This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenya's efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have stalled. According to a 2020 report by the UN Secretary-General, the world was making progress on attaining SDGs before the pandemic, with a decline in global poverty and the development of national policies to support sustainable development.
However, the pandemic has reversed these gains, with the effects and measures to mitigate the spread of the virus overwhelming health systems globally and disrupting global value chains and supply products. The pandemic has caused businesses and factories to shut down, impacting severely on the livelihoods of half of the global workforce, and is expected to push tens of millions of people back into extreme poverty and hunger.
Kenya's effort to meet the SDGs has indeed slowed down due to the virus, with measures to mitigate the spread of the virus having a positive effect on public health but also putting a brake on crucial drivers of economic growth.
The last four months have demonstrated how failure to accelerate the pace towards attaining the 17 goals can have a devastating impact on the economy and society. One crucial lesson that Kenya must take into account is that 16 SDGs rely heavily on one goal - SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Accelerating the pace of fulfilling Kenya's commitment to global goals depends on how fast our economy grows.
A good starting point would be to understand the role of each stakeholder and how their innovations contribute towards realizing the SDGs. For instance, supporting SMEs through incentives will accelerate their growth, in turn, create jobs and wealth, and have a cascading effect on all other SDGs.
Kenya has undertaken several initiatives to ensure that the SDGs are achieved, mainly through the development and review of relevant laws and policies. However, according to a 2020 SDGs Readiness Report, several gaps in the SDGs legal framework continue to hinder their optimal attainment.
Therefore, there is a need to create a sustainable legal, institutional, policy and regulatory framework for implementation and monitoring. The report calls for the enactment of new laws where none currently exists, amendment of the existing laws in tandem with the SDGs, and implementation of legislation to deal with various concerns and specific goals.
SDGs are universally accepted, more so because they provide opportunities for different industries to create shared value. Even as we grapple with the current challenges brought upon us by the pandemic, we must not lose the long-term focus and mission to achieve the SDGs.
SDGs also offer Kenya an opportunity to make progress towards its national priorities as spelled out in Kenya Vision 2030. Unlike the predecessor, the SDGs have presented us with a great opportunity to significantly harness the potential of both the public and private sectors.
