Welcome to the United Nations
About the Project
This project supports local and national governments in six African countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zambia—to accelerate inclusive SDG implementation. The focus is on strengthening capacities for SDG localization, enhancing governance, and promoting multilevel collaboration.
Building on the Italian-funded initiative Improved Local and National Government Capacities for Localizing SDG Progress through Voluntary Local Reviews (2022–2024), the project also helps address financing and implementation challenges for local SDG delivery and strengthens integrated planning, guided by the Principles of Effective Governance for Sustainable Development developed by the Committee of Experts for Public Administration and endorsed by ECOSOC in 2018.
Objective:
To strengthen capacities for SDG localization in Africa at the local and national level of government.
Beneficiaries:
Direct beneficiaries include government officials from national and local levels in the six target countries. Indirect beneficiaries include members of the public and communities at large.
Africa SDG Localization – Project Overview
Lead Division: UN DESA / DSDG and DPIDG
Partners: DESA/FSDO, DESA/SD, UNECA, UN-Habitat, UNDP, Local2030 Coalition, RCOs in respective countries, UN country teams, Economic Commission for Africa
Donor: Government of Italy
Funding Source: XB
Budget: $2,000,000
Time Frame: October 2024 – March 2027
Thematic Area: SDGs 11, 16, and 17
Region: Africa
Focus Countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zambia
- Regional, sub-regional, national and local capacity-building workshops on SDG localization (online and in-person).
- Analysis of and recommendations for local implementation of national and local development instruments.
- Preparation of analytical materials, toolkits, case studies, good practices and guides for SDG localization.
- Design and production of communications materials.
Outcome 1: Strengthened capacity of local, regional and national government officials and stakeholders to assess SDG implementation by reporting, monitoring and evaluating progress, and identifying gaps, challenges and opportunities.
Outcome 2: Enhanced capacity of national and local government officials to implement the 2030 Agenda at the local level, leading to the development and operationalization of SDG-related policies and governance frameworks.
Project Documents
Côte d’Ivoire
- Côte d’Ivoire Capacity Needs Assessment (link to be added)
Ghana
Mozambique
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone hosted a national capacity development workshop on advancing subsidiarity in SDG localization, organized by UN DESA/DPIDG in partnership with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. The workshop supported the strengthening of multilevel governance and local capacities to accelerate SDG achievement.
Capacity Development Workshop on “Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals: Advancing Subsidiarity in Practice”
Dates & Location: 9–11 September 2025, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Workshop Documents
🎥 Video Presentations
- Effective National to Local Governance for SDG Localisation — Mr. Prabin Maharjan, Programme Management Expert, UNPOG, DPIDG, UN DESA
- An African Perspective on the Local Online Service Index (LOSI) — Mr. Deniz Susar, Senior Governance and Public Administration Officer, DPIDG, UN DESA
- Innovative Practices in Local Government — Ms. Cristina Alicia Rodriguez Acosta, Inter-Regional Advisor, DPIDG, UN DESA
- Localizing the SDGs in Sierra Leone: Advancing Subsidiarity in Practice — Ms. Carol Pollack, Senior Sustainable Development Officer, DSDG, UN DESA
- Localizing the SDGs through Infrastructure Asset Management — Mr. Daniel Platz, Chief, Development Cooperation Forum Unit, FSDO, UN DESA
🎤 Presentations
- Multi-level Government and SDGs: An African Perspective — Prof. Tinashe Chigwata, Head, Multi-Level Government, Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
- Governance Eco-system of SDGs and Agenda 2063: An African Perspective — Ms. Sara Hamouda, Senior Continental Governance Officer, APRM Continental Secretariat
- Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals: Advancing Subsidiarity in Practice — Mr. Pietro Ceppi, Associate Expert, SDG Localization and Local Governments Team, UN-Habitat
- An African Perspective on the Local Online Service Index (LOSI) — Mr. Deniz Susar, DPIDG, UN DESA
- Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers — Prof. Tinashe Chigwata, Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
- Financing and Governance for Localization of SDGs: Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers — Mr. Swarray, Assistant Director, Policy Analysis Division, Bank of Sierra Leone
- Financing Local Government and SDGs — Prof. Tinashe Chigwata, Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
- Localizing the SDGs through Infrastructure Asset Management — Mr. Daniel Platz, Chief, Development Cooperation Forum Unit, FSDO, UN DESA
- Strengthening Local Capacity to Manage External Shocks and Risks — Prof. George Scott, Secretary General, AAPAM; Extraordinary Professor, School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
- Strengthening Local Capacity to Manage Shocks and Risk — Mr. Braima Koroma, Director of Research and Training, Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC)
- Capacity Building of Local Councils for Resilience Shocks and Disasters — Mr. Andrew Lavalie, Executive Director, Institute for Governance Reform, Sierra Leone
- Agenda 2063 Reporting Framework and APRM Innovative Tools — Ms. Sara Hamouda, Senior Continental Governance Officer, APRM Continental Secretariat
- Monitoring and Evaluation at the Local Level — Dr. James Edwin, Director General, National Monitoring and Evaluation Agency, Sierra Leone
- UN DESA in Advancing Localization of SDGs and Agenda 2063 — Ms. Nosipho Dhladhla, DPIDG, UN DESA
Preparatory readings are listed under the Resources tab for Sierra Leone and draw from the original project resources list.
Preparatory and reference readings associated with the Sierra Leone workshop include:
- Principles of Effective Governance for Sustainable Development (CEPA)
- Principle of Subsidiarity (CEPA)
- Strategy Guidance Note on Fiscal Federalism and Decentralization
- Strategy Guidance Note on Strengthening Urban Governance
- Strategy Guidance Note on Strengthening Municipal Finance and Local Finance Systems
- Strategy Guidance Note on Enhancement of Local Capacity for Prevention, Adaptation and Mitigation of External Shocks
- Strategy Guidance Note on Multi-level Governance
- Inter-Agency Policy Brief: Accelerating SDG Localization to Deliver on the 2030 Agenda (2024)
- Curriculum on Governance for the SDGs: Toolkit on Effective National to Local Public Governance for SDG Implementation
- African Union Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 (Feb 2024)
- De Visser, Steytler & Chigwata (2021). Fact Sheets on Decentralisation in Africa: A Short Guide
- OECD (2019). Making Decentralisation Work: A Handbook for Policy-Makers
- Boex, Williamson & Yilmaz (2023). Fiscal Decentralization, Local Public Sector Finance, and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations: A Primer
- Municipal Finance and Localizing the SDGs
- Multi-level Government and Localizing the SDGs in Africa
- Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers – Brief
South Africa