The Sustainable Development Goals and Ghana Development Nexus: An Empirical Assessment

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets demonstrate the scale and ambition of a vibrant new universal Agenda which seeks to build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and complete what the MDGs did not achieve. The SDGs seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. The SDGs are integrated, indivisible and balanced the three dimensions of sustainable development namely: the economic, social and environmental. Sections 79 of the SDGs (2015) document obligate Member States to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and subnational levels which must be country-led and country driven. Such reviews should draw on contributions from indigenous peoples, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders, in line with national circumstances, policies and priorities. The empirical statistical evidence using a micro-level data suggests that respondents (Ghanaians) in 2019 do not consider the SDGs as the panacea for development in Ghana by 2030.The paper therefore recommends that aggressive and pragmatic education on what the SDGs stand for be embarked upon as quickly as possible in Ghana and be sustained for the rest of the years left till 2030.