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October 15 2023

UN chief reinforces call for multilateral reform, outlines next steps

Global leaders issued a resounding call for reform and renewed multilateral cooperation during the General Assembly’s crunch week, the UN chief told top diplomats meeting in New York on Wednesday.

Other key priorities to emerge were the state of the environment and ensuring responsible use of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Secretary-General António Guterres added.

Against this backdrop, the UN’s visionary Our Common Agenda presents proposals and ideas that can bridge the gap, “between the world as it is and the world as we know it can be,” Mr. Guterres said.

The coming year of preparations for the Summit of the Future will be critical he told Member States, highlighting four main areas of work ahead.

The proposals and ideas in Our Common Agenda are bridges across the aspiration gap – between the world as it is, and the world as we know it can be
— Secretary-General Guterres

Renewing the social contract

Our Common Agenda emphasizes renewing the social contract based on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – the SDGs – the UN chief said.

This includes strengthening the public sector, creating green and digital jobs, ending violence against women, and promoting human rights.

“The high-impact initiatives set out at the SDG Summit will enable us to step up our activities,” the UN chief said.

Youth and the future

The report recognizes the key role of young people and future generations, harnessing their energy and creativity through a new UN Youth Office.

The goal is to make global governance more responsive and accountable to their needs, with a focus on climate and education, he said.

Transforming global governance

The report also places an emphasis on adapting intergovernmental decision-making to modern realities, including discussions on strengthening global governance in areas like health, environment, and digital cooperation.

Proposals for deep reforms to the international financial architecture are gaining traction globally and will be pursued at key meetings, including the COP28 climate conference in Dubai this year, and next year’s Summit of the Future.

UN 2.0

The Secretary-General also highlighted that steps are being taken to transform the UN system by updating its culture and skills across key areas.

Initiatives include launching a Scientific Advisory Board, establishing a UN Futures Lab, and increasing engagement with stakeholders like civil society, parliamentarians, and the private sector.

Advisory bodies on regional government and artificial intelligence will also be set up, he said.

Next steps

Mr. Guterres highlighted his policy briefs on the proposals of Our Common Agenda, the report of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, and the SDG Summit in High Level Week that provide a successful model for next year’s marquee summit.

“Together, we have already taken significant steps towards the inclusive, effective, networked multilateralism that our circumstances demand,” he said, urging governments for their strong engagement in the coming days.

October 15 2023

World Habitat Day focuses on cities as drivers of growth

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Priming cities to become drivers of economic growth and recovery in the aftermath of crises such as conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic is the focus of World Habitat Day, observed on Monday.

Global economic growth is declining to about 2.5 per cent this year, the UN said. Apart from the initial COVID-19 crisis three years ago, and the global financial crisis in 2009, this represents the weakest level since 2001.

Given the size of the contribution of cities to national economies, the future of many countries will be determined by their productivity.

Investment and access

Urban areas can promote inclusive, green, and sustainable growth, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for the Day.

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“Building greater resilience and better protecting vulnerable populations requires far greater investments in sustainable infrastructure, early warning systems, and affordable, adequate housing for all,” he said.

“At the same time, we must work to improve access to electricity, water, sanitation, transport, and other basic services – while investing in education, skills development, digital innovation, and entrepreneurship.”

In this regard, “local action is vital, and global cooperation indispensable,” he added.

Planet urbanizing rapidly

The push for more resilient, safe and inclusive cities is among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which point the way to a fair, just and green future for all people and the planet by 2030.

Currently, more than half the world lives in cities, which is projected to rise to 70 per cent by 2050. Over one billion are living in slums, and their numbers will also increase.

Speaking at the official ceremony for World Habitat Day in Baku, Azerbaijan, the head of the UN’s urban development agency said countries are “far behind” in achieving SDG 11. The biggest challenge is data reporting and monitoring at the national and local levels.

Fair financing

Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, recalled that at the recent SDG Summit at UN Headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General urged world leaders to strengthen both multi-level governance and cooperation.

She also drew attention to “the elephant in the room” – financing – noting that the issue was raised by most delegates at the UN General Assembly last month.

“As the Secretary General said, we need to reform the current unsustainable and unfair financial system,” she told participants.

“We cannot expect least developed and small island developing states to implement the SDGs as well as climate adaptation measures if 70 per cent of their total revenues are used to service debt.”

Ms. Sharif said UN-Habitat is working with over 600 cities in all regions of the world and will finalize a position paper on financing sustainable urbanization.

