The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Thursday, 19 February 2026, convened a meeting of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Implementation Coordination Committee (ICC) to strengthen national coordination towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

The meeting was held to engage members on planned activities for the year, outline priority coordination focus areas, and solicit inputs to enhance implementation effectiveness.

The session brought together representatives from key government institutions, oversight bodies and development partners to review progress and deepen collaboration in advancing the SDGs in Ghana.

In her welcome remarks, the Acting Director of the Development Policy Division at NDPC, Mrs Alice Amekudzi, emphasised the urgency of intensified action, noting that with less than five years remaining to the 2030 deadline, Ghana must strengthen coordination mechanisms and accelerate implementation efforts.

She recalled that the adoption of the 2030 Agenda in 2015 required strong institutional, financial and technical arrangements, stressing that platforms such as the ICC must be regularly convened to sustain momentum and ensure coherence across sectors.

Mrs Amekudzi further referenced Ghana’s presentation of its Voluntary National Review at the High-Level Political Forum in July 2025 as an important milestone that highlighted both progress made and persistent development challenges. She noted, for instance, that maternal mortality remains above SDG targets, underscoring the need for stronger cross-sectoral action and sustained political commitment.

She indicated that NDPC, working with partners including UNFPA, continues to support advocacy and coordination initiatives aimed at mobilising stakeholders and strengthening national ownership of SDG priorities.

A major highlight of the meeting was the presentation of the 2026 SDGs Work Plan, followed by discussions among members to provide technical inputs and identify areas requiring enhanced institutional collaboration.

The Committee also received a substantive joint presentation by NDPC and UNFPA on the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response (PRIMER). The presentation underscored that maternal mortality in Ghana remains unacceptably high at 301 deaths per 100,000 live births, significantly above the SDG target of 70, despite being lower than the West African and Sub-Saharan African averages.  

The briefing highlighted persistent regional disparities, with the Upper East and Volta Regions recording some of the highest maternal mortality ratios, and noted that nearly one in ten women in Ghana still faces a lifetime risk of dying from maternal causes.  

Participants were informed that most maternal deaths occur around the time of delivery and are largely preventable, with leading clinical causes including haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, unsafe abortion complications and sepsis. The presentation further pointed to systemic constraints such as weak referral systems, inadequate emergency obstetric capacity, shortages of blood and essential medicines, and financing gaps that continue to impede progress.  

The PRIMER initiative, a proposed five-year high-level political intervention championed by the President of Ghana, aims to accelerate the reduction of preventable maternal deaths and reposition maternal health as a top-tier national development priority. Its strategic focus rests on high-level political leadership, institutionalised accountability and sustainable domestic financing to fast-track progress toward SDG target 3.1.  

The meeting further noted that a Technical Working Group on Maternal Mortality Reduction is to be established under the SDGs-ICC framework to strengthen inter-sectoral coordination, joint planning, monitoring and resource alignment across implementing institutions.  

In addition, the Ministry of Finance presented the 2025 SDG Budget Report, providing insights into financing trends and the alignment of public expenditure with national SDG priorities.

The meeting also reviewed ICC membership and provided a platform for members to exchange views on strengthening coordination mechanisms going forward.

NDPC reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with stakeholders to enhance coordination, monitoring and reporting on the SDGs. Participants expressed their readiness to continue collaborating to ensure Ghana remains on track towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.