Download the Forum Booklet; the 11th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development.
The Eleventh Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11), convened in Kampala, Uganda in April 2025, serves as Africa’s premier platform for tracking progress and catalyzing action on global and regional sustainability agendas. Established as an annual intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder gathering mandated by the United Nations and the African Union, it plays a critical role in aligning the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with Africa’s own Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want”. The Forum’s purpose is to enable collective follow-up, peer learning, and policy advocacy that drive inclusive, people-centered development across the continent. Now in its eleventh session, ARFSD-11 comes at a pivotal moment – with only a few years remaining until the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – underscoring the urgent need to accelerate implementation and overcome current shortfalls in progress. Its convening signifies a renewed commitment by African nations and partners to reinvigorate sustainable development efforts at a critical juncture.
The theme of ARFSD-11, “Driving job creation and economic growth through sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063,” encapsulates the Forum’s focus on actionable strategies to spur development. This theme reflects an imperative to boost economic growth and employment while safeguarding social inclusion and environmental stewardship, recognizing that Africa – like the rest of the world – must ramp up efforts to achieve the SDGs. Accordingly, the Forum’s objectives include a thorough regional appraisal of progress and challenges in implementing both the UN 2030 Agenda and Africa’s Agenda 2063. An in-depth review of five priority SDGs has been slated – namely SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) – alongside their corresponding targets in Agenda 2063. Through this lens, ARFSD-11 will facilitate peer learning and champion evidence-based policymaking to scale up financing and innovative solutions for sustainable development. It will also look ahead to global milestones: the Forum serves as the regional preparatory platform for Africa’s collective input to the 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum in New York and the Second World Summit on Social Development in November 2025, ensuring that Africa’s priorities and common positions are strongly articulated on the world stage. The expected outcomes – including a set of Key Messages and the Kampala Declaration – will distill these priorities and commitments, providing a roadmap for accelerated action in the years to come.