Urban October

World Habitat Day has been commemorated annually since 1986.

It marks the start of Urban October, which provides an opportunity for people everywhere to join the global conversation around the potentials and perils of a planet that is becoming ever more urban.

The month concludes with World Cities Day on 31 October.

October 15 2023

WHO approves second malaria vaccine for children

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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday recommended a new anti-malaria vaccine for children, a move that could offer countries a cheaper and more readily available option than the world’s first shot against the parasitic disease.

The R21/Matrix-M vaccine, developed by Britain’s Oxford University, can be used to curb the life-threatening illness spread to humans by mosquitoes, the WHO said, stating that “both vaccines are shown to be safe and effective in preventing malaria in children and, when implemented broadly, are expected to have high public health impact.”

It is the second malaria vaccine recommended by WHO, following the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine, which received a WHO recommendation in 2021.

According to WHO, malaria “places a particularly high burden on children in the African Region”, with nearly half a million children dying each year.

“As a malaria researcher, I used to dream of the day we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria. Now we have two,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

Unprecedented demand

Demand for malaria vaccines is unprecedented; however, RTS,S is in short supply. The addition of R21 to the list of approved shots is expected to result in sufficient supply to benefit all children living in areas where malaria is a public health risk.

Tedros described it as “a vital additional tool to protect more children faster, and to bring us closer to our vision of a malaria-free future.”

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said the shot “holds real potential to close the huge demand-and-supply gap. Delivered to scale and rolled out widely, the two vaccines can help bolster malaria prevention and control efforts and save hundreds of thousands of young lives in Africa from this deadly disease.”

Next steps

WHO is now reviewing the vaccine for prequalification. Having got approval that will enable GAVI [a global vaccine alliance] and Children’s Fund UNICEF to buy the vaccine from manufacturers, added Tedros.

The vaccine will be rolled out in some African countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria in early 2024, and will be available in mid-2024 in other countries, Tedros said, adding that doses would cost between $2 and $4.

According to Tedros, WHO approved the new malaria vaccine based on the advice of two expert groups: Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and the Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG).

Recommendation on dengue, meningitis

WHO also recommended Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ vaccine against dengue for children aged six to 16 living in areas where the infection is a significant public health problem.

Dengue, common in tropical and subtropical climates, is a viral infection spread from mosquitoes to people.

WHO’s advisory group SAGE also recommended that all countries in the African “meningitis belt” introduce what it described as (Men5CV) into their routine immunization programmes. It said a single dose scheduled at nine to 18 months of age should fight the disease.

WHO added that “in high-risk countries, and countries with high-risk districts, a catch-up campaign should also be conducted at the time of the introduction of Men5CV, targeting all individuals aged 1 to 19 years.”

October 15 2023

Sudan: WHO supports battle against cholera in the east

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The World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up support in Sudan, where authorities have declared a cholera outbreak in Gedaref state amid the ongoing brutal conflict between opposing militaries.

The UN agency said on Friday that 264 suspected cholera cases, four confirmed cases and 16 associated deaths werereportedin the eastern state as of 25 September.

Investigations are taking place to determine whether the disease has spread to Khartoum and South Kordofan states, which have seen increased cases of acute watery diarrhoea.

Sampling and surveillance

WHO is deploying rapid response teams to the affected localities and is actively supporting the Ministry of Health to transfer samples of suspected cases to the Public Health Laboratory in Port Sudan.

Surveillance is ongoing in affected and high-risk areas to identify and address risk factors. A request is going out to the international body managing emergency vaccine supplies during major outbreaks, the ICG, for oral cholera vaccines.

Access amid war

The WHO Representative in Sudan, Dr Nima Abid, visited Gederaf state on 17 September and met with health authorities and partners to coordinate response to the outbreak.

He stressed the importance of having unhindered access to the affected areas and nearby locations.

“A cholera outbreak

“A cholera outbreak can have a devastating effect in the context of a health system already overstretched because of war, shortages of medical supplies and health workers, malnutrition and access challenges,” he said.

Healthcare under fire

The war in Sudan erupted in mid-April. Fierce fighting between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left thousands dead and uprooted more than five million, with impacts across the region.

Sudan is also grappling with disease outbreaks and malnutrition, which have been compounded by heavy rains and flooding. The health system is overwhelmed by attacks on facilities as well as the scarcity of medical supplies and equipment, health workers and operational funds.

Some 70 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected states are non-functional, while active hospitals elsewhere are overwhelmed by the influx of internally displaced people.

