up Forum. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 24 2018 (IPS)

The global economy is strengthening. A broad-based economic upturn has underpinned progress in many areas.

But significant weaknesses and medium-term risks in the world economy continue to challenge our efforts. As a result, the development prospects of hundreds of millions of people remain in jeopardy.

We need a comprehensive and systemic response to remain on track.

I see five areas for attention.

First, domestic resource mobilization is fundamental. National leadership, ownership and implementation lie at the heart of the 2030 Agenda.

Integrated national sustainable development strategies and financing frameworks can provide a long-term vision and platform to support domestic financing.

This is especially important in the context of much-needed infrastructure spending in developing countries.

Additionally, the international community needs to help fight tax evasion, money laundering and illicit financial flows which undermine domestic resource bases.

Second, development cooperation is critical to supporting SDG implementation.

Meeting commitments on Official Development Assistance (ODA) must be a priority.

Although ODA has increased in real terms, it has stagnated for countries where it is most needed.

Third, we need a global enabling environment that is supportive of long-term investment.

Short-termism is a persistent threat to successful poverty eradication efforts.

As we learned from the recent Inter-Agency Task Force report, most corporate executives say they would delay investments in projects with positive returns in order to hit quarterly earnings targets.

This mindset needs to change.

Fourth, the international community must find ways to speedily unlock resources and access to finance for countries with urgent needs, such as those affected by crises or disasters.

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season wrought havoc and destruction across the Caribbean and reversed the development course of affected countries.

These disasters underlined the need for a wide range of measures to support countries that face such challenges, including by financing climate change adaptation.

There are some innovative solutions being devised in this area – such as insurance-like mechanisms that can be supported where needed, or loans that reduce repayment during crises.

However, many of these are yet to be implemented or taken to scale. Resources also need to be more effectively targeted to sectors that are integral to achieving the SDGs.

For example, to achieve universal access to clean water and sanitation, we need to triple the amount spent to around $114 billion per year. This implies a major step-change in the scale of investments.

Similarly, on affordable and clean energy, impressive gains are being made as the price of renewables decline, but again, investment needs considerably exceed current spending.

Fifth, and finally, Governments and partners from the private sector must work more effectively to overcome current financing challenges.

We need to think innovatively about how to catalyze the growing interest and potential of private investment for the SDGs.

The United Nations system is committed to supporting Member States in their efforts to finance and implement the 2030 Agenda. In September, the Secretary-General will host a high-level meeting on finance.

The UN will support countries to broker partnerships, pursue innovative finance, leverage resources for sustainable development and build the necessary capacities.

We are working to improve coherence and effectiveness, with a special focus on delivering collective results on the ground. This is in line with the Secretary-General’s proposal for the repositioning the UN development system and is linked to his overall reform vision.

Over the next four days, I encourage you to consider the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force, share experiences and ideas, and seek out and forge partnerships that will keep us moving ahead.

I count on your continued commitment and leadership to invest in a better future for all.

Excerpt:

Children sit in a UNICEF-supported centre for vulnerable children, in the conflict-affected Hajjah Governorate, Yemen. Credit UNICEF /Brent Stirton

By Amina J. Mohammed
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb 15 2018 (IPS)

It may seem as if achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, and its target of ending all violence against children, depends mostly on action from governments and civil society. But we also need leadership from the business community to achieve a world where every child is free from violence, abuse, trafficking and torture.

Companies in all sectors, and of all sizes, have a powerful impact on children. Respect for the dignity of every person is at the core of sustainable development. It is also one of the keys to ensuring a socially sustainable globalization, from which business stands to be a major beneficiary.

As a starting point, any company serious about addressing violence against children should adopt a ‘respect and support’ approach, as prescribed by the Children’s Rights and Business Principles.

Developed by UNICEF, the UN Global Compact, and Save the Children, these Principles call on companies to prevent harm against children and to pro-actively safeguard children’s interests. They build on existing international standards for responsible business, such as the UN Global Compact Ten Principles and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

By integrating respect and support for children’s rights into their core strategies and operations, a company can strengthen its reputation, improve risk management and secure its social license to operate. Creating a safer world for children also helps build strong, well-educated communities — a vital precondition for long-term, stable and sustainable business environments.

