Sixty-four percent of Ghanaians want SDG 16 to be a priority

General News on Thursday, June 13, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-06-13

A survey conducted by the West African Peacebuilding Network (WANEP), a regional civil society organization, found that 64.7 per cent of Ghanaians wanted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 16 to be given priority.

SDG 16 aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, to ensure access for all to justice and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

The study "National Review of Progress in Implementing the SDG 16+ Peace Objectives in Ghana and the Role of Civil Society Organizations" was conducted from January to March in nine regions: Volta, Oti, Great Accra, Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, savannah, north and northeast.

The findings of the study were unveiled Tuesday in Accra by Ms Beatrice Brew, Program Officer, Research and Capacity Building, WANEP and Mr Albert Yelyang, National Network Coordinator, WANEP – Ghana, during the meeting. a stakeholder validation meeting on research on the National Voluntary Review (VNR) of the SDGs.

The study, which had 394 respondents; used the mixed method approach: quantitative (survey questionnaire) and qualitative (group discussions and interviews with key informants).

It included 14 key informant interviews, 12 focus groups, and approximately 390 survey questionnaires.

It should be noted that each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals was addressed separately in the survey.

Thus, the individual objectives are not compared to each other and therefore do not represent a sum of 100%.

The findings revealed that it was peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16) that scored highest with 64.7%, or 255 "Yes" responses out of 394.

Of the 394 respondents, 183 (46.4%) wanted SDG 3: Health and Well-being to be a priority, while of the 394 respondents, 172 (43.7%) wanted decent work and economic growth (objective 8).

With regard to SDG 6: Water and Sanitation, 159 (40.4%) of the 394 wanted this to be preteritated compared to other objectives.

With regard to SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, 105 respondents out of 394 were of the opinion that priority should be given to this objective.

Of the 394 respondents, 98 (24.9%) wanted SDG 5: Gender equality to be prioritized; while for the rest of the SDGs, 31 (7.9%) of the 394 were in favor of their priotisation.

Regarding awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, 73.9% of those surveyed said the government had not sensitized enough, while 18% said the government had created enough. with 8.1 saying that they were not sure.

Ms Brew said the purpose of the study was to identify progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, the cross-cutting challenges of revising the Sustainable Development Goals and the challenges ahead. implementation at the national level.

She also said that there was also a need to identify perspectives, including the coordination of appropriate awareness raising and civic education mechanisms, and support the consolidation of multi-stakeholder and multi-dimensional SDG partnerships in Ghana to the extent where they relate to objectives 5 and 16.

Ms. Levinia Addae-Mensah, Program Director and Deputy Executive Director, WANEP, said that, relying on the principle "Leave no one behind", the focus being on the goal 16 Sustainable Development Goals, WANEP and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) undertook a fictitious evaluation of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, focused on the implementation of Goals 5 and 16 at the local level.

She congratulated the government for taking the bold step of participating in the NRV process, which aims to review the level of progress made in implementing the SDGs.

Mr Yelyang said the study revealed that despite many positive aspects, in terms of implementation and achievement of targets in Ghana by 2030, the SDGs were present in Accra, Ministries and Agencies (MDA), Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs), but may not be located at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA).

He recommended that a national program for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals include awareness, awareness and monitoring frameworks on the implementation and achievement of objectives.

Ms. Kristina Miletic, Knowledge, Policy and Advocacy Project Assistant, GPPAC, who gave an overview of the NSV of the SDGs in Cameroon, said the ongoing conflict in Cameroon was hampering efforts to achieve the SDGs Here 2030.