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  2. Blog on SDG16

Blog on SDG16

The importance of subnational governments

In most countries around the world, subnational governments (SNGs) are on the front lines in implementing programs to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The subnational governments are the primary level of government responsible for delivering education, clean water, sanitation, basic health care, sustainable cities, basic infrastructure and many other aspects of the SDGs. Across the world, SNGs are responsible for ensuring their population’s public health, safety, and social… Read More

Africa, SDG budgeting and Covid-19: to suspend the ongoing reforms is not the best decision

Prior to Covid-19, the SDGs were gaining traction among African governments as a framework to focus policy on inclusion, equity, economic growth, and sustainability. Some African countries have presented their progress reports on the SDGs in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). From 2016-2020, the African Group has conducted or planned for 2020 44 VNRs. Then came the current crisis causing a shift in the focus of policymaking from the SDG long-term agenda to the Covid-19 short term emergency.  … Read More

Post-conflict environments and Covid-19

The establishment of a viable public administration is a key part of State-building in the aftermath of conflict and of supporting long-term peacebuilding. In previous sessions CEPA has discussed issues facing many governments and groups who exist within a precarious state of post-conflict where threats of insecurity and violence and legacies of injustice and mistrust make government extremely difficult. To these issues we can now add Covid-19 and the potentially devastating effects on already… Read More

COVID-19 Makes Effective Governance for Sustainable Development More Urgent Than Ever

The full realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depends on a common understanding of the basic principles of effective governance for sustainable development. Adherence to these tenets of governance underpins progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the manner in which we deal with the global COVID-19 pandemic.   Achieving SDG 16 would reduce the chances that future situations turn into crises, and when such crises do occur, that… Read More

Public-Sector Workforce of the Future: Observation Drawn from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated over the past months the crucial need on the part of governments to accelerate innovative breakthroughs and digitalisation to respond to the crisis, it has also revealed the vital importance of the public-sector workforce in essential fields. In all countries, this pandemic has brought back into the limelight the public-sector personnel that remain indispensable to save lives and provide basic services to the confined population, i.e. nurses and… Read More

How could COVID-19 shape institutional reforms and creation of a public-sector workforce of the…

On 13 May 2020, the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) starts its 19th session with a virtual meeting that combines two topical agenda items: Promoting effective governance and institutional reform to accelerate delivery of the SDGs [item 4], and Government and public sector workforce of the future [item 7]. Both themes are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and action on them will play a key role in the recovery.  What lessons can be drawn with respect to building… Read More

Budgeting for the Sustainable Development Goals

As government budgets significantly influence people’s lives and well-being while also providing opportunities to address societies’ most pressing needs, transparent, inclusive and credible budgets become key policy objectives. Moreover, the achievement of the SDGs depends on the ability of governments to execute budgets as intended and in line with national development objectives and needs. That said, opaque budget-making practices and unbalanced budget compositions, with underspending in… Read More

Public administration, state-building and peacebuilding in post-conflict situations

There is a large and growing gap in levels of development between countries that have experienced conflict and those that have not. Conflicts reduce GDP by an average of 2 per cent per year and affected populations are less likely to be educated, have access to basic services and enjoy sustainable livelihoods. The 10 countries with lowest scores for maternal mortality and gender-based exclusion and violence are all conflict-affected2.    The importance of effective public administration in… Read More

Stories on Public Sector Innovation – Preventing child marriage and empowering girls through…

Public sector transformation is critical component in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the ways the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs promotes transformation is through recognizing successful public sector innovations around the globe through its flagship activity United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA). The annual programme rewards the achievements and contributions of public… Read More

UN DESA and African Union Join Forces to Accelerate Action for Integrating the Principles of…

The African Regional Workshop on Effective Governance for Sustainable Development: Putting Principles into Practice took place in Pretoria, South Africa from 30 October to 1 November. Organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the African Union/African Peer Review Mechanism in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, the workshop constituted a clear milestone in Africa’s sustainable development journey. 84 senior public officials, close to… Read More

The Focus of HLPF 2020, the How Question in Public Administration, and the ECOSOC Endorsed…

As the High-level political forum of 2020 adopts its main theme of 'Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development', public sector reform takes the central stage in sustainable development praxis. A glaring example comes from the recent African Regional Workshop: Effective Governance for Sustainable Development: Putting Principles into Practice, organized by the UN DESA in partnership with the African Peer Review Mechanism… Read More

Overcoming Global Digital Divides through a Five-Step Strategy

The world is entering the digital age, with half of the global population online. It is unleashing unfathomable opportunities for sustainable development.  According to a recent estimate by UNCTAD, Global Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, a proxy for data flows, grew from about 100 gigabytes (GB) per day in 1992 to more than 45,000 GB per second in 2017; by 2022 global IP traffic is projected to reach 150,700 GB per second, driven by more people coming online and by the expansion of the Internet… Read More