Without a principled approach to these issues, companies risk advancing one objective while undermining progress in other related areas. Looking more specifically at ending violence against children, allow me to outline some key areas where the principles and frameworks I have just mentioned can help companies have an enormous impact:

The first is child labour. Companies that contribute to ending child labour — in all their business activities and along all their supply chains — will go a long way to rooting out the circumstances that enable violence against children to persist.

Companies should also take steps to prevent, identify and mitigate harm to young workers. They must be protected from hazardous work, and companies must do all they can to prevent all forms of workplace violence – including physical and mental punishment, bullying and sexual abuse.

Beyond child labour, a zero tolerance policy for violence, exploitation and abuse should apply across all business activities – even those conducted away from business facilities.

Companies should take particular care in respecting children’s rights in emergency settings, where the risks of violence against children are even more acute.

Children are among the most vulnerable in times of humanitarian crises, especially children with disabilities, displaced or migrant children, children who are separated from family and unaccompanied, and indigenous children.

Girls often face uniquely daunting challenges reflecting the pervasive gender inequalities the SDGs are also designed to tackle.

There is a strong business case for taking great care to respect and support childrens’ rights in emergency settings. Among the many possible dividends, companies that respect and support the rights of children in emergencies can reduce operational risks, alleviate human suffering, develop tomorrow’s talent pool, invest in a more sustainable future, and identify new market opportunities and innovations.

Across all these areas, business action should involve implementing due diligence tools, including risk identification, impact assessments, management measures, reporting mechanisms, grievance procedures and other stakeholder engagement processes.

Taking action to end violence against children is simply the right thing to do. But respecting and supporting the rights of children can also create tremendous opportunities for innovative businesses.

The annual Global Opportunities Report created by DNV and the UN Global Compact noted this year that there are significant untapped business potential relating to reducing global inequalities.

In short, a solid foundation exists today for us to come together and take action to make the world a safe place for all children, everywhere, by 2030. Companies who take this seriously can have a tremendous impact while also achieving great business success. I look forward to hearing more from you about the ways you are making a difference in your own companies.

Excerpt:

In Haiti, children in the Port-au-Prince slum of Bel Air enjoy a meal. Credit: MINUSTAH

By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 9 2018 (IPS)

The 2030 Agenda is the most ambitious plan governments have ever developed to eradicate extreme poverty and safeguard our planet.

While it is a global agenda, it will only be achieved by addressing the multidimensional aspects of poverty and through ensuring ownership on the part of communities, local authorities and individuals.

There are many examples of local actors, cities and state governments in particular, that are creating new development pathways, overhauling their plans and budgets and taking other innovative steps to achieve the ambitious SDG targets.

Durban, South Africa and Cauayan City in the Philippines have aligned their development plans with the SDG targets, while local governments in Benin have made SDG progress a condition for accessing national funding.

Meanwhile, Kaduna State in Nigeria conducted a robust multi-level data exercise to analyze how all of its residents, particularly the most vulnerable, are faring in relation to each Sustainable Development Goal.

We need more of these local SDG leaders. At the 2017 session of the High Level Political Forum, it was revealed that local and regional governments have participated in only 57 per cent of the National Voluntary Reviews. We will not achieve the SDG’s if such low engagement with local governments continues.

To achieve the SDGs, all communities must be engaged substantively.

We must also increase our knowledge of local conditions. All data must be disaggregated, capturing the lives of residents in the most rural areas and densest informal settlements. And we must act on that knowledge with finance that reaches the communities most in need. Global and national funds must be decentralized and new financial instruments developed in cities and states.

As a former minister, I know the important role of community-focused programmes and projects. In my current role, I see, even more clearly, the value of local actions in realizing global development efforts.

You know as well as anyone the conditions that can make or break efforts to expand development opportunities to everyone.

Across Nigeria, local initiatives led by state governments, civil society actors and financiers are making outstanding contributions to poverty reduction.

