The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Tuesday engaged the Media to solicit their inputs towards the finalisation of Ghana’s Voluntary National Report (VNR) on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The engagement with the media formed part of the series of on-going stakeholder meetings being organised by the SDGs Implementing Coordination Committee (ICC), for the citizenry.

The process would enable the populace to contribute and to own Ghana’s report, which would be presented at the United Nation’s 2019 High-Level Political Forum, to be held in New York, USA in July.

Ghana’s draft SDGs report involved the country’s progress in implementing the SDGs within the past four years.

The country would be among the 51 countries that are supposed to report on their VNR on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the New York Meeting.

Mr Ken Owusu, Technical Advisor to the NDPC, said the media was being engaged as critical partners in the social-economic development processes, which Ghana was pursuing in line with the SDGs.

He said, the reviewing processes, was also expected to include groups from the traditional authorities, religious groups, the private sector, the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the Municipal, Metropolitan and Districts Assemblies, the Civil Society Organisations, as well as Parliament, to help reach a consensus to enrich the content of Ghana’s report.

Mr Owusu said after the validation, the final document would put together, and presented to the UN by mid-June before Ghana would go to New York in July to defend it.

Dr Christine O. Asare, a Member of the ICC, said the draft VNR report had been carefully put together by the ICC, and it contained data from the Ghana Statistical Service and data from other SDGs implementing national sources, as well as some development partners.

She described the SDGs as people-centred goals, which was “leaving no one behind” in the development process, and urged the media to assist the NDPC in creating more awareness on the Goals, as well as focus on their implementation among the populace.

Ms Patience Ampomah, Planning Analyst, NDPC, took the journalists through the highlights of the 17 SDGs and the areas that Ghana was currently working around, saying that, such issues included; No Poverty, No Hunger, Good health and Essential medicine, Education, Gender Equality and Water and Sanitation.

There were also issues on Good Jobs and Economic growth, Affordable and Clean Energy, Climate Change, Life below the Land, Life on the land and partnerships for the Goals.

The VNR facilitates the sharing of experiences and mutual learning to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the progress on implementation of the 17 SDGs with its three cross-cutting themes on “youth engagement in SDG; leave no one behind; and “synergies across the goals.