September 2021 newsletter
Welcome back! We hope summer recess was able to provide you with some moments to recharge.
To start, given the prominence of the situation in Afghanistan, we’d like to highlight a private briefing for parliamentarians which we are conducting with the UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner, on the UNDP’s current stabilisation and early recovery being undertaken in Afghanistan. This is a difficult but defining time for the country, and we believe this briefing will provide a significant opportunity to hear from an organisation committed to safeguarding and enhancing the progress achieved in the region over the past 20 years. Details are TBC but please do register your interest with Grace Brown on browngb@parliament.uk.
We’ve highlighted below more of the upcoming APPG activities we have planned for the new term, as well as some information on Afghanistan and the SDGs.
This term marks the APPG’s sixth year of activity. It has been a road of routine challenges and unforeseen setbacks but also breakthroughs and global action. We are grateful for your commitment to the APPG and to the delivery of the Global Goals. We look forward to bringing you more opportunities to engage with the Goals; hear from key individuals and organisations providing practical and impactful projects; and bring attention to perhaps lesser-known areas of development that are playing a crucial part in making sure no one is left behind.
Should you wish to partner with the APPG on an event or project, or to hear more about our work, please contact our Secretariat, Alice Whitehead, on appg-globalgoals@bond.org.uk.
Best wishes
Theo and Jack
Theo Clarke MP and Lord Jack McConnell, Co-Chairs of the APPG on the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development
The Sustainable Development Goals in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has taken significant strides towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since 2015, including notable improvements in gender equality, seen through increased participation of girls in school, and greater political representation for women. The Government of Afghanistan had presented a Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) twice, the latest being in July 2021, just weeks before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.
In its 2021 VNR, the Afghanistan Government highlighted that in just six years it had reduced poverty, improved basic healthcare, made significant progress in reducing maternal mortality rates, reduced income inequality, increased school enrolment rates, improved female participation in public services and politics, and implemented important institutional arrangements to strengthen democracy. As an evidence of political ownership, the Government of Afghanistan had integrated the SDGs into its national development plans and created an institutional setup to guide and monitor SDGs implementation.
Much of this progress is under threat as we wait to see what happens next in Afghanistan. Years of conflict, the impact of the pandemic, ongoing violence and weak governance mean Afghanistan will continue to face significant development challenges, with women and girls, minority groups, human rights defenders and civil society activists at risk of having their rights eroded.
As mentioned, we are conducting a private briefing for parliamentarians with the UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner, on Afghanistan. Details are TBC but please do register your interest with Grace Brown on browngb@parliament.uk.
Implementing the SDGs in the UK and globally
The government recently published its Outcome Delivery Plans (ODPs), which set out each government department’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) priority outcomes, their strategies for achieving them, and the metrics that will be used to track performance.
Our Secretariat, Alice Whitehead, has analysed the new plans in this blog, which looks at whether the new plans an improvement, what the plans tell us about the government’s priorities, and what next as the government looks to build on the progress made.
Upcoming events
Report launch: Saving resources: Actions to achieve both climate goals and the Sustainable Development Goals
We will launch the report on our inquiry into the links between climate and the SDGs in the week of 18th October 2021. We have invited Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency COP, to speak at the event to discuss the interconnection between the drivers of – and solutions to – poverty and inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation, and the government’s work to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. We will share more information including registration details in the next few weeks.
We are organising a range of other events, including on climate finance, health systems, and the international development strategy. FCDO Minister Wendy Morton MP will also come to speak to the APPG later this year. Members will be notified in due course.