SDGs- Need for Scale and Speed

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was launched in 2015 to end poverty and set the world on a path of peace, prosperity and opportunity for all on a healthy planet.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demand nothing short of a transformation of the financial, economic and political systems that govern our societies today to guarantee the human rights of all.

12th October 2022- the year is almost over. This means we have only 8 decisive years to achieve the SDGs.

Global efforts to date have been insufficient to deliver the change we need, jeopardizing the Agenda’s promise to current and future generations.

The?Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 (https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/)?brought together the latest data to show us that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, progress remained uneven and we were not on track to meet the Goals by 2030.

Some gains were visible: the share of children and youth out of school had fallen; the incidence of many communicable diseases was in decline; access to safely managed drinking water had improved; and women’s representation in leadership roles was increasing.

At the same time, the number of people suffering from food insecurity was on the rise, the natural environment continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate, and dramatic levels of inequality persisted in all regions. Change was still not happening at the speed or scale required.

COVID-19, an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis threatened lives and livelihoods, making the achievement of Goals even more challenging.

COVID in various phases has exposed and exacerbated existing inequalities and injustices. In advanced economies, fatality rates have been highest among marginalized groups. In developing countries, the most vulnerable – including those employed in the informal economy, older people, children, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, migrants and refugees – risk being hit even harder.

Across the globe, young people are being disproportionately affected, particularly in the world of work. Women and girls are facing new barriers and new threats, ranging from a shadow pandemic of violence to additional burdens of unpaid care work.

António Guterres

Secretary-General, United Nations

"Far from undermining the case for the SDGs, the root causes and uneven impacts of COVID-19 demonstrate precisely why we need the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and underscore the urgency of their implementation."

"Health systems must be urgently strengthened in countries that are at greatest risk, with increased capacity for testing, tracing and treatment. Universal access to treatments and vaccines, when they become available, is essential. A large-scale multilateral response is needed to ensure that developing countries have the resources they need to protect households and businesses. Recovery packages must facilitate the shift to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy and support universal access to quality public services. And leadership and support are needed to ensure statistical organizations have the tools and resources to facilitate timely and smart decision-making. To guide and support these actions, the United Nations system has mobilized at all levels, leveraging the recent reforms of the United Nations development system."

"At the start of this Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs, I call for renewed ambition, mobilization, leadership and collective action, not just to beat COVID-19 but to recover better, together – winning the race against climate change, decisively tackling poverty and inequality, truly empowering all women and girls and creating more inclusive and equitable societies everywhere."

Leveraging the Power of Partnerships and Tech based innovative and sustainable solutions at all levels hold the key to both Scale & Speed.

Achieving SDGs is not the singular responsibility of any Government/Institution/UN Agency.

It is the duty of one and all to join the action and restore the world that we want.

Content Courtesy: https://unstats.un.org/