Prioritisation Critical In SDG's Implementation- UN Tips Malawi

Mia Seppo

The United Nation (UN) office in Malawi says prioritization of short term goals in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) is vital for the country amid resource scarcity. 

Following the adoption of the SDG’s by the UN General Assembly in September this year, Malawi is expected to start a National Planning Process of implementation of the SDG’s.

Speaking in an interview, the UN Resident Coordinator, Mia Seppo said “There is need to prioritise short term goals because there are limited resources and there are so many priorities in Malawi.”

“What Malawi needs to do in its National Planning Process is to prioritise. To think through the short terms; what are the most important goal’s and medium and long terms, what is the level of ambition.” She suggested

Seppo also hints that since SDG’s includes unfinished business of Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), therefore, four unaccomplished goals in the MDG’s are obviously very good short term starting points for Malawi.

“So to really have an impact there has to be prioritization because otherwise you are going to continue to have what you have in some areas which is a very high level of fragmentation with a lot of small, small, small interventions that doesn’t really add-up and linkup to something that could have a greater impact.” said Seppo 

Alice Harding Shackelford (left)

Commenting on the same, Alice Harding Shackelford, a UN Women Country Representative agreed with Mia Seppo. Shackelford said Malawi needs to take advantage of current Malawi Growth Development Strategy 2 review and the process of the National Development Strategy as a very strategic platform to take course of prioritization.

“The Development Cooperation Strategy which was adopted more than a year ago really brings also an effort around development partners to work in a more coordinated manner which is also very important and all other ongoing processes are going to help also moving to the prioritization process” she added

UN Urge Malawi Media To Help People Understand SDG's

Unite Nations office in Malawi, says the Media needs to take the initiative to help citizens stay engaged in both localization and prioritization process of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Mia Sepo, UN country representative was speaking in the Capital city, Lilongwe during the meeting with members of Bwaila Media Club (BMC) to discuss SDGs and its significance for Malawi’s dream of eradicating poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth.

She explained that SDGs is a very complex agenda which captures how development thinking has evolved from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) to when these goals were approved by member states. 

The UN Country representative therefore said, one of the very important lessons from the MDG’s is that “There has to be very strong ownership and very strong local anchoring for these goals to be implemented.

For that to happen, Sepo emphasized that the media needs to be very actively engaged in helping people understand and monitor implementation of SDGs.

“The Media in Malawi has an absolutely critical role in explaining what SDG’s are, in helping people really understand how SDG’s are different from MDGs as well as in monitoring the implementation of SDGs when Malawi has gone through the process of localizing and prioritizing those SDG’s.” she said

She also advised that as Malawi is about to embark on the National Planning Process in the prioritization and implementation of SDG’s, it is absolutely important that the process is inclusive.

Sepo emphasized that the planning has to hear very broad range of partners, players and voices in society so that those “priorities that Malawians agrees on” is “something that everybody can mobilize around and everybody can feel ownership of.”

She then noted that this cannot be achieved without the media. She underlined that the Media must be on the forefront to help people “stay engaged than understand why this is important for them”

“And again the media has a role to cover and to explain the national planning process and to build some enthusiasm around it as well, because planning can sound a little bit boring but when you take the SDGs, you take the localization of SDGs, the need to prioritize the SDGs and the need to come up with the plan for Malawi that really matters. And that really drives the development agenda” said Sepo

Chairperson for Bwaila Media Club, Peter Makawa said the encounter with the UN Country representative has been very fruitful as the media has gained more knowledge about the SDG’s.

“Member States have approved the SDGs some few weeks ago. So, this was a right time for us members of the media to engage the UN, to help us understand what the SDG’s are.” Said Makawa

He then disclosed that the Lilongwe based Press club is planning an ambitious project which will help to popularize the SDGs to all Malawians having learned that very few knew the just ending MDG’s.

“Even though Malawi managed to achieve half of the Millennium Development Goals, but very few Malawians knew them. So, as media we feel we have an obligation to engage citizens and help them understand these Sustainable Development Goals as well as how important they are to them.

We are therefore going to take an initiative which will help to reach a lot of Malawians. The project will help people understand these SDGs and demand government to play it’s role in the implementation of these SDGS. And more importantly, we want also to enlighten people that they also have to take part in the prioritization and implementation process of these goals”

SDG's are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.

The just ended 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted new resolution which consists of 17 SDGs and 169 targets and will form a development blueprint for the next 15 years. 

Malawi Set To Meet All UN ‘SDG's'

Having met four out of eight agendas in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Malawi is set to make another record of success in the achievement of ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs)

Both MDGs and SDGd are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.

President Mutharika ready to implement SDGs

The just ended 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted new resolution which consists of 17 SDGs and 169 targets and will form a development blueprint for the next 15 years.

President Mutharika was addressing the Journalists at Kamuzu Palace on Thursday evening after returning from his UN General Assembly trip when he courageously said his government is committed to ensure successful implementation of SDGs.

Asked on how his government is this time around set to localize the newly adopted resolution to support the country’s dream of ending poverty as well as attain sustainable economic growth, the President said number of activities have already been put in place and others will be introduced.

Among approaches to implement the SDGs Mutharika says he is set to empower 80% of Malawians working in farming by making sure that their produce are sold at high price so that they earn better income.

“80% of our people are in rural areas and are all farmers, they are the one’s who produce all things that we eat.  The only way we can end poverty is to make sure that they earn income for their product.” He said

To achieve this President Mutharika said Malawi has already identified number of cash crops among them legumes which will be traded through Commodity Exchange, and that he will also encourage formation of cooperatives so that farm produces are bought at reasonable prices.

Mutharika also mentioned that programmes that targets utra-poor families including public works programme and cash transfers will be strengthened as a way of meeting SDG’s targets.

“We have another programme is that of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The Minister of Trade met them in New York and they will soon come to Malawi to work with Malawi banks. They will be providing small loans to small and medium businesses for money starting from K8 million to K100 million.

If so many people can access to these loans, are able to start businesses then they are no longer poor.” Added Mutharika

The President further said Community Training Colleges which he introduced, will be one of the approaches to meet the SDGs. He said Government will promote and provide technical, entrepreneurial and vocational skills training and development to the youth in rural areas through Community Colleges. Graduates from such colleges will be provided with starter packs “so that they can start their own businesses.” He said

Mutharika has emphasized that there is no doubt that Malawi will do better in the implementation of SDGs because there are more lessons from the past specifically in implementation of MDGs.

“Malawi did not succeed in MDGs as we wanted.” said President Mutharika

“We started on wrong assumptions and we ignored the supply side. For example we said there should be universal primary education but we forgot that we need teachers, buildings, teaching materials, textbooks. We said there should be universal health but we forgot that we need doctors, drugs and medical buildings. So we did not succeed.

But the SDGs have taken a different approach. Unlike MDGs, each SDG have targets which is very important for the implementation side” said Mutharika

Attaining record of success of meeting SDGs targets will help Malawi to accelerate reduction of poverty levels that remains high among Malawians although the country has now become one of the shining example among African countries for doing extremely well in the MDGs.