Support, supplies and training

WHO said that even before the outbreak was declared it had already provided cholera supplies such as antibiotics, oral rehydration solution and intravenous fluids to six states in Sudan.

The agency was also supporting three cholera isolation centres in Gedarefstate, providing medicines and health supplies to two facilities, and equipment and medical supplies to the third.

Earlier this year, more than 2,800 Sudanese health workers took part in an online training course conducted by WHO on the management of acute watery diarrhoea in times of crisis.

Another online course was held this week for 8,000 health workers which covered cholera, dengue and malaria management protocols.

October 15 2023

UN sets out bold solutions to rescue SDG finance

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Taking urgent steps to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, world leaders launched a high level dialogue on Financing for Development on Wednesday.

The big objective of the major UN General Assembly meeting is to unlock innovative and practical solutions to close the widening divisions between rich and poor.

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs which drives the UN’s effort on SDG financing, notes that although fiscal challenges are mounting, “there is a window of opportunity if we act now.”

Financial divide

Most developing countries suffer from severe debt problems. And one in three countries around the world is now at high risk of suffering a fiscal crisis, according to the UN.

These countries cannot fund progress on the SDGs if they are facing exorbitant borrowing costs and paying more on debt servicing than on health or education.

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“Developing countries face borrowing costs up to eight times higher than developed countries – a debt trap”, warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “and one in three countries around the world is now at high risk of a fiscal crisis.

“Over 40 per cent of people living in extreme poverty are in countries with severe debt challenges”.

Held every four years since 2015, This year’s High-level Dialogue takes place at a critical moment, when only around 15 per cent of SDG targets are on track.

Member States noted that while progress has been made across all action areas of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – the roadmap for financing the SDGs – many of its finance commitments remain unmet.

They added that challenging economic prospects amid the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and intensifying climate change have put financing for the SDGs under increased pressure.

Innovative approaches

According to Mr. Guterres aggressively scaling up SDG financing will require innovative approaches, bold policy decisions, and new sources of funding.

Member States welcome the UN Secretary-General’s proposal for an SDG Stimulus of at least $500 billion US dollars per year to significantly increase affordable, long-term financing for development.

They also support his call for deeper and longer-term reforms to the international financial architecture, which currently fails to serve as a safety net for all countries and exacerbates inequalities.

Solutions must be systemic

“It is clear that the systemic problems of financing for sustainable development require a systemic solution: reforms of the global financial architecture,” said the UN chief.

He is also calling for a new Bretton Woods moment, when countries can come together to agree on new global financial architecture that reflects today’s economic realities and power relations.

“Together, we must turn this moment of crisis into a moment of opportunity, find joint financing solutions to rebuild global solidarity, and create new momentum for sustainable development and climate action,” Mr. Guterres said.

October 15 2023

UNESCO: 250 million children now out of school

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The number of children missing out on any schooling has increased by six million, bringing the total to 250 million, according to new figures released on Monday by the UN Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The increase is partly due to the mass exclusion of women and girls from education in Afghanistan but can also be attributed to broader stagnation in education provision worldwide.

The findings undermine UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, which sets the goal of quality education for all by 2030.

Way off track

If countries were on track with their national SDG 4 targets, six million more children would be in pre-school, 58 million more children and adolescents would be in school, and at least 1.7 million more primary school teachers would have been trained, according to the report.

“Education is in a state of emergency,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

“While considerable efforts were made over the past decades to ensure quality education for all, UNESCO data demonstrates that the number of children out of school is now rising.

“States must urgently remobilize if they do not want to sell out the future of millions of children.”

Future ‘in your hands’

One year ago, 141 countries committed at the UN Transforming Education Summit to accelerate progress towards SDG 4.

Four out of five countries aimed to advance teacher training and professional development, seven out of 10 committed to increasing or improving their investment in education, and one in four committed to increase financial support and school meal provision.

UNESCO

For countries to achieve their SDG 4 targets, however, millions more children must be enrolled in early childhood education every year until 2030, and the progress in primary completion rates needs to almost triple.

“These commitments must now be reflected in acts. There is no more time to lose. To achieve SDG 4, a new child needs to be enrolled in school every 2 seconds between now and 2030,” said the Director-General.

“The future of millions of children is in your hands”, she emphasised to Member States.

Insufficient growth

The report highlights that, since 2015, the number of children completing primary education has increased by less than three percentage points to 87 per cent.