The Ekuri Initiative, for example, which is located in the Cross River State, seeks to sustainably manage the forest as a community asset, generating income, subsistence materials and food.

The Smallholders Foundation is using rural radio broadcasts to educate 250,000 farmers on modern agricultural and environmental management techniques, to provide up-to-date market information, and give farmers a platform on which to advertise their products.

Nigeria, like many African countries, is at a crossroads. The country has an opportunity to build on recent economic, political and social gains and to leverage its vast human and natural resources to eradicate poverty.

At the same time, many internal conflicts are challenging the genuine efforts of Nigeria’s leaders, including the insurgency in the north-east, the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta and disputes between herders and farmers, thus undermining and reversing development gains.

To address these challenges, we must prioritize an integrated response to peace, security, human rights and development. And we must improve our efforts to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts while promoting inclusive, sustained and equitable development.

Harnessing the power of partnerships will be critical. We must deepen the joint and coordinated efforts of the federal government, state governments, local authorities, private sector and civil society organizations. Nigeria has taken concrete steps in this direction.

Under the leadership of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria launched the first national Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), to coordinate public-private partnerships and amplify locally-driven solutions to achieve the SDG’s. The PSAG includes 13 diverse partners, including Lagos Business School, the Dangote Group, General Electric and the Sahara Group.

The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa is another inspiring example of partnership mobilization to achieve the SDG’s. Chaired by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Aliko Dangote, CEO of the Dangote Group, the Center brings together national governments, civil society and private sector leaders to collectively devise SDG solutions such as advancing inter-country projects on sustainable infrastructure and development of new platforms to better connect communities to achieve the SDG’s.

Meanwhile, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has stimulated inspiring partnerships between the Ministers, immunization and health experts in Nigerian States and private sector companies to strengthen vaccine cold chain infrastructure in Nigeria.

Together with initiatives such as Project Last Mile and Coca-Cola, the Foundation aims to increase the number of Nigerian children who can access life-ensuring vaccines, with the focus on the most vulnerable and hardest to reach children.

Similar work is underway elsewhere in Africa, such as in Ethiopia, where the Gates Foundation is supporting the advancement of national priorities and reinforcing government leadership in the areas of agriculture and health- through partnerships across the country that aim to improve agricultural productivity and increase the coverage of life-saving health and nutrition interventions.

UNDP is also partnering with the relevant authorities to promote SDG localization in Anambra, Benue, Kaduna and Kogi States, and to support implementation and monitoring of SDG-based State Development Plans.

The promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no-one behind cannot be kept without translating global goals into local action. This requires concerted and coordinated efforts at all levels of decision-making, and the empowerment of local actors.

To eradicate poverty and ensure a life of dignity for all, we must work with the world’s most vulnerable people at the level of their everyday realities to make extreme poverty a problem of the past.

Excerpt:

By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 31 2018 (IPS)

I am pleased to be with you at this important and timely summit on climate risk and to discuss the opportunities that are there for us to seize through decisive climate action.

Amina J. Mohammed

2017 ties 2011 for the highest number of billion-dollar disasters for a single year.

The direct economic cost last year of predominantly climate-related disasters, from the Caribbean and southern United States, to Southeast Asia and the Pacific, are estimated at nearly $400 billion dollars.

While the news media is transfixed by the short-lived impact of a storm, recovery periods lose the media’s interest. The long running pain and economic devastation of droughts and floods are often pushed to the edges of our consciousness over the immediacy of a hurricane or a cyclone.

What unites us, is that those who are less well off, have less ability to recover and rebuild. Those who do not have strong social bonds in a community or communities on the edge of society, are less resilient. The human costs of failing to address climate risks are immense, perhaps immeasurable.

But today, we need to focus on measurable risks, most of all to the economy and the global financial system, and to you as key business actors and partners to address this growing barrier to sustainable development.

You are here today because you have assessed that climate risks impact the bottom line, your investment portfolio. Climate risks impact business models and the integrity of the pensions and savings systems. I also hope you are here because you may conclude that without addressing this dilemma, climate change poses a systemic macroeconomic risk and a risk to the financial system itself.

