African Position Paper on the Role of Transport in the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The process of negotiating a new international development framework to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) is in its last phases. The Final Outcome Document on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was presented to the UN General Assembly. (UNGA) in September 2014. The transport sector community in Africa has expressed concern that the role of the sector has not been recognized in the 17 goals’ framework, only getting marginal reference in Target 11.2 under Goal 11 on Cities and Human Settlements. In a regional meeting of transport sector stakeholders held in Nairobi from 19th to 20th May 2014 and organised by the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), the Sub Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) and the African Community Access Programme (AFCAP) it was agreed that lobbying activities should be initiated to strengthen the position of transport in he SDG. It is currently recognised that the achievement of many of the MDGs and the respective targets has been dependent on the quality and reliability of transport. Africa, in particular, is one continent where spatial patterns of poverty, food insecurity, maternal health and child mortality highly correlate with remoteness and lack of transport. In almost all the 17 proposed Goals and related Targets there are multiple entry points to enhance the profile of transport in the post-2015 development framework, in particular considering the ‘facilitating’ role of transport in human endeavours