West African countries get SDG7 strategy

NAIROBI, KENYA: A strategic plan towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal number seven (SDG7) has been availed.

The plan will accelerate the achievement of SDG 7 for the universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all.

This follows last week meeting in Accra Ghana organized by the Alliance of Civil Society organisations for Clean Energy, ACCESS Coalition.

In addressing the participants, John Kioli, Chairman of Kenya Climate Change Working Group which is the host of ACCESS Coalition in East Africa and a node for the region, said that he has seen the commitment of young people in making the world a better place.

He indicated that even though renewable energy sources like wind and solar have been successfully tapped, more than 80 per cent of people still rely on biomass energy. He felt that energy access needs to be redefined while voicing his concern over the importation of low- quality, sub-standard renewable energy solar lamps into African markets.

Jacqueline Kimeu Coordinator, ACCESS Coalition gave a brief overview of ACCESS Coalition highlighting that that network exists to advocate for people living in poverty to have access to safe, reliable and affordable energy, and for environmentally sustainable and efficient systems globally. She also pointed out that the Coalition is working across East, West and Southern Africa regions to strengthen efforts of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to deliver on universal access to energy.

Chibeze Ezekiel, Coordinator of SYND, was pleased that participants from across the region responded to the call to convene and develop the Strategy. He took participants through the African development bank (AfDB) and World Bank Group engagement processes.

Huzi Msheila, an ACCESS member from Nigeria and the CEO of the Clean Energy Initiative based in Nigeria reiterated that the strategy for delivering SDG 7 in the region is crucial and that the role of civil society in the the process is essential.

Once concluded, the Strategy will be implemented by ACCESS members in the West Africa region in fulfilment of the ACCESS Global Strategy.

Jacqueline Kimeu, International coordinator access (PHOTO: Courtesy)

Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND) hosted the two-day workshop which also culminated in the development of an advocacy strategy for engagement in the region. SYND is the ACCESS regional node for ACCESS in West Africa, and is one of three nodes that ACCESS has across sub-Saharan Africa.