I would like to focus my comments today on three areas where I want to urge you to move forward with greater ambition.

First – urgency.

Many of you here today have pledged to align your investment portfolios towards a below 2-degree scenario, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

I welcome Climate Action 100, which involves many of you, and its focus on leveraging the collective power of investors with combined assets of $27 trillion dollars to accelerate the de-carbonisation of the world’s most carbon-intensive, publicly listed companies.

Here in New York City, a few weeks ago, Mayor de Blasio announced plans to divest New York City’s five pension funds from $5 billion dollars in fossil fuel investments out of a total of $189 billion. Divesting from carbon intensive assets and aligning with the goals of the Paris Agreement is a complex realignment.

Your voices need to be clear with regulators, central bankers, finance ministers, board rooms and C-suites for the gathering momentum to continue to gather pace and to become a truly global phenomenon.

Second, consistency.

While we see divestment from fossil fuel assets at more than five trillion dollars, last year, the global community invested another $825 billion in fossil fuel use. Once again, your voice and the actions you take will speed the pace with which countries improve the consistency and alignment of their approach from their domestic policies, to the behavior of their national development banks, to their export credit guarantee agencies, to the regulation of their sovereign investment funds, public pension funds and their reaction to moves for transparency.

Which brings me to the third point – transparency.

The Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Risk Disclosure exemplifies the potential for mixing pragmatism and values-alignment in collaborative and innovative approaches for ambitious progress and a sustainable future.

I am pleased to see so many companies announcing that they will adopt its principles. I am also pleased to see governments beginning to enshrine its approach in legislation.

But it will be you in this room that reward those that are transparent about their risks and the measures they will use to manage them, and those who can address comprehensively how they will address their future business in a 2 degree climate scenario.

It is only when we have greater transparency that we will be better able to understand the contours of climate risk and then be able to engage all stakeholders in how to best manage that risk, especially those, that sometimes rightfully fear that they will be left behind.

The vehicle for the transformation we need is the Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement lays a foundation for some of the most ambitious, cooperative action ever conceived in the history of our global community. Governments are building on this foundation, with more than 170 countries having ratified the agreement.

Their responsibility is to shape the conditions that will make it easier for you to act – for you to make responsible decisions that support global action on climate change. NDCs will provide an entry point at country level to invest in Climate Action

Today, there are more than 1,200 pieces of climate legislation across more than 60 countries, a clear policy signal of the direction of travel.

Thirteen per cent of global GDP is already covered by some kind of carbon price, and this will increase rapidly as China’s national carbon market is rolled out, the Americas grow their cooperation and Europe takes measures to make its pricing more effective.

Moving rapidly towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient future also requires action on the way finance itself works.

Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, has argued that to address climate goals we need to “build a new financial system — one that delivers sustainable investment flows”.

We fully concur with him.

Fixing finance is not a new agenda, but the need to align financial flows with climate-friendly outcomes makes it all the more urgent.

China’s State Council has adopted a set of 35 recommendations by seven ministries to ‘green’ the country’s financial system, the most ambitious commitment of its kind. Challenging the finance system to be bold needs joint action by policy makers, regulators and the market.

In conclusion, finance is key to invest in the future.

Together we need to shape and guide financial systems, regulations and measures to be fit for this purpose.

There cannot be one grand plan. This we know. But there needs to be one grand ambition.

We can scale up through the actions of many, and by working together. Ambition means a concrete commitment to change course, represented through visible action.

Ambition means continuous experimentation and innovation, rapid feedback and learning, and pushing the boundaries for scale in line with this commitment.

Ambition means acceptance that solutions will come from diverse places, institutions and people, working together.

In September 2019, as we move forward, the Secretary-General has signalled that he will bring together heads of state and government, key stakeholders, including you in the room to ensure that ambition is sufficiently calibrated for 2020 and beyond.

Time is against us and I ask that you bring with you all the partners that can make the Paris Agreement a reality.

The United Nations will continue to play its many roles in catalysing finance to address climate and other development challenges; and to do this not just at global level, but also at regional, and very important, at the country level.

