The 2026 Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (RFSD) adopted a declaration calling for transformative and coordinated action at scale to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs and development goals of Africa’s Agenda 2063. The declaration reflects Africa’s priorities for the 2026 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the 2026 UN Water Conference, and the 2027 SDG Summit, among other major global processes.
The ‘Addis Ababa Declaration on Turning the Tide: Transformative and Coordinated Actions for the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063’ (ECA/RFSD/2026/L.2) will directly feed into HLPF 2026 in July.
The 12th Session of the Africa RFSD convened from 28-30 April 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants focused on five SDGs under HLPF review this year – SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals) – and the corresponding goals of Agenda 2063. Delegates shared experiences, good practices, and lessons learned from implementing the two agendas.
Enjoying this article? Make sure you always catch our coverage by subscribing to our SDG Update newsletter.
In his opening remarks, UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Executive Secretary Claver Gatete pointed to the urgency of the moment, marked by heightened global uncertainty and challenges such as slowing global growth, widening inequalities, growing fiscal pressures, intensifying climate shocks, and conflicts. He said these challenges should “compel the continent to innovate, deepen partnerships and redouble efforts to address long-standing development constraints.” He also urged participants to harness Ethiopia’s convening role as the host of the 2027 UN Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 32) to forge meaningful partnerships to accelerate ambitious sustainable development and climate action.
Addressing the Forum, Uganda’s Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja acknowledged Africa’s progress on strengthening alignment of national development plans with the SDGs, expanding data systems for evidence-based planning, enhancing coordination mechanisms, and shifting focus towards accelerated implementation. She highlighted financing gaps, climate vulnerabilities, and the need to scale up innovation and partnerships among the challenges that remain. Nabbanja called on Forum participants to prioritize the nexus between peace and sustainable development, take full advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and strengthen enablers of development, such as finance.
Governments attending the Forum adopted the Addis Ababa Declaration, which outlines regional priorities with respect to follow-up to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), the Second World Summit for Social Development, and UNFCCC COP 30. The Declaration highlights UNFCCC COP 32 in 2027 as an opportunity for Africa to “drive the move from commitments to implementation, advance Africa‑led solutions on adaptation, resilience and climate finance, and deliver climate outcomes that respond to African realities and advance the continent’s long-term development pathways.”
The Declaration further urges African countries to strengthen integrated and effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 and to engage in “shaping the post‑2030 global development framework, ensuring that African priorities, experiences and lessons learned are fully reflected.” It calls for any post-2030 framework to align with Agenda 2063, advance metrics that go beyond gross domestic product (GDP) to measure of progress, and prioritize finance, trade, technology transfer, and capacity building.
The Forum is an annual multi-stakeholder platform organized by UNECA and the host government – this year, Ethiopia – in collaboration with the African Union (AU) Commission, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and UN partners. The Forum was preceded by a workshop of Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS), the eighth African Science, Technology and Innovation Forum, a workshop on voluntary national reviews (VNRs) and voluntary local reviews (VLRs), the seventh Africa Climate Talks, and an event on Africa’s Priorities and Common Position on Water and Sanitation for 2026 and Beyond.
The Africa RFSD is one of five regional gatherings for each group of UN Member States, convening in preparation for the HLPF’s July session. [12th Session of Africa RFSD] [Africa RFSD Curtain Raiser]