Malawi Launches the National Voluntary Review (VNR) of the Agenda 2030

The Minister of Finance, Honourable Sosten Gwengwe, has urged stakeholders in the country to focus on Sustainable Development Goals that will help in laying solid foundations for achieving an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant industrialised nation.

Speaking when he launched the National Voluntary Review (VNR) of the agenda 2030 in Lilongwe, held under the theme: Reviewing Malawi’s readiness to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, Honourable Gwengwe said he was pleased to note that Malawi is reviewing all 17 SDGs to appreciate the level of progress and effort in achieving them. The United Nations encourages countries conducting National Voluntary Reviews to mainly focus on five SDGs.

“It is pleasing to note that Malawi is reviewing all 17 SDGs to track milestones regarding the achievement of the Goals. I urge all stakeholders to fully own the process and ensure citizens are involved,” said Gwengwe.

Speaking earlier, United Nations Resident Coordinator a.i. Shigeki Komatsubara applauded the Malawi Government for undertaking the second VNR in a space of two years, after 2020, saying it demonstrates Malawi’s commitment to achieving the SDGs.

“The Malawi Government has shown great commitment in its efforts to effectively implement the agenda 2030 and achieve the SDGs, we are fully committed to support the process to ensure Malawi delivers a credible VNR,” said Komatsubara.

The UN Resident Coordinator a.i. said technical support from the United Nations system is being provided through the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisory Group (MEAG).

“The MEAG is providing relevant information collected from the UN family, supporting the development of data collection tools, and is helping to review the inputs collected during the consultations and just like the last VNR, the UN system is happy to assist the government in accessing available regional and global resources that will strengthen the VNR process in Malawi,” he said.  

Komatsubara added that the UN system has already mobilized around USD 86,000 to help with the consultations, data collection and analysis and other logistical processes. He said the UN will also avail its technical expertise to support the government in undertaking public consultations and engagement across different stakeholders including local leaders, chiefs, faith-based organisations and their leaders, youth, women and children, communities, Persons with Disabilities, and refugees.

Voluntary National Review is a mechanism for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national level and reporting on them at the global level annually, specifically at the High-Level Political Forum under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council.

Malawi will present its second Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report on progress around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the 2022 High-Level Political Forum in July this year.