Africa must urgently adopt bold, inclusive, and science-driven solutions to accelerate job creation and economic growth, United Nations Under-Secretary-General Claver Gatete said at the opening of the Eleventh Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11).
Speaking in Kampala, Gatete warned that structural vulnerabilities, slow economic growth, and rising debt burdens were hindering Africa’s progress toward the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. He urged African leaders to move beyond diagnosing challenges and to take decisive action.
“With just five years to 2030, out of 144 measurable SDG targets, only 10 are on track, while 28 are regressing,” Gatete said. “At this pace, achieving gender equality alone would take decades.”
Gatete highlighted five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as critical areas for Africa’s advancement: Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Life Below Water (SDG 14), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
He pointed to pressing challenges, including underfunded health systems, gender disparities in leadership and financial inclusion, high rates of informal employment, and underinvestment in the continent’s blue economy. For instance, he noted that four out of five African countries spend less than $86 per capita on health, well below the World Health Organization’s recommended minimum of $249.
On gender equality, Gatete said women still hold only 26% of parliamentary seats and face persistent barriers to economic participation. Meanwhile, 83% of Africa’s workforce remains trapped in informal employment, with millions unemployed or underemployed.
Gatete proposed four strategic pillars for mobilizing resources and accelerating development: scaling up domestic resource mobilization, developing capital markets to attract private investment, expanding affordable finance especially for women and youth and leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to drive industrialization and job creation.
He emphasized the need to curb illicit financial flows, which cost Africa an estimated $89 billion annually, and called for greater use of sovereign wealth funds, remittance-backed bonds, and blended finance to boost investment in critical sectors like agriculture and renewable energy.
Highlighting the potential of the digital economy, Gatete advocated for investments in digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology, along with the establishment of an African Union Protocol on Digital Trade to expand e-commerce and create jobs.
Gatete also praised the government and people of Uganda for hosting the forum and expressed gratitude to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for his support of Africa’s development agenda.
“As the clock ticks toward 2030, the next five years must be marked by bold leadership, decisive policies and strengthened partnerships,” he said. “Africa is more than capable of delivering sustainable prosperity.”
The Eleventh Session of ARFSD brings together African leaders, policymakers, development partners, and civil society to review progress and strategize on sustainable development initiatives
