Africa at the 2023 HLPF | Events | United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

Africa at the 2023 HLPF

The annual High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, or HLPF, provides a global venue to deliberate on the means to progress towards the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. African member States and civil society groups will be active at the forum, sharing the key successes, concerns, challenges and priorities from the region. Outcomes from the ninth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-9), held in March in Niamey, Niger, will feed directly into the Forum as well.

Africa Day: High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

Harnessing Water and Energy for Africa’s sustainable industrialization and inclusive economic transformation
Wednesday, 19 July 2023, from 08:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (EST)/12:30 PM – 3:30 PM (UTC)

VIRTUAL EVENT
Online via Zoom | Register at: bit.ly/44nojN8

Although confronting figures can be difficult, they provide valuable insight, and a positive aspect can always be found - progress is attainable. The report from the United Nations Economic Commission report on 'Progress, challenges, opportunities, and priority actions to Accelerate the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6' paints a bleak picture of access to clean water, hygiene, and energy in Africa. However, it also highlights the potential for a bright future powered by renewable sources.

Under the theme: “harnessing water and energy for Africa’s sustainable industrialization and inclusive economic transformation” The Africa Day at the High-Level Political Dialogue will deliver concrete recommendations to feed into policies that will focus on the challenges and opportunities under the theme: “harnessing water and energy for Africa's sustainable industrialization and inclusive economic transformation” in the broader context to accelerate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Goals and of the African Union Agenda 2063.

Leading towards the SDG Summit in September 2023, Africa Day at the HLPF aims to mobilize greater technical and financial support, including through scaling up innovative finance, and renewed partnerships for accelerated implementation, as well as for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change in light of the outcomes of the CoP 27 (Sharm el Sheikh) and in anticipation of the CoP 28 later in 2023. Also key to these discussions is to highlight the role of women and the growing youth population in supporting the agenda for inclusive integrated water resources management and clean and affordable energy in Africa.

The event will be held in a virtual format with a high-level opening segment including welcoming addresses by the Chair of the ARFSD-9 Bureau (Government of Niger), and the 78th President of ECOSOC, as well as a keynote address by the AU Commissioner for Economic Development,Trade, Industry, and Mining. This will be followed by a high-level interactive segment for sharing experiences and best practices among African Member States presenting their VNRs with participation at the Ministers and/or Heads of Delegations level from Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia and their development partners. The event will conclude with a technical panel of experts and an interactive Q&A with the audience.

Africa Day at the HLPF 2023 will provide a global platform for African Member States to initiate an in-depth discussion on the interlinkages between clean water and sanitation, integrated water resources management, and clean and affordable energy in Africa. The forum will focus on and how these could be leveraged to speed up Africa’s sustainable industrialization and inclusive economic transformation.

This event will focus on water from two different yet connected viewpoints. Firstly, having access to clean and safe drinking water and improved sanitation is crucial for survival, as it enables people to provide for their families by cooking and drinking, as well as maintaining hygiene, which is vital for good health. On the other hand, even in its non-potable form, water can be a key factor for production – through irrigation for agriculture or simply as an input in the industrial manufacturing process, not to mention its uses in generating hydro-powered energy to power Africa. There hasn't been much progress in terms of access to clean water, as the percentage of people with safe access only increased from 36% in 2015 to 39% in 2020. Most of the progress has been absorbed by the 10% population growth from 2015 to 2020, with Africa adding 134 million inhabitants. There is also a huge discrepancy between urban and rural populations. Almost 60% of the city dwellers have access to clean water, for only 22% in the villages. Leaving no one behind will entail scaling up the efforts dramatically if we want access for all by 2030.

Africa Day’s theme, “Harnessing water and energy for Africa’s sustainable industrialization and inclusive economic transformation” links energy, industrialization, and water. All SDGs are interconnected. For instance, energy is required to sanitize and transport water. However, water can also be transformed into energy. Africa’s industrialization would also require reliable and affordable energy and increasing use of renewables in the context of the Just Transition, and a healthy workforce. Water-borne diseases remain a major problem on the continent. Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to the transmission of diseases, such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. According to World Health OrganisationOpens a new window, 842,000 people die annually from diarrhea alone, among which 361,00 children under 5. Besides the unbearable human cost, the lack of access to clean water and sanitation also has its toll on any given economy. When people don't have to spend as much time fetching water from faraway wells, they have more time to be productive in other ways. Access to clean water leads to better health and a population that is more economically productive, which creates a positive cycle. The Sustainable Development Goals are all connected, but the most important factor is energy.

While the 2023 edition of Africa Day will mainly focus on the seven African countries presenting their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) in 2023, namely Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia, it will be against the backdrop of a broader African constituency and Africa’s development partners. The experts will dig into the interlinkages between water, energy, and industrialization and put the lessons learned to good use. Besides reviewing SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and 17 (partnerships for the goals), 3, the High-Level Political Dialogue (HLPF) 2023 will focus on the theme of "Accelerating recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels" to redouble efforts for a sustainable and resilient recovery from COVID-19 during the SDG Decade of Action 2020-2030. HLPF in July 2023 sets the stage for the HLPF to be convened at the Heads of State/Government level (SDG Summit 2023) as well as the associated High-level Policy Dialogue on Financing for Development under the auspices of the General Assembly.

The Africa Day at HLPF will advocate for further capacity building to leverage Africa’s enormous untapped potential for green and blue economy-inspired bonds, financial instruments, and other innovative financing mechanisms to power the continent’s industrialization drive. Moreover, the Africa Day at the HLPF also constitutes a bridge towards CoP 28 (Climate Change Conference of the Parties) in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) later this year and constitutes a timely opportunity to discuss and promote concrete actions to scale up innovative financing and partnerships to ensure that no one is left behind, initiate an in-depth discussion on the interlinkages between clean water and sanitation, integrated water resources management and clean and affordable energy in Africa.

The event will be held in a virtual format with a high-level opening segment including welcoming addresses by the Chair of the ARFSD-9 Bureau (Government of Niger), and the 78th President of ECOSOC, as well as a keynote address by the AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry, and Mining. This will be followed by a high-level interactive segment for sharing experiences and best practices among African Member States presenting their VNRs with participation at the Ministers and/or Heads of Delegations level from Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia and their development partners. The event will conclude with a technical panel of experts and an interactive Q&A with the audience.

A web-based report of the event, including key policy recommendations, will be produced, and disseminated among participants, policymakers, and stakeholders.

https://www.un.org/osaa/events/africa-day-high-level-political-forum-sustainable-development-0