Globally, we can convene the actors that together can make a difference; bring our deep working knowledge of country contexts across the world; continue our core work on peace and security and humanitarian action to de-conflict and de-risk environments; and work in close partnership on the ground as we support countries to take the actions that will bend the emissions curve and transform growth and development pathways towards a peaceful and sustainable future

Today we have the opportunity to show each other and the world, that we hear and will respond to the urgent call for Climate Action by ensuring we each play our role in redirecting finance towards our common ambition in securing a world that leaves no one behind.

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The poor are hit hardest by natural disaster. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS

By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 2 2017 (IPS)

This year in the Caribbean and on the American mainland, hurricanes have left millions of people in need of assistance.

The Secretary General recently travelled to Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica to show solidarity and see for himself the damage. In Puerto Rico, 3.4 million people have been scrambling for basic necessities, including food and water. Barbuda was rendered uninhabitable and Dominica was hit hard for the second year in a row.

Across the globe, floods in Bangladesh, India and Nepal have affected some 40 million people.
Twenty countries have also declared drought emergencies in the past 18 months, with major displacement taking place across the Horn of Africa.

In light of such impacts, and the growing influence of climate change which is increasingly exacerbating them, one conclusion is clear: sustainable development and the achievement of the SDGs will remain elusive or significantly delayed so long as hazards are left unchecked.

It is difficult to maintain social and economic progress if development gains are so regularly and profoundly wiped out. Clearly, more must be done.

We need to build a new generation of infrastructure that is risk-informed, and that in turn underpins resilient economies, communities and livelihoods. We must also rebuild differently, and better.

This is not a new suggestion. For years, the international community has called for the need to invest in disaster risk reduction.

As outlined in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, we need to shift from managing disasters to preventing disasters by better managing existing risks.

This means tackling risk drivers such as poverty, rapid urbanization, weak governance, the decline of ecosystems, desertification and climate change. These are all driving up disaster risk around the world.

It also means investing appropriately in structural and non-structural measures to prevent and prepare for worst case scenarios. In this area, we have seen some success.

Thanks to the efforts of Member States, supported by the UN and other development partners, there has been a decline in mortality in relation to most natural hazards in recent years, particularly storms and floods.

In places where strong building codes are observed there has been a decline in mortality from earthquakes. Most countries make efforts to educate and inform children about disaster risk.

One major life-saving measure to emerge from the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was the region’s Tsunami Warning System. This now provides alerts through three regional watch centres in India, Indonesia and Australia, and a network of 26 national tsunami information centres.

It is an efficient system, which disseminated early warnings within eight minutes of the Banda Aceh earthquake in 2012. There are also now tsunami early warning systems in place for the Caribbean and the North East Atlantic, Mediterranean and connecting seas to match the system that has long been available in the Pacific.

As we celebrate this progress, it is also important to remember that warnings are not always enough. The Sendai Framework reminds us that a key element in reducing the number of people affected must be education and information.

We must ensure that people are well-informed and well prepared to take the necessary action.
For that reason, I welcome the work of the UN undertaken with support from Japan, to boost tsunami awareness throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

By working with local officials across 18-countries, in particular with school children, the programme is helping to increase knowledge of risks, to prepare evacuation plans, and to hold tsunami drills.

Together, this is leading to concrete and practical results that will undoubtedly help save lives. As we look ahead, it is important that we build on the work undertaken by governments, the UN and partners to boost awareness of tsunami and other risks.

Increased access to information and the ability to anticipate and absorb risk must become the norm, not the exception. The UN system is committed to deliver on this task.

Let us reflect on the lessons that have brought us here today and the impacts that have been so deeply felt by some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Let us recognize progress, and commit ourselves to investing the resources needed to protect people and development gains.

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Technical training in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire. Credit: UN Photo/Abdul Fatai

By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 22 2017 (IPS)

Since the turn of the century, much of Africa has achieved impressive economic growth. Sixteen African countries were among the world’s top 30 fastest growing nations. Last year, the 10 fastest growing African economies posted GDP growth rates exceeding 5 per cent.

