International aid is not keeping up with the depth of the crises and the breadth of the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on the African continent. Worse, it is decreasing. African civil society and the private sector must make a decisive contribution to the collective development effort, particularly in responding to the humanitarian and climate emergencies that threaten the continent's development.
The countdown has begun. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres keeps repeating it: Given the current “funding abyss” to achieve the SDGs by 2030, Africa has little chance of reaching targets set by the Agenda 2030. Virtually all of the continent's countries are behind schedule. Still lacking resources of its own, Africa is facing worsening humanitarian needs caused by persistent conflicts, the COVID-19 crisis, and climate-related disasters.
More than 300 million Africans are at risk of experiencing severe food insecurity. In the Horn of Africa, which is experiencing a historic drought, around 22 million people are exposed to acute food insecurity.