20 June 2019: Participants at the Sixth Meeting of the Sub-Regional Coordination Mechanism (SCRM) for North Africa agreed on a revised joint roadmap to support SDG implementation in 2019-2020, following on the creation of a draft roadmap in 2018. The SCRM is coordinated by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The SRCM also adopted a framework to implement and monitor progress on the roadmap.
In March 2018, the Fifth SRCM for North Africa agreed on a draft joint regional roadmap to support implementation of the SDGs in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia for 2018-2019. The draft roadmap focused on SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), among other SDGs, and emphasized the importance of gender as a cross-cutting dimension. The draft aimed to improve regional actors’ understanding and implementation of the SDGs, and called for including the SDGs in public policies, building statistical capacity in the region, ensuring follow-up and review on SDG implementation, and seizing additional opportunities for South-South cooperation.
The two-year roadmap covers employment, food security, climate change, regional integration, and reporting on the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.
UNECA’s Office for North Africa organized the Sixth SRCM meeting, which convened from 18-19 June 2019. In his opening speech, Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) Secretary-General Taïeb Baccouche said the coordination mechanism has provided “a foundation that can be progressively improved and operationalized to develop synergies” and improve the effectiveness of interventions. UNECA’s Lilia Hachem Naas underscored the importance of synergies in accelerating action to achieve the SDGs, highlighting a need for stronger information systems and innovative and strategic partnerships at all levels. Participants also supported partnerships with development banks and the private sector to mobilize financial resources in support of the SDGs.
The revised roadmap for 2019-2020 covers five thematic areas: awareness raising, advocacy, monitoring and reporting on implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063; employment; food security; climate change; and regional integration, including implementation of the African Free Trade Area (AFTA). The framework for implementation and monitoring features detailed plans for each of the five thematic areas.
Participants called for optimizing financial and human resources to facilitate implementation of the roadmap. [UNECA Press Release]