Assessing and Evaluating the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA)

The Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs with 17 goals and 169 targets were adopted by world leaders in September, 2015. This paper argues that if the world had problems monitoring the MDGs - with 8 goals and 21 targets, it will find it impossible to track the SDGs. It recommends focusing on 60 highest priority targets. It also highlights the synergies and trade-offs among the various goals - especially between growth, inequality and sustainability which countries and the world will have to navigate. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), ostensibly, the financing plan for the SDGs widens the scope of development financing to include private and domestic financing - moving from billions to trillions. But such an approach also dilutes global responsibility for development and climate financing. The paper suggests an evaluation framework for assessing the AAAA and ensuring that the synergies among the SDGs are exploited and the trade-offs confronted. The paper suggests a pathways approach with concurrent evaluation every five years to assess and adjust programmes and policies.