The African Development Bank has joined a group of 11 multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), launching a first-ever joint report on financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The launch took place during a virtual ceremony attended by the heads of the institutions. The report is released at the end of a critical year, with the Covid-19 pandemic threatening to reverse progress on the SDGs. In response, MDBs have collectively mobilised a global response package of $230 billion between 2020 and 2021, to reduce the pandemic’s impact, of which $75 billion will be directed to the world’s poorest countries before the end of 2020.
The crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has threatened to reverse progress against the SDGs. National and global leaders have recognised the opportunity—and responsibility—to ensure that recovery efforts support the SDGs, the report said.
The report highlights selected examples of initiatives related to the 17 SDGs and efforts to “mobilise finance, create knowledge, and build capacity” for countries for their achievement. It showcases examples of how their financing directly contributes to advancing SDGs that empower people, protect the planet, foster prosperity for all, and develop sustainable quality infrastructure.
Head of the Islamic Development Bank Group (ISDB) Bandar Hajjar, said “We recognise the urgency to achieve the 2030 Agenda through the work that needs to go into building a more resilient post-Covid-19 world. The report also emphasises the critical importance of MDBs partnerships to deliver financing, knowledge, and capacity-building support for the SDGs.”
Such partnerships and coordination would include increased support for an ambitious climate action for the planet; fostering digitalisation for sustainability; continuing to promote sustainable infrastructure, strengthening resilience and mobilising finance by attracting, de-risking, leveraging and catalysing investments of all kinds.
“This joint report reflects our collective engagement and strong commitment to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. To accelerate Africa’s development, we will continue joining investment hands across the globe,” African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said. “These are very extraordinary times…we will need to have audacious leadership, we will need to have audacious partnerships, and we will need to have audacious financing systems.”
Examples of African Development Bank initiatives, such as its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation Program, which aims to reach 40 million farmers by 2023 and add 120 million metric tons to the African food basket, are included in the report.
The Bank’s Africa NDC Hub, established in 2018 to provide resources to countries in the region to implement the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), is also highlighted. The hub is supported by 18 international partners, including partner MDBs such as the Islamic Development Bank.
The 12 organisations partnering on the report are the African Development Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the IDB Group, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank Group, the New Development Bank, and the World Bank Group (World Bank, IFC, MIGA).
