'By 2025 towards 2030': African National Liaison Officers work to realize the Sustainable Development Agenda

The Road to 2030

More than 200 national and 18 regional project designs were proposed by African Member States for the 2022-2023 TC cycle.

“2025 is just around the corner, and we’re asking ourselves and asking you, what is the current situation?” asked Shaukat Abdulrazak, Director of the TC Division for Africa. “We must know where we stand, so that we may develop strategies that will take us to the next level, towards the 2030 SDGs. Therefore, we’ve been developing baseline data in selected areas, allowing us to better understand what’s available in terms of equipment, facilities and human resources.”

During the three-day meeting, NLOs were asked to review both existing and proposed projects to ensure that their objectives, targets and indicators are SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. In recognition of the need to consolidate their efforts into fewer, but larger projects, the NLOs were also encouraged to develop proposals and designs using an integrated approach which focuses on relevant, socioeconomic impact.

In addition to applying indicators to deliver results, National Liaison Officers are expected to closely assess the existing baseline data against the 2030 SDGs to design projects which explicitly and effectively close any gaps between the two.

For example, there are currently 15 countries in Africa which do not have access to radiotherapy services. In order to meet Target 3.4.1. of the Sustainable Development Goals—to reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment—the attending NLOs have committed themselves to the target of establishing radiotherapy facilities in six countries by 2025, and 11 countries by 2030.  

Reflecting the untapped potential of new partnerships and novel technologies to accelerate the impact of the regional programme, the concluding sessions of the meeting were devoted to an exploration of global trends in digitization, potential new partnerships in the region, and efforts to enhance cooperation between National Nuclear Institutions and UN Agencies in the continent.

Together with their counterparts in the TC Division for Africa, the NLOs and NLAs developed a list of recommendations and a relevant action plan to achieve the established targets and to satisfy their indicators by 2025. The action plan extends to include activities designed to promote the engagement of women in the TC programme, and to improve outcomes in key thematic areas like food and agriculture, radiation safety, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine.

“We must transform Africa from being a consumer of technologies to a producer,” Abdulrazak concluded. “We must have a vision and, together in modality of shared responsibility, we can change the situation on the ground.”