The Post 2015 AGENDA

CAMYOSFOP involvement in Sub National and National Consultations towards the Post 2015 Development Agenda

Prior to the adoption of the Post 2015 Development Agenda that is expected to run to 2030, 60 countries were selected by UNDP to organized national consultations in 2013 to feed into the final document adopted by the member states of the UN in September 2015. In Cameroon, UNDP decided to invite four civil society networks to spearhead the organization of the process in Cameroon. The four organizations were CAMYOSFOP, Africa Development Interchange Network (ADIN), Platform of Civil Society Organizations (PLANOSCAM) and Positive Generation. CAMYOSFOP and Positive Generation represented the youth in this process. The consultations took place in four major towns grouping a number of regions that participated in the meetings.  The process considered as bottom – top as opposed to the MDGs process permitted Cameroonian to decide on their priorities for the Post 2015 Development

The sub-national consultations took place from April 10 to May 4, 2013 in Maroua for the Adamawa, Far North and North Regions; Bamenda for the North West, West and South West Regions; Bertoua for the Centre, East and South Regions; and Douala for businesses and the private sector. The sub-national consultations that saw the participation of between 60 – 75 participants in each of the regional consultations ended with the following outcome priorities:

  • Bamenda: Health, Education and Employment;
  • Bertoua: Health, Education and Employment;
  • Douala: Education including vocational training, legal framework and infrastructure;
  • Maroua: Health, education and environmental protection.

 

The sub-national consultation culminated to the national consultation organized by the government of Cameroon and the UN System on May 28 – 29, 2013 at Hilton Hotel in Yaounde, chaired by Mr. Emmanuel NGANOU DJOUMESSI, Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) and Madam Najat Rochdi, United Nations Coordinator’s Representative and UNDP Resident Representative in Cameroon. The Consultation brought together participants from government ministerial departments, UN Agencies, the private sector, university and research institutes, development partners and the civil society to brainstorm on Cameroon’s priorities for the post 2015 taking into consideration the outcomes of the sub-national consultations.

During the consultation, Madam Rajat Rochdi, stated that though Cameroon has made some progress in achieving the MDGs, the difficulties registered in Cameroon and many other countries in the world called for the organization of these national consultations to permit people from every sector and all walks of life to contribute to the “World they Want after 2015.” It is therefore for this reason that Cameroon is privileged to be among the more than 60 countries selected by the UN to input in the post 2015 framework development agenda. Mr. Djoumessi on his part noted the progress Cameroon has made in achieving the MDGs especially in the education and health sectors. The Minister went further to state that in order to improve, Cameroon already produced a blue print document, the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP) on vision 2035 to complement the achievement of any development goals to be put in place by the world community after 2015.

The two days consultation ended with Cameroon identifying Health, Education and Environmental sustainability as top priorities in the post 2015 agenda. At  CAMYOSFOP which aims to promote youth development, we think Cameroon’s priorities align with our purpose, because the youth constitute the greater majority of the population and are the future of the world, face these challenges daily.

  1. The African Regional Consultation on the Post 2015 Development Agenda:

CAMYOSFOP through her Executive Director was also part of the Africa Regional Consultative Meeting on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which held in Addis Ababa from October 31st to November 05th 2013. The consultation organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) was preceded by sub regional studies conducted by UNECA in the five regions of Africa. These studies culminated to a regional report on the progress of the MDGs that present a well-informed analytical Africa regional perspective on the SDGs, targets and indicators. It is on this basis that a comprehensive common position for Africa was debated in the five days meeting that was divided into an Experts segment from October 31st to November 02nd, and the Ministerial segment from November, 4th to 5th, 2013.

The Key issues to be retained from the deliberations includes: Rio +20 was a critical turning point for the evaluation of the progress of the MDGs and the formulation of the SDGs. Therefore, the MDGs provide important lessons because there is need to focus on sustainable goals that are achievable.

  • Though Africa contributes less than 5% of emissions, the impact of the depletion of the ozone layer is grave even for Africa.
  • The green economy, clean and sustainable energy are prime for Africa’s development and eco-system.
  • The youth that constitute more than 70% of Africa’s population must be at the centre of the SDGs if they must be achieved.  By 2040, over 40% of the world youths will be Africans and by 2050 more than 40% of the work force will be African youths.
  • Unemployment is high among the youth.  Education and limited access to health is also affecting them.
  • Africa’s growth depends on economic transformation that includes agriculture, hence guaranteeing food security, scientific technology, innovation, and infrastructure and above all Domestic Resource Mobilization to finance this transformation.
  • Empowering women and combatting gender based violence and armed conflicts are a necessary ingredient to the achievement of the SDGs.
  • Governance, peace and security and an enabling environment are key to achieving any meaningful development and the SDGs.
  • H.E. Commissioner Anthony Mothae Maruping in his remarks stated that “MDGs was a process of tackling symptoms with the support of ODA but the SDGs is the process of tackling the roots of the problem.”

At the end of the consultation, the following priority issues were adopted as the SDGs for Africa’s common position to be submitted to the African Heads of State during the January 2014  African Union Summit, for onward transmission to the UN High Level Committee on the Post 2015 Development Agenda: These priorities are:

Goal 1: Eradicate poverty in all its forms.

Goal 2: Promote sustainable agriculture and achieve food security and adequate nutrition for all.

Goal 3: Ensure quality, adequate, affordable, accessible and comprehensive health services for all.

Goal 4: Achieve universal access to affordable and quality education at all levels.

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality, protect and empower women and persons in vulnerable situations.

Goal 6: Ensure social inclusion and protection, including guaranteed minimum income, social security and decent employment for all, particularly for youth.

Goal 7: Structurally transform economies and attain inclusive sustained economic growth. Accelerate infrastructure development, industrialization and access to affordable energy and empower resilient cities and sustainable human settlements.

Goal 8: Enhance environmental quality, resilience and protection of environment, and promote sustainable exploitation, use and management of natural resources.

Goal 9: Combat desertification and land degradation, mitigate drought and promote sustainable management of land and oceanic spaces.

Goal 10: Promote culture, research, science, innovation and technology development.

Goal 11: Scale up global partnerships for development.

Goal 12: Promote good governance at national and international levels.

Goal 13: Promote culture research, science, innovation and technology development.

The above priorities culminated to the African Common Position document with the following pillars:

  • Pillar 1: Structural economic transformation and inclusive growth;
  • Pillar 2: Science technology and innovation;
  • Pillar 3: People centered development;
  • Pillar 4: Environmental sustainability, natural resources management and disaster risk management;
  • Pillar 5: Peace and security;
  • Pillar 6: Finance and partnership.

In shaping the Post 2015 Development Goals, one thing to be noted is that the priorities defined by the African Common Position are all part of the 17 Post Development Goals adopted in September 2015 by the over 192 Heads of State and Governments of the world. See below the 17

Post 2015 Development Goals:

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere;

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture;

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages;

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all;

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation;

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries;

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns;

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*;

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development;

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss;

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels;

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

For details about the Post 2015 Development Agenda log on www.undp.org