On the flip side, continued commodity-dependence – coupled with fluctuations in commodity prices – makes African economies vulnerable and hampers their ability to create decent jobs and effectively tackle poverty.

Hence the need for African countries to take further action to advance inclusive and sustainable industrial development. This is the reason behind the proclamation by the General Assembly last year of the third Industrial Development Decade for Africa. The Decade represents a global initiative in support of African industrialization.

Through it, the international community acknowledges the important link between industrialization and development, and takes note of Africa being the least industrialized, poorest and the most vulnerable continent, in spite of its immense economic and social potential.

The Decade is not an isolated undertaking, but complements other key development initiatives, such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, and various bilateral, regional and multilateral initiatives.

There are many requirements needed to make industrialization efforts bear positive outcomes.
Reliable financing is vital, and Africa and its development partners need to mobilize and prudently deploy the necessary funds.

Countries also need to design and implement comprehensive industrial policies, promote industrial entrepreneurship, advance innovation and technology, enhance energy efficiency, and promote climate change resilience.

Fund mobilization for the Decade needs to build on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, which recognizes the importance of industrial development as a critical source or economic growth, economic diversification, and value addition.

It also highlights several key avenues for financing development initiatives. Equally important is the need to effectively leverage markets through regional integration.

Greater regional integration has the potential to support industrialization by increasing intra-African trade and intra-African investments, through the free movement of capital.

Our goal must be to provide jobs and opportunities, particularly for Africa’s growing population of youth. Industrialization can and must also be a tool for women’s empowerment and gender equality.
For this we must invest in appropriate vocational and skills training and closing the digital divide.

No single country or institution is fully equipped to tackle the challenges of African industrial development on its own. The implementation of the third Industrial Development Decade for Africa requires concerted efforts from a wide range of stakeholders.

Apart from intra-African partnerships, Africa needs to leverage the full potential of its development partners through appropriate bilateral, regional, inter-regional, and multilateral arrangements.

South-South, North-South and triangular co-operation are all necessary. The United Nations system is a key partner, along with the public and private sectors, financial institutions, civil society organizations, academia.

The Programme for Country Partnership approach by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization should be leveraged to explore funding opportunities and to devise concrete projects.
It provides a strong platform for multi-stakeholder partnership to support inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

It will help build partnerships with various stakeholders, including Development Finance Institutions and the private sector, to mobilize resources on a larger scale to achieve greater development impact. To that end, pilot programmes have already been initiated in Ethiopia and Senegal.

As we deliberate on the practical aspects to guide the implementation of third Industrial Development Decade for Africa, I appeal to all partner institutions to use their influence and expertise to promote industrialization and inclusive sustainable development that will benefit all the nations and people of Africa.

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By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 9 2017 (IPS)

Two years have passed since the world came together to adopt a truly remarkable framework for common progress: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda is transformative and inspiring its own right. That it was agreed at a time of severe political divisions on so many other issues was especially encouraging. Since then there has been very promising momentum around the world.

Amina J. Mohammed

We saw this most recently here at the United Nations, when 65 countries — far more than expected and far more than last year — submitted their voluntary national reviews at the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

The Forum was a welcome opportunity to identify implementation challenges at the country level – and to share solutions, knowledge and best practices. It is clear that Member States are taking vigorous action to implement our SDGs. In many countries, Heads of State and Government are personally leading the charge, incorporating SDGs into national plans and visions, in some cases, incorporating sustainable development principles into legal frameworks too. In line with the interlinkages of the SDGs, we see governments walking the talk in terms of national coordination, resource mobilization and budget allocation, and engaging parliaments and local authorities.

Stakeholders, including business, NGOs, and the scientific community, are also helping to lead the implementation process. At the HLPF, which attracted over 5,000 participants this year, I was pleased to see so many enthusiastic actors. Next year, the list of countries ready to engage in the voluntary review process has already reached its maximum of 44. To me, this is an unmistakable signal of commitment.