The number completing secondary education, meanwhile, has increased by less than five per cent to just 58 per cent.

In the 31 low and lower-middle-income countries that measure learning progress at the end of primary school, Viet Nam is the only country where the majority of its children are achieving minimum proficiency in both reading and mathematics.

Global framework

The Education 2030 Framework for Action calls on countries to set intermediate benchmarks for SDG 4 indicators. In an inclusive approach, countries were assisted in setting benchmarks to achieve by 2025 and 2030 for seven SDG 4 benchmarks on pre-primary education, school attendance, completion and learning, gender equity, learning proficiency, trained teachers, and public expenditure.

Students attending UNESCO’s community-based literacy classes are experiencing schooling for the first time in their lives.

October 15 2023

How the UN SDG Summit aims to transform the world

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The centrepiece of the UN General Assembly’s 2023 high-level week, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, will see world leaders gather in New York on Monday for two intense days of meetings. Their goal: to put the world back on track towards a greener, cleaner, safer, fairer future for all.

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The 2023 SDG Summit

The SDG Summit aims to adopt a forward-looking political declaration reaffirming commitment to the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind. Over two days, they will agree on how best to move forward.

Here are five things you need to know:

A young girl stands outside a child-friendly space established to help children cope with their trauma after the June 2022 earthquake in Afghanistan.

1. Why is the SDG Summit important?

The global race to protect people and the planet began in 2015 with the adoption of the landmark 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together, they represent a blueprint to speed economic prosperity and social wellbeing while protecting people and the environment.

Time is of essence. Halfway to the 2030 deadline, the SDGs are in deep trouble. Progress stalled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis is deepening, and goals related to hunger, health, biodiversity, strong institutions, pollution, and peaceful societies are all off track.

The SDG Summit aims to find solutions to change the current negative trajectory.

UNAMA/Freshta Dunia

Young women’s participation in outdoor sports in Afghanistan has become more complicated since the Taliban became the de facto rulers of the country. (file)

2. What’s at stake?

Only 15 per cent of about SDG targets are on track. About half are moderately or severely off track, and more than one third 30 per cent have either seen no movement or have regressed below the 2015 starting line.

For instance, on the current trajectory, it will take 286 years to close gender gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws (Goal 5). The global report card on education is equally serious. The impact of years of underinvestment and learning losses mean that by 2030, some 84 million children will be out of school, and 300 million children or young people who attend school will leave unable to read and write (Goal 4).

The lack of SDG progress is universal but developing countries and the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people are bearing the brunt of the planet’s collective failure.

Under current trends, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, and only about one third of countries will meet the target to halve national poverty levels (Goal 1).

A community in Thailand works to preserve a mangrove forest.

3. What’s the plan to reverse current trends?

As UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said, “There is no planet B.”

That’s why world leaders are gathering at the SDG Summit. Aiming to galvanize a global drive towards progress, they agree that it’s the time for nations and partners to put turn words into action to turbocharge results on the ground.

That includes calling on all countries and key stakeholders, local authorities, the private sector, foundations, philanthropic organisations, and civil society.

UNDP Mauritania

Digital technologies can be a powerful driver of development especially in countries like Mauritania (pictured).

4. What’s the 2023 SDG Summit’s end goal?

Heads of State and Government attending the Summit are expected to adopt a political declaration. Leading up to the event, nations have already laid out the challenges and the way forward in a draft declaration.

“The achievement of the SDGs is in peril; at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda, we are alarmed that only 12 per cent of the SDGs are on track and 30 per cent remain unchanged or below the 2015 baseline,” the draft states.

“We remain hopeful, given that our world, its people, and the United Nations have a history of resilience and overcoming challenges.”

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SDG Circle of Supporters.

Leaders will commit to ramping up efforts – from quashing plastic pollution to bridging the digital divide and harnessing the benefits of artificial intelligence.

“Our actions must match the magnitude and scope of the crises affecting our world,” the leaders said in the draft declaration. “This situation calls for the world to redouble our efforts and deliver a breakthrough to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”

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5. What can you do?

Everyone on earth can pitch in to accelerate change and progress.

The UN’s SDG Action Weekend on 16 and 17 September at UN Headquarters in New York saw participants focus on what works best and what needs to be done to get results.

Visit the SDG Media Zone from 18 to 22 September to follow the latest events, check in with experts, or meet some SDG advocates who are already making changes on the ground.

