Sub-national governments and stakeholders play a pivotal role in the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Agenda 2063 of the African Union. Grassroots initiatives undertaken at the local level have been integral to responding to COVID, protecting the environment, and ensuring inclusive development across Africa. As countries continue to evaluate their progress towards the two agendas through Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), interest in pursuing this review process at the local level has been growing exponentially. ECA has supported five localities in completing Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) – Accra, Harare, Ngora District, Victoria Falls and Yaoundé – with several more on the way.
These African VLRs have informed the production of African Regional Guidelines for VLRs. These Guidelines – produced in partnership with UN-Habitat and United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A) – provide a template for pursuing VLRs, and best-practices in involving local stakeholders and linking with national review processes, based on experiences across Africa. The guideline will also provide an opportunity for effective per reviews for African localities. As cities, districts and governorates increasingly engage in these processes, ECA stands ready to work closely with them and a coalition of other partners to push the SDG localization agenda forward.
The completed African VLRs supported by ECA can be accessed in the documents tab.