The UN Development System, too, has shown its firm commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda, by providing country-level support. To date, 114 governments have requested support from UN Country Teams on SDG implementation. That is the good news. However, our assessment clearly shows that the pace of progress is insufficient to fully meet that ambition. We see, in the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals as we transition to the SDGs, that progress has not been even across regions, between the sexes, and among people of different ages and constituencies.

Inequality remains a significant challenge, both within and among countries. Children and youth, women and girls, indigenous people, older people, rural workers, people with disabilities, migrants and people affected by conflict remain vulnerable, deprived of their rights and opportunities. Every day, they must be empowered if we are to be true to our commitment to leave no one behind. The latest data show that extreme poverty is down to 11 per cent, but this translates to an estimated 767 million people still living with severe deprivation. Although Eastern and South Eastern Asia made significant progress, 42 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa continued to live in extreme poverty. We do need to put emphasis on data to know where those are that are being left behind. Maternal deaths have declined, but we need to double the rate of reduction to meet the target.

This means a concerted effort to invest in universal health care, with a focus on primary health care and secondary referral. The environment continues to bear the brunt of man-made actions, leaving more than 2 billion people to confront water stress and nine out of 10 city dwellers breathing polluted air. And there has been a significant increase in violent conflicts in recent years, despite a decline in homicides and better access to justice for more citizens around the world. So we are challenged.

To eradicate poverty, address climate change and build peaceful, inclusive societies for all by 2030, key stakeholders, including governments, must drive implementation of the SDGs at a much faster rate and at much larger scale. Poverty remains a major challenge. Increasing focus on the poorest, most vulnerable, furthest behind and hardest to reach is critical.

To ensure no-one is left behind, we need to monitor progress through disaggregated data, by building the capacity of national statistic systems and by improving data availability. We must also advance on gender equality. The empowerment of women and girls is an enabler for the whole 2030 Agenda. Currently, gender inequality is deeply entrenched. We see it in the slow progress in women’s representation in political life and in decision-making within our own households.

We see it as well in the violence, most often with impunity, that women and girls face in all societies, which also affect the mental health of women – which is also deserving of greater attention. The systematic mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the implementation of the whole 2030 Agenda is therefore crucial.

Another critical area is climate change. At this point I would like to express my sincere condolences to those who have recently suffered from environmental disasters, from landslides in West Africa, widespread floods in South Asia and, as I am speaking, from immense destruction and loss of life in the Caribbean region with Hurricane Irma. My heart goes out to them.

On UN Staff Day—September 8 — I also wish to acknowledge all the colleagues working on the ground in the affected regions. Implementation of the Paris Agreement is central to the success of the 2030 Agenda. The UN System supported countries in identifying and declaring their climate targets in the lead-up to the Paris Agreement.

This has carried forward – through multilateral initiatives such as the Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership – with translating targets into action, coordinating support, and providing access to climate finance. The priority now must be to scale this up and accelerate action to achieve country targets.

The Secretary General’s climate summit in 2019 will provide momentum for increased ambition. However, the financing requirements for realizing the SDGs and the Paris Agreement are considerable. They call for transformative solutions. The Addis Agenda provides the financing framework and blueprint for global cooperation. In many SDG priority areas, additional investments are essential. Development banks have significant potential to scale up their contributions to sustainable development financing. We also need countries to meet their commitments on ODA and we need to leverage South-South cooperation.

But public finance alone is not sufficient. We need to work in partnership with the private sector to ensure that all financing becomes sustainable and contributes to the SDGs. A growing number of businesses are considering social and environmental factors in their investment decisions. But here again, we need to go to scale.

The SDGs are also opening new business opportunities. I am proud to say that the UN is supporting efforts by the private sector to better align their internal incentives with long-term investment and with sustainable development indicators. Ultimately, progress will only be achieved through genuine and meaningful partnership. Partnerships at all levels are key to ensure continued momentum and implementation. Let me emphasize here the key role of local governments and mayors.

The UN has a critical role to play in bringing all stakeholders together and supporting countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. But the UN too must change to be an effective, accountable and responsive partner. As I have said before, the 2030 Agenda is a bold agenda for humanity and requires equally bold changes to the UN development system.

