By Francis Ntow
Accra, Nov 22, GNA – The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has expressed strong confidence in Ghana’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, praising the country’s budget execution and tracking system.
At the launch of Ghana’s 2023 SDG Budget and Expenditure Report, UNICEF said the accountability system, adopted only by a few countries worldwide, positioned the country among global leaders in transparent SDG investment tracking.
The budget execution report disclosed that Ghana increased its SDG-related spending from GHS83 billion in 2022 to GHS180bn in 2023, representing a significant commitment to achieving targets across health, education, social protection, and human capital development.
“There are very few countries who have been brave enough to take this step to really have this kind of accountability tool in place. It’s laudable that the
Ministry of Finance is a frontrunner in this,” said, Ms Paulina Sarvilahti, Chief of Social Policy and Inclusion at UNICEF Ghana.
Rankings of the Sustainable Development Report on the performance of all 193 UN Member States place Ghana in 120th position in overall SDG achievement globally, yet, Ms. Sarvilahti, expressed optimism about Ghana’s efforts in fast-tracking progress.
“Ghana’s data-driven approach provides a solid foundation for accelerated progress. Overall, it’s great that we have this strong commitment from the government and that there is really a strong push towards that,” she stated.
She acknowledged that multiple global crises – climate change, economic pressures, and pandemic after effects had made achieving SDG targets more difficult for all nations, noting that Ghana’s unique approach to monitoring whether resources were reaching the right beneficiaries would be a catalyst to meeting its targets.
The UNICEF official noted the country’s success in education, gender-related investments, poverty reduction with a focus on social protection interventions, and particularly praised the report’s inclusion of child-specific indicators for the first time.
She called for a more integrated planning, efficient resource allocation, and stronger collaboration between government and development partners as well as targeted interventions that maximised return on investment.
“Ghana’s commitment to generating and using data to guide policy decisions and budget allocations…We cannot stop. This is the time we need to really put more efforts and be more decisive, more targeted.” said, Ms. Sarvilahti.
Mr. Osama Makiawi Khogali, UNICEF’s Country Representative, also commended Ghana for being the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, and the success chalked since then.
He, however, urged more actions on poverty reduction, noting that 73 per cent of Ghanaian children were still affected by multidimensional poverty with 28 per cent facing monetary poverty.
The call was important as Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark World Children’s Day celebrations, which coincided with the SDG report launch, and said targeted SDG investments was critical for accelerated progress and attainment of goals.
Mr. Isaac Fraikue, Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, expressed confidence about the country meeting its SDG targets by the 2030 deadline, emphasising that tracking the goals had been made an integral part of government operations.
He explained that the SDG report ensured corrective measures were implemented in a timely manner, saying, “we definitely meet the targets by the time its due because we’re working so hard as a country.”
“Developing the report is more than just tagging and tracking of budgetary applications and associated expenditures. It tells the story of Ghana’s development journey, reflecting our resolve to ensure that no one is left behind whilst aligning our national priorities with a shared global vision for a better future,” he said.
Mr. Fraikue said, looking ahead, the country’s focus would be on localising the SDG budget and expenditure reports and deepening engagement with stakeholders to enhance transparency and accountability, while harnessing the benefits of the data in financial decisions.
GNA
Edited by Christian Akorlie