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Ph:DR: Mr. Abdoulaye BIO TCHANE, Minister of State, Development and Government Action
Started on Tuesday May 30, 2023 in the Blue Room of the Palais des Congrès in Cotonou, the work of the National Forum on Sustainable Development Goals (FNODD- 2023 edition) ended on Thursday 1is June 2023 on a note of general satisfaction. The objective of the Government of Benin in organizing this first Forum is to “Building resilience to accelerate local action for the SDGs” this is the theme around which the different themes led by panelists and the exchanges and debates of development actors were articulated. The conclusions and recommendations resulting from the three days of work breathe new life into Benin’s policies, programs and strategies for achieving the 2030 objectives.
Aline ASSANKPON
The National Forum for Sustainable Development Goals (FNOOD), the work of which was launched on Tuesday May 30, 2023, ended on Thursday 1is June 2023. This forum is indeed the culmination of a long process that started in 2021. After capitalizing on successful experiences, the country’s various participations in high-level political forums and various Foras, the Government decided in its session of October 12, 2022, to extend its efforts to the Municipalities, specifically to the Grassroots Communities by initiating the First Edition of the FNOOD in order to implement this exercise at the national level and to accelerate the achievement of the prioritized targets of the SDGs .
It is therefore the logical continuation of the culmination of the voluntary local examination process launched in 2022 that the four municipalities below have voluntarily accepted to take the local examination. These include the Municipality of Abomey-Calavi (the most populated in the Atlantique department – in the South); Avrankou (Department of Ouémé – South-East); Nikki (Borgou Department – North-East) and Bassila (Donga Department – North-West). During three days of work of the National Forum on the SDGs, the stakeholders and development actors, in an active synergy, proceeded to the peer review of the SDGs. Voluntary local reviews of these four municipalities were at the heart of the exchanges.
“These voluntary local reviews constitute peer-to-peer learning and can stimulate further action to implement the SDGs at the municipal level. They are important tools for meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement and mobilization to advance the implementation of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 at the local level. ” said Mr. Magloire Aguessy, Director General of SDG Coordination and Monitoring at the launch of FNODD-2023.
It has been proven that Benin remains one of the countries making progress in terms of the implementation of the SDGs set by the United Nations for the 2030 Agenda. Rightly, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Office in Benin and Head of line of Technical and Financial Partners (PTF), Mr. Salvator Nyonzima expressed his pride in the organization of this Forum. He will recall the successive actions carried out by the Government and which follow the same vision: “Two months ago, on March 28, 2023 at this same Palais des Congrès, I had the honor of participating alongside the Minister of State, Development and Government Action in the launch of the National Development Days (JND), placed under the theme, “Development policies facing the challenges of demographic resilience and vulnerability reduction”. In addition, this year, the Government launched the 5th General population and housing census which will produce detailed statistical data on the population. I also know that in a foresight exercise called, Vision 2060 on construction sites and that a courageous reflection on the control of demography has already begun”.
“The National Forum on the SDGs therefore offers the opportunity to: Take stock; Take a look in the rear view mirror; Learn from recent years and Take into account emerging challenges and plan for the future with acceleration strategies » underlined Mr. Salvator NYONZIMA of the United Nations System in Benin.
“Building resilience to accelerate local action for the SDGs”
“These meetings, beyond sharing the results of voluntary local reviews, aim to encourage not only the implementation of this successful experience at the level of other municipalities,” declared the Minister of State, Development and Action government, Mr. Abdoulaye BIO TCHANE during the official launch of the FNODD. “When we realize that nearly 60% of the SDGs fall within the competence of municipal governments and therefore of territorial communities with a territorial anchorage, we could not stop only at the territorial level. The effort must continue at these levels. he points out.
“Thus, with a view to sustaining its achievements and extending them to our administrative divisions in order to facilitate the implementation of the SDGs and in view of the recommendations of the High Level Political Forum and the African Forum for Sustainable Development, our country is engaged in the process of conducting Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) this year. It is therefore in this context that the National Forum on the SDGs is organized for the whole following theme: “Strengthening resilience to accelerate local action in favor of the SDGs” will recall Mr. Bio Tchané.
Indeed, the organization of this national forum is part of the implementation of Agenda 2030 of the Sustainable Development Goals by the Government of Benin. An opportunity to discuss building resilience in order to accelerate local action in favor of the SDGs.
FNODD-2023 Resolutions and Recommendations
For three days, the stakeholders attended very rich discussions by eminent panelists. “This reveals the need for municipalities to develop resilience strategies to relaunch local development after the crisis of the Covid 19 pandemic exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine which has further slowed the already slow pace towards achieving the SDG targets » observed the Director General and Monitoring of the SDGs, Mr. Magloire Aguessy. “This forum has given us the opportunity to revisit the path traveled and explore suitable avenues to remove bottlenecks, in particular: data quality and funding issues that compromise progress towards the SDGs. I dare to hope that our Mayors leave well armed with the resolution to make their municipality champions in the implementation of the SDGs for the sustainable well-being of their population.” he added.
In reality, the FNODD-2023 has made it possible to take stock of the situation and mobilize development actors in order to share experiences on progress and reflect on development issues at the local level. The Government of Benin intends to fully play its part so that by the 2030 deadline, Benin can win the challenge of achieving the prioritized targets.
At the closing ceremony, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Benin, Mr. Aouale Mohamed ABCHIR will say that in view of the rich lessons learned from the work, that he can only encourage the Government of Benin to continue its action towards the resilient march towards the targets of the SDGs by 2030 by declining the major axes to follow: “Pursue policies to accelerate economic growth and make it even more inclusive; Strengthen the capacities of communities; Produce statistical data for information at all levels; Seek out and channel all innovative sources of financing for development; Implementing effective public policies and strategies to capture the demographic dividend, these are, among other things, the major axes that can guarantee better national resilience and that of the local community”.
He therefore invites the entire United Nations System (UNS) and all development actors to support this commitment to meet the development challenges for an even more resilient population in the coming years. “Shocks are a reality today and we must quickly continue to lead fulfilling lives.”
In addition, development actors substantively debated the many opportunities available to municipalities for the successful implementation of innovative actions in favor of the implementation of the SDGs.
The Director of Cabinet of the Ministry of Development, Mr. Alastaire ALINSATO will reassure the members of the Government for the lessons learned from this forum. “Future development interventions will never be the same. This forum will leave its mark on the design, implementation and on all monitoring and evaluation of subsequent development actions. One of the merits of this forum is precisely to have exchanged and not to have mutually sought to teach each other lessons”.
“The FNOOD is therefore of paramount importance and its results, associated with those of the preparatory work, constitute important contributions to facilitating and accelerating progress towards the achievement of the SDGs. I therefore take this opportunity to invite all the stakeholders represented here to take ownership of the experiences shared, especially the recommendations of this forum, in order to continue the implementation of the SDGs for more convincing results.” ajoute M. Alinsato.
From now on, there is a new impetus for the appropriation of the SDGs in Benin: the integration of local challenges and development policies and programs with the aim of the sustainable well-being of the Beninese population.
At the FNODD, 2023 edition, members of the Government, Parliamentarians, Prefects, Mayors, local elected officials, Representatives of international organizations, the UNS and accredited bodies, all took an active part in very constructive exchanges.
