With less than five years remaining to meet global development targets, African leaders are urging a shift from pledges to concrete, large-scale implementation, warning that financing gaps, fiscal pressures and climate challenges are slowing progress.

Speaking at the ongoing Twelfth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, policy makers and experts across the region called for urgent, coordinated action to accelerate delivery across the continent.

Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa or ECA, said Africa is operating in an increasingly difficult global environment marked by slowing growth, rising inequalities and intensifying climate shocks.

"Africa's challenge today is not a lack of frameworks. The challenge is implementation at scale," he said, urging countries to move beyond fragmented approaches toward coordinated, system-wide delivery backed by stronger financing and institutions.

The financing gap emerged as a central concern, with policymakers and private sector actors emphasizing the need to unlock investment at scale.

Ngone Diop, director of ECA's sub regional office for West Africa, warned that shrinking fiscal space is increasingly limiting governments' ability to finance development, calling for stronger public-private partnerships to mobilize resources.

"We must urgently strengthen innovative financing solutions and public-private partnerships to mobilize investments and accelerate SDG delivery across the continent," she said.

She added that rising debt levels are adding pressure, underscoring the urgency of developing sustainable financing pathways and bankable project pipelines.

Speaking on behalf of the African Union Commission, deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi said progress toward the SDGs remains uneven and off track.

"With less than five years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we must move beyond incremental progress toward accelerated transformational change," she said.

She emphasized that Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda are "mutually reinforcing", while warning that challenges such as youth unemployment, inequality and climate vulnerability continue to slow progress.

Emerging solutions such as debt-for-climate and debt-for-development swaps in countries including Senegal, The Gambia and Ghana were highlighted as practical tools to expand fiscal space and support investment in climate action and social sectors.

Uganda's Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, said countries must move "from commitments to concrete, measurable results," stressing the importance of innovation, regional integration and infrastructure in driving implementation.

Participants said stronger coordination among governments, development finance institutions and the private sector will be key to transforming initiatives into bankable projects capable of delivering large-scale impact.

sharon@chinadailyafrica.com