Minister of Planning Hala Al-Said revealed on Tuesday that the developing countries need funding ranges from $3.3tn to $4.5tn annually on average to achieve sustainable development, noting that these estimates were prepared by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
This came during the high-level policy dialogue on development in Africa, under the theme of Financing the Sustainable development goals in Africa: Strategies for Planning and Resource Mobilization, which is being held in Cairo from 10-12 July.
The dialogue aims to provide a platform for African development planners and finance experts to discuss and deliberate on strategies for financing the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, with a specific focus on mobilising adequate resources for their timely and effective implementation.
The minister added further that the lack of adequate funding has been a major reason for the modest results achieved by the many development initiatives launched by the African countries.
She explained in her speech in the conference that the agenda of Africa 2063 to reform the system and mechanisms of financing for development plans, recommended not to rely solely on foreign aid, but to diversify funding sources, attract foreign direct investment, and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of resource management and revenue management systems.
“Egypt topped the countries that have adopted national plans to achieve the development goals, which were represented in the strategy of sustainable development, Egypt 2030,” the minister stressed.
Notably, the high-level policy dialogue series was established by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in 2014 to serve as a platform for coordination and experience sharing among African planners. The 2017 high-level policy dialogue took place in Abuja, Nigeria, under the theme Mainstreaming the SDGs into National Development Plans.