The UN development system has a proud history of delivering results and generating ideas and solutions to improve the lives of millions of the poorest and most vulnerable. Yet, the current model of the UN development system is insufficient to match the ambition, of the new agenda.

In June, the Secretary-General put forward 38 concrete ideas and actions to reposition the UN development system to deliver the integrated support needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Combined, these ideas offer a roadmap for change that can significantly enhance the system’s effectiveness, cohesion, leadership and accountability. In the coming month, we will continue to confer with Member States and the UN development system, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with you and your representatives as the process unfolds.

We intend as a system to meet the ambition. The 2030 Agenda is the international community’s best tool for a more prosperous and peaceful world. It is relevant to all countries and all people. And it belongs to everyone. Its success, in turn, will depend on the active engagement of all actors for people, peace, prosperity and a healthy planet.

My simple appeal today to all of you is to stay engaged, help us keep the ambition high, and work with us in this collective endeavour for a better future for all.

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By Amina J. Mohammed
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 2 2017 (IPS)

During the process of developing the Sustainable Development Goals it was clear to me how relevant and innovative the approach to ending AIDS had been and how important it would continue to be.

Amina J. Mohammed

In June 2016, Member States adopted the Political Declaration on Ending AIDS. As the Secretary-General’s report notes, the AIDS pandemic is far from over.

UNAIDS estimates that more than 36.7 million people are living with HIV globally.

While more than 18 million are now on life-saving treatment, this is just half of those who need it, and there is no decline in the number of new infections each year.

People living with HIV who are on treatment can now expect the same life expectancy as someone who is not infected.

That is why a life-cycle approach to HIV is so important, to ensure that people have access to the services they need at every stage of life.

The world has the scientific knowledge and experience to reach people with HIV options tailored to the realities of their lives.

I am happy to report that, today, more babies than ever are being born free from HIV.

Now we need to do a better job of reaching young women and adolescent girls.

This is particularly true for sub-Saharan Africa, where adolescent girls account for three out of four new HIV infections among 15 to 19-year-olds.

Women’s and girls’ heightened vulnerability to HIV is intimately linked to entrenched gender-based inequalities and harmful social attitudes.

We also need to ensure a more integrated approach to HIV programme delivery.

In particular, we need to integrate HIV, sexual and reproductive health programmes, including family planning.

Just as we must reach young women, we have to make it easier for other key populations to access health services.

Injecting drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men are 10-24 times more likely to acquire HIV than the general population. Ending AIDS fits squarely within the 2030 Agenda.

The global commitments we have made to eliminate gender inequalities, to promote, protect, respect and fulfil all human rights, and to achieve universal health coverage, mutually reinforce efforts to eradicate AIDS.

The AIDS response has led the way for evidence-based policy and programming. I hope the voluntary national reviews at the High Level Political Forum in July will reflect the lessons learned at the national level in responding to AIDS.

I urge Member States to heed UNAIDS’ call for a grand prevention coalition that stimulates action across the five pillars of HIV prevention. We still need a further $7 billion dollars to reach our targets for preventing and treating HIV.

This translates to about 50 cents per person per year globally between now and 2030. This small per capita increase in investment could generate significant returns — an additional 21.7 million HIV infections prevented and 8.8 million AIDS-related deaths averted.

The economic benefits of such an intervention would generate an 8 to 1 return on investment due to better health and reduced mortality.

I am proud to see how the United Nations and UNAIDS, under the leadership of its Executive Director, Mr. Michel Sidibé, are committed to finding new and better approaches to end this epidemic.

I hope to see our investment in ending the AIDS epidemic and saving lives translate into political and financial investment in UNAIDS. This entity embodies many of the critical elements that we are seeking to incorporate into our broader UN reform efforts.

These include establishing a culture of accountability and strong performance management, with a focus on delivery rather than process and on people rather than bureaucracy.

In conclusion, let me emphasize the importance of grounding success at the country and community levels.

Let us always approach political decisions and meetings such as this with communities in mind.

In recognizing the importance of community-driven solutions and the global commitment to people-centred systems for health, I encourage you to listen closely to what communities need and have to say.

If we do that, we can end AIDS.

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