The NDPC said unless the media partnered stakeholders to promote and implement the 17 goals with its 169 targets, it would be difficult for Ghana to achieve the 2030 target.  The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action that encourages a spirit of partnership between governments, private sector, research, academia and civil society organisations to ensure the right choices are made to improve life in a sustainable way for the future generation.

With its five overreaching themes namely; People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships, the SDGs tackle the root causes of poverty and cover areas such as hunger, health, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, energy, and economic growth.

It also covers industry, innovation, climate change, natural resources and peace and justice for the 193-member states of the United Nations who adopted the Goals.  Speaking with editors at a media engagement in Accra, Dr Grace Bediako, the Acting Director-General of the NDPC, said since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, Ghana had been integrating and localising the Goals into its policies and programmes, both at the district and national levels.

However, the level of awareness on the Goals was very low among the populace, she said.

She said Ghana had also been selected among 51 countries to subject themselves to a Voluntary National Review this year, a process which the country intended to use to increase public awareness and citizens’ engagement and promote national vision of the SDGs.

“But importantly, we want to highlight their linkages in the national medium-term development,” she said.    Supported by the UN system, Ghana is aligning its development priorities in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and private sector on achieving the SDGs.

Dr Bediako said the media’s role in national development was overwhelming hence the importance attached to the media partnership by the Government to educate and inform the citizens on the SDGs so they could support its implementation.

She said a large proportion of Ghanaians were unaware or less informed on the SDGs and Ghana’s prospect of success depended on the participation of all citizens in the implementation of the Goals.

Mr Omar Seidu, the Head of Demographic Statistics, Ghana Statistical Service, said the NDPC was leading Ghana to implement the SDGs in collaboration with the CSOs and called on the media to partner the Commission to hold the implementers accountable.

He said Ghana was still gathering data on the various thematic areas to inform the necessary actions to be taken in the implementation process.    Dr Felix Addo-Yobo, the Acting Director of Development Policy Division-NDPC, said the SDGs had come to rectify the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which recorded wastage and duplication of functions, among other things, due to lack of coordination.

The SDGs had brought about a sense of ownership, involvement in sharing experiences and improved partnership and collaboration between governments, private sector, faith-based organisations and other stakeholders, he said. 

Dr Louise Carol Serwaa Donkor, the Policy and Communication Analyst, SDG Advisory Unit, at the Office of the President, advised the media to see the sensitisation as a social contract, thereby using their platforms to cause a change, especially on the SDGs. Ms Cynthra Prah, the National Information Officer at the United Nations Information Centre, said the SDGs, unlike the MDGs, were sustainable and would help transform the world to meet the needs of future generations.

“It is global, indivisible and a shared vison for all humanity, and also people-centred” to ensure that no one was left behind in the development agenda, Ms Prah said.