“The SDGs are about the future that we all want and indeed the future that we all need. It is not just desirable. It is an indispensable investment for our future – the future of our youth and that of our children. We cannot and should not fail them.”
— PRESIDENT NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO
His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic, was appointed in 2017 by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as co-Chair of the Eminent Group of Advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group of Advocates was established by Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in January 2016 to raise global awareness of the SDGs and the need for accelerated action. The advocates consist of a group of seventeen (17) inspiring and influential persons drawn from diverse areas of life, to support the Secretary-General in his efforts to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030. His Excellency co-chairs the group of Advocates with the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
His excellency has demonstrated consistent dedication and determination in achieving the SDGs by reaching out to African heads of states and business leaders to court their support and urgent action. By hosting SDG moments on the sidelines of at the African Union Summit, he successfully rallied support among African leaders scale up implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Through his effort, a CEOs Advisory Group on SDGs, comprising prominent business leaders, have been established in Ghana to champion private sector engagement in implementing the SDGs. The Advisory group have committed to set-up an SDGs Delivery Fund that will to pull together corporate social responsibility resources of the businesses to fund transformational SDGs initiatives, and a Green Fund to support the scaling up of interventions in the renewable energy sector.
President Akuffo-Addo is also passionate about popularizing the global goals as a means of mobilizing a critical mass of support among a wide range of actors for the SDGs. He is actively championing collaboration with the UN, the private sector, the media, academia, traditional authorities and youth groups, among others to educate the general public on SDGs in a bid to ensure that no one is left behind. Some of the notable initiatives include the Junior Graphic Essay Competition, SDGs Car Raffle, SDGs Investment Fair, Africa Netpreneur Summit with Jack Ma, CEOs Breakfast Meetings, and the Royal Dialogue with Ghanaian Traditional Leaders. The collaborative effort is successfully deepening awareness, engendering engagement, monitoring and implementing the SDGs at local, and national levels to ensure prosperity, and a safe and peaceful environment for all. For More details about these initiatives click here.
The past few years have been eventful in terms of outreach activities, and the extent of strategic partnerships brokered. With the declaration of 2021-2030 as the Decade of Action, the President and will further increase his commitment to promoting innovation solutions, mobilizing private financing and investments, and urging action at scale to give the world a good chance of achieving the global goals. And for Ghana, we will leverage the SDGs to transform our country to the Ghana We Want and actualising the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda. The time for action is now!