In Angola's first participation in the high-level political forum on sustainable development, Carolina Cerqueira said that information on 191 development indicators, out of a total of 231 formulated in the 2030 Agenda, had been identified in the government's actions and initiatives.
Thus, the minister said, Angola ranked with an "average above 82 percent alignment" between the National Development Plan 2018-2022 and the 2030 Agenda, the international agenda that contains 17 SDGs and serves as a basis for progress and evaluation of development in all countries, towards greater prosperity and justice for all.
Among the main goals presented, Carolina Cerqueira highlighted that the country intends to reduce the poverty index, which is "very high" and "tends to worsen due to the negative effects of the covid-19 pandemic."
The government's goal, said the official, is to achieve a percentage of multidimensional poverty below 27 percent of the population by the year 2030.
According to a 2020 report from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, consulted Tuesday by Lusa, "the incidence of poverty at national level is estimated at 54 percent, that is, more than 5 out of 10 people in Angola are multidimensional poor".
The Minister of State for Social Affairs also added that the coverage of social protection is "limited", corresponding to about 7 percent of the population of over 31 million.
"The coverage of mandatory social protection is limited, which is related to the wide extension of the informal economy," said Carolina Cerqueira, explaining that about eight out of 10 people employed in Angola have an informal job.
The official considered that the country "has been ravaged by an economic and social crisis", "in a crucial phase of its development process", but the Government has not postponed and will not postpone important reforms.
"We have not and will not postpone the important national reforms underway, especially in terms of consolidating democracy and the rule of law, fighting corruption, money laundering and all forms of crime and impunity, improving the business environment and diversifying the economy, as well as reforming the state," she said.
Among the main priorities of the executive, Carolina Cerqueira identified the eradication of hunger and poverty, education, health, gender equality, social protection, justice, human rights, and the environment.
In this sense, the Government is determined "to counteract hunger and poverty situations", promoting basic health conditions, education, access to energy, water, and sanitation, among other actions.
In terms of health, malaria continues to be "one of the main concerns", whose fight is going through the national malaria control program.
According to the minister, between 2000 and 2019, the average life expectancy of Angolans increased from 42 to 61 years, thus registering an increase of 19 years.
Carolina Cerqueira concluded that the voluntary national report "helped the country to reflect on sustainable development, assess the current state and put the future into perspective."
"We are, therefore, very proud to have started this process that we intend to continue and improve until 2030," declared the Minister of State for Social Affairs.
The work for the presentation, under the auspices of ECOSOC, of Angola's first voluntary national report was achieved after the creation of the SDGs implementation monitoring platform last year.
The ECOSOC high-level political forum on sustainable development has been taking place since July 6 and will end on July 16 with the adoption of an international ministerial declaration.
