The 193 member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 25, 2015. The Agenda is a set of 17 Global Goals or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) meant to holistically complete the previous Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which was signed in 2000 to eradicate all forms of poverty by 2015.
The point of the new SDGs is to ensure that no one is left behind in development. And that this development is not harmful to the environment and communities around the world.
The SDGs were developed in a much more collaborative manner than the MDGs, with consultations held with parties around the world. Also, the SDGs are targeted at all nations, both developed and emerging, and covers a wider range of integrated issues. For sure, many have commented on the ‘lofty aspirations’ of the goals. But they have acknowledged that achieving each of the 169 targets of the 17 global goals will result in sustainable development for all.
Nigeria has been very much involved in the crafting and now the implementation of the SDGs. But questions still abound about how achievable they are, and the approach Nigeria can use to achieve them. Three sustainability practitioners, Adiya Atuluku, Olu Ogunlela and Adedotun Owolabi, formed an SDGsComic team and decided to seek the answers to these questions from those who would know best – experts with vast experience in their individual fields, with each of these fields being the focus of one of the 17 SDGs.
They interviewed these experts via Tweet Chats held weekly from 2nd May 2016 to 29th August 2016. Each expert provided their insights into why their goals are important, the current state of the goal in Nigeria, what we can do as a nation to advance the goal, how implementation of the goal can be funded, and key success factors necessary for the achievement of the goal’s targets.
Interestingly, several themes were recurring across the various discussions. For example, the importance of partnerships and collaboration; the need for data to drive action; the need for enabling policies by the government; increased participation of the private sector; localized action for community ownership; mass awareness of the goals; and of course, funding.
The SDGs Expert Report compiles these interviews in one place, and is a rich resource on the localization of the SDGs in Africa and Nigeria in particular. The SDGsComic team hopes that with the insights from these experts, awareness of the global goals is increased, and the public has a better understanding of what we, as a nation, can do to achieve each of the SDGs.
Download the SDGs Expert Report for free HERE! You are welcome to share and spread the word about the SDGs.