When world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, they set extraordinarily ambitious targets. There was real optimism that substantial progress could be made towards achieving them, but the various shocks of recent years have made them more difficult than ever to reach. However, considerable progress has been made in laying new foundations for progress on most fronts. Report by Neil Ford .
The Covid-19 pandemic, wars, rising debt, inflation and growing geopolitical rivalry have all slowed progress. Yet despite being hard-hit by these global factors, Africa has continued to make important strides. The real question is no longer whether every target will be met by 2030, but how effective the SDGs have been in changing the continent’s development trajectory.
The SDGs comprise 17 interconnected goals and 169 specific targets covering economic development, social progress and environmental sustainability. They succeeded the Millennium Development Goals in 2016 but take a much broader approach.
The goals also complement the African Union’s Agenda 2063, giving the African and international communities a shared framework for long-term planning.
Recent challenges include the pandemic, which disrupted the global economy and national healthcare systems, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine increased food, fertiliser and energy prices. Higher inflation prompted central banks to raise interest rates, increasing borrowing costs just as governments were attempting to recover.
At the same time, conflicts in Sudan, the Sahel and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have displaced millions of people, while climate change has made droughts, floods and food insecurity more common in many parts of the continent. According to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 , these overlapping crises have slowed global progress on almost every goal.
Yet progress has been made even in the face of these obstacles. More people have access to electricity and healthcare in Africa than ever before. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is also gradually creating a larger integrated market of 1.4bn people that should lift the continent’s long-term economic growth prospects, while mobile banking is driving financial inclusion. The AfCFTA Secretariat has set a goal of doubling intra-African trade volumes between 2024 and 2035.
Areas of limited progress
Poverty remains the greatest challenge. SDG 1 calls for ending extreme poverty in all its forms, but more extremely poor people still live in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world.
The World Bank estimates that more than one-third of the region’s population continues to live in extreme poverty despite steady economic growth in many countries. Rapid population growth means that even where poverty rates fall, the absolute number of poor people can still increase. The number of Africans living below the poverty line in early 2026 was 460m.
Similarly, Africa possesses around 60% of the world’s uncultivated potential arable land, yet food insecurity is too common. Climate change, patchy transport infrastructure and underinvestment in agricultural supply chains have all constrained progress towards SDG 2 on ending hunger. According to the latest UN assessments, more than two-thirds of Africans cannot afford a healthy diet, and more investment is needed in irrigation, storage and food processing.
Progress has generally been greater in health and education, although here too the picture varies. Maternal and child mortality rates continue to fall, vaccination programmes have recovered following the pandemic and African pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity is growing.
Between 2000 and 2023, maternal mortality in Africa declined from 727 deaths to 442 deaths per 100,000 live births. Sub-Saharan Africa currently accounts for nearly half of the world’s stillbirths and neonatal deaths because of a systemic lack of high-quality prenatal care and clean maternity facilities.
School enrollment rates have increased steadily over the past two decades too, but rapid population growth and a shortage of teachers continue to limit educational quality. The average primary school enrollment rate in Africa has increased from about 60% in 2000 to around 80% this year.
Economic transformation ultimately depends on infrastructure, meaning SDG 9 – building resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation – can greatly influence all the other goals.
Roads, railways, ports, telecommunications and reliable access to electricity all lower business costs, encourage investment and improve access to schools and healthcare. Yet the African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that the continent faces an annual infrastructure financing gap of $68-$108bn.
Access to energy plays a similar role. Africa has made impressive progress on electrification over the past decade, including through mini-grids and off-grid solar. According to the World Bank and International Energy Agency (IEA), the electrification rate in sub-Saharan Africa increased from 40% in 2000 to 48% by 2012 and then 55.1% in 2024.
Renewable energy costs have fallen to become the biggest source of new generation capacity. Morocco’s 1.6GW Noor Midelt solar complex, Kenya’s 1GW of geothermal power and Egypt’s 1.8GW Benban solar park demonstrate how clean energy can improve energy security while supporting industrialisation. Even so, the IEA estimates that around 600m Africans still
lack access to electricity, highlighting the scale of the challenge that remains.
Industrialisation offers perhaps the greatest opportunity to accelerate progress on several SDGs at the same time. Africa continues to export many raw materials while importing higher-value manufactured products, limiting job creation.
Increasing local agricultural product and critical mineral processing would create skilled employment, strengthen regional value chains and reduce poverty. The AfCFTA provides an important framework for this transition by creating a larger integrated market within which African firms can achieve greater economies of scale.
Climate challenges
Climate change remains the greatest external threat to achieving the SDGs. Although Africa contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is already experiencing rising temperatures, prolonged droughts and devastating floods.
Agriculture, which employs more people than any other sector, is particularly vulnerable. According to the UN and World Meteorological Organisation, climate change already costs African countries 2-5% of their GDP through reduced agricultural production, damaged infrastructure and disaster recovery.
Protecting forests, biodiversity and marine ecosystems under SDGs 14 and 15 is often viewed as an environmental objective, but healthy ecosystems also support agriculture, tourism and water supplies, highlighting the interconnected nature of the goals. Achieving a balance between conservation and economic development will become increasingly important as urbanisation, population growth and industrial expansion place greater pressure on natural resources.
Governance is an often unnoticed SDG. Conflict and political instability continue to undermine progress across large parts of the continent by disrupting education, healthcare, agriculture and investment. The wars in Sudan and eastern DR Congo, together with continuing insecurity across much of the Sahel, demonstrate how quickly development gains can be reversed.
Financing may prove the biggest challenge of all. Many African governments are spending an increasing proportion of public revenues on servicing debt, eroding the resources available for healthcare, education and infrastructure. According to data compiled by the World Bank and UNCTAD, the proportion of their revenues African governments need for debt repayment has doubled over the past eight years, from 9% in 2017 to 18% today.
Outlook
With less than four years remaining until the deadline, it is increasingly clear that many SDG targets will not be achieved in full. Yet judging the initiative solely against the 2030 timetable risks missing its wider impact.
The goals have changed how governments plan development, how investors assess projects and how international institutions allocate finance. They have encouraged policymakers to recognise that poverty, health, education, infrastructure, climate resilience and economic growth cannot be tackled separately.
Africa’s greatest achievement may therefore prove to be not the number of targets formally met by 2030 but the stronger foundations that have been laid for future development. The continent has expanded access to electricity, healthcare, education and digital services despite a succession of global crises.
Regional integration is deepening through the AfCFTA, renewable energy is becoming an engine of economic transformation, and governments increasingly understand that long-term prosperity depends on building more diversified, resilient and inclusive economies.
The next few years will be critical. Continued investment in infrastructure, education, healthcare, renewable energy, and regional trade could still accelerate progress across many goals. Equally, tackling debt and conflict while financing climate mitigation will require stronger international cooperation than has been evident in recent years.
The SDGs were never intended as a checklist to be completed by a fixed deadline. They represent a long-term development vision that extends well beyond 2030. For Africa, the most important legacy of the goals may be that they have helped redefine what successful development looks like, and provided a roadmap for achieving it over the decades ahead.
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The SDGs’ roadmap to a better future
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