UN Says Nigeria’s SDG Funding Gap Hits $10 Billion Annually

The Resident Representative to Nigeria, United Nations Development Programme, Mohamed Yahya shared that Nigeria has a $10 billion annual funding gap in order to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as per United Nations.

Speaking at the high-level steering committee meeting of the Integrated National Financing Framework for the SDGs in Abuja on Wednesday, Yahya said that the "financing constraint amid development challenges call for a coordinated approach to financing for SDGs and national development priorities," Punch reported.

"Nigeria has a funding gap of $10bn per year to meet the SDGs," he continued. "Hence, more integrated financing policy solutions and reforms are thus needed to ensure resilient, inclusive, and sustainable growth in Nigeria."

To accelerate the SDGs implementation in Nigeria, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals and the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning were joined by the United Nations Office in Nigeria and the European Union to seek specialized funds.

This fund would work as an Integrated National Financing Framework, which was officially established by the former President, Muhammadu Buhari in September 2022.

According to the official website of SDGs, the UN and its partners in Nigeria are working towards achieving 17 interconnected goals including no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water, and sanitation.

The goals also include affordable and clean energy, economic growth, infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities, production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institution and partnerships for goals.

SDGs were adopted in Nigeria in September 2015 and these goals are supposed to be achieved by 2030.

The UN is strengthening Nigeria with its "support through the provision of technical support to the Office of the Senior Special Advisor to the President on SDGs (OSSAP-SDGs) and line Ministries in an effort to ensure that planning and budgeting for development activities in the country are within the framework of the SDGs," as mentioned in UN's Nigeria website.

UN is also working closely with the Nigerian government to ensure that the SDGs are efficiently and effectively implemented and the resources allocated to improve the economy will have a positive impact on the poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

Aside from Nigeria, there are a total of 193 countries involved in the global agenda of SDGs. These countries include Norway, Sweden, Costa Rica, Rwanda, and Bhutan. To ensure that countries are working on these 17 interconnected goals, there is an annual meeting held every year to review the progress of every country.