The African Union, African Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) collaborated to develop the 2024 Africa Sustainable Development Report (ASDR). The report presents a sobering but optimistic assessment of the continent’s progress toward Agenda 2063. Under the theme “The Africa We Want and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, the report urges bold action, innovation, and unity in the face of extraordinary difficulties at the halfway point of the global 2030 agenda and the start of Agenda 2063’s Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan.

With less than 6% of quantifiable targets on track to be accomplished by 2030, the report cautions that Africa is falling short of most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Urgent acceleration is needed for the following goals: eradicating poverty (SDG 1), reducing hunger (SDG 2), addressing climate change (SDG 13), promoting peace and justice (SDG 16), and fostering partnerships (SDG 17). In addition to experiencing data gaps that impede progress in institutional changes and governance, Africa is currently regressing on climate action.

Africa’s GDP is expected to rise 4.3% in 2025, making it the second-fastest growing continent in the world despite these challenges. It is anticipated that 17 African economies will expand by more than 5%, highlighting the durability and economic potential of the continent.

Nonetheless, poverty is still pervasive; more than 54% of the world’s impoverished reside in Africa. In 2022, 282 million people experienced food insecurity, a sharp increase in hunger. Vulnerability has been exacerbated by debt stress, conflict, climate change, and inadequate social safety nets. Furthermore, resources are being diverted from development by illicit money flows, which are estimated to be $88.6 billion a year.

In order to increase African nations’ access to affordable financing, debt relief, and climate money, the ASDR advocates for a rethought approach to development financing and argues for changes to the global financial system. At home, nations need to increase the size of their tax bases, fortify their institutions, and provide funds to “catalytic areas” like gender equality, education, food systems, and climate resilience.

The report highlights the importance of pan-African ownership and collaboration. Better data systems, regional integration, and the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are necessary for focused and coordinated development. 

This report is a call to action for change, not a statement of failure. Africa has an opportunity to change its development narrative by investing in its people, preserving its environment, and raising its voice internationally, especially with the Summit of the Future in 2024 and the Financing for Development Conference in 2025 approaching. 

The message is clear as Africa continues on its path to inclusive prosperity: creative, resilient, and sustainable solutions are vital, not optional. 

The Africa Sustainable Development Report 2024 can be read in its entirety here: