Jamaica Concerned That UN SDGs Global Implementation Has Stalled – Minister Johnson Smith

Jamaica is concerned that the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation has reached a global stalemate, says Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith.

“With just six years remaining for their implementation by 2030, we are concerned that, having reached and now surpassed the midway point, global progress on the implementation of the Goals has stalled,” she noted.

The Minister was addressing foreign representatives attending a Diplomatic Days 2024 event at the Ministry in downtown Kingston on March 13.

Noting that Jamaica shares the representatives’ fundamental desire for the peace and prosperity of all nations and their citizens globally, Senator Johnson Smith said the SDGs were widely accepted in 2015 as the blue-print to guide the achievement of these “noble objectives”.

She pointed out that in 2023, the international community marked the mid-point for the attainment of the Goals during a Summit held on the outturns, at the 78th Session of the UN.

The Minister informed that the Government has integrated the SDGs into the country’s long-term National Development Plan -Vision 2030 Jamaica, and has utilised the Medium-Term Socioeconomic Policy Framework to strategically prioritise national actions and policies toward achieving the Goals.

This, Senator Johnson Smith added, “has resulted in more than 95 per cent alignment.”

“Admittedly, implementation has been characterised by successes and challenges, due in part to the prevailing systemic and structural issues such as climate change vulnerability, fossil fuel dependence and high public debt, which continue to impede development efforts,” she indicated.

The Minister said the issues are further compounded by the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the geopolitical conflict in Europe and the Middle East, noting that these have impacted the global supply chain as well as food and energy prices.

Senator Johnson Smith pointed out that this is having a “persistent impact” on Jamaica’s middle-income status, which serves to preclude access to grants and concessionary financing.

She said even as Jamaica strengthens its fundamentals and works towards economic independence, given the global context in which the country operates, attaining the SDGs will continue to require bilateral, regional and multilateral partner support, including access to grants and concessionary financing.

“If we are truly to leave no one behind, it is vital that the partnerships we build serve to encourage fulfillment of international commitments, in particular on SDG financing, in order to revitalise the Partnership for Sustainable Development. Identifying new and innovative ways to bridge the gaps in policy actions and advance approaches toward the development goals are imperatives with which we must contend,” Minister Johnson Smith underscored.