Stay tuned to the SDG Circle of Supporters, from royalty to superheroes, who will be issuing a rallying cry to their communities about how to help galvanize support the world needs.

Learn some day-to-day tips from The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the Ocean with four levels of action.

Every September, the UN SDG Action Campaign and partners mobilize millions of people to take action during the Global Week to #Act4SDGs. The goal: 1 billion actions by 2030. In 2022, there were 142 million actions alone, the largest Global Week yet. Register your own actions on our global map for game changers.

“Today, only 15 per cent of the targets are on track, with many going into reverse,” the UN chief said.

“Monday’s SDG Summit will be the moment for governments to come to the table with concrete plans and proposals to accelerate progress,” he said, emphasizing that everyone needs to step up to help revive the Goals and ensure a better life for people and the planet.

Deep dive alert

Here are some quick links to all you need to know about the SDG Summit and the global drive towards a better world for all:

Watch live or on demand with UN Web TV or the UN’s YouTube channel, and get the latest updates from UN News on social media and on the UN News app on iOS or Android devices.

October 15 2023

Invest in SDGs ‘like never before’ implores UN chief

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A “rescue plan” for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) must now result in policies, budgets and investment to ensure a more just, equitable and green future by 2030, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the conclusion of the two-day SDG Summit at UN Headquarters, where world leaders adopted a political declaration to ramp up progress to achieve the 17 goals, which are in danger of derailment due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises.

Goals that address hunger, health, biodiversity, strong institutions, pollution, and peaceful societies are all off-track.

Words into action

“Now is the time to lift the declaration’s words off the page, and invest in development at scale like never before,” he said.

The political declaration includes a commitment to financing for developing countries and clear support for an SDG Stimulus of at least $500 billion annually.

The Secretary-General urged countries to make the most of the momentum from the Summit, presenting a “development to-do list” for the way forward.

‘Real investments’

He stressed the need to transform support for the SDG Stimulus “into real investments in developing countries.” In this regard, he called for establishing a Leaders Group that will develop clear steps to get funds flowing before the end of 2024.

Leaders must turn commitments made at the Summit into concrete policies, budgets, investment portfolios and actions.

Additionally, they should strengthen support for action across six key SDG areas, namely food, energy, digitalization, education, social protection and jobs, and biodiversity.

He also advised them to “start planning now for massive increases in investments in social protection”, and to “bring to life” a global initiative to ensure an additional four billion people are covered by 2030.

“As the political declaration makes clear, it’s high time for developed countries to meet their Official Development Assistance target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income,” he continued.

No more business as usual

Meanwhile, the upcoming meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank must not be “business as usual”, he warned.

“In addition to recapitalization, we need to see an urgent additional re-channeling of $100 billion in un-used Special Drawing Rights,” he said.

Special Drawing Rights are an international reserve asset developed by the IMF to supplement the official foreign exchange reserves of its member countries and help provide them with liquidity.

The largest-ever allocation, worth $650 billion, was carried out in August 2021 in response to the economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Climate proposals and plans

Mr. Guterres pressed Governments attending the meetings to also bring proposals to “massively leverage private funding in support of developing countries.”

Similarly, he urged them to arrive at the COP28 UN climate conference in Dubai next month with concrete plans and proposals for avoiding the worst effects of climate change, upholding global promises of support, and helping developing countries to transition to renewable energy.

In conclusion, he said “The development to-do list is not just homework. This is hope work. And action is the price of hope.”

October 15 2023

UN General Assembly adopts declaration to accelerate SDGs

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Now is the time for a global plan to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are woefully off-track halfway towards their 2030 deadline, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday in New York.

Mr. Guterres was speaking at the opening of a high-level forum at UN Headquarters where world leaders adopted a political declaration to accelerate action to achieve the 17 goals, which aim to drive economic prosperity and well-being for all people while protecting the environment.

“The SDGs aren’t just a list of goals. They carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people everywhere,” he said.

Concerted, ambitious action

World leaders adopted the SDGs in 2015, promising to leave no one behind. The goals include ending extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation, as well as green energy, and providing quality universal education and lifelong learning opportunities.

UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis noted that despite commitments, 1.2 billion people were still living in poverty as of 2022, and roughly eight per cent of the global population, or 680 million people, will still be facing hunger by the end of the decade. The international community cannot accept these numbers, he said.

“With concerted, ambitious action, it is still possible that, by 2030, we could lift 124 million additional people out of poverty and ensure that some 113 million fewer people are malnourished,” he said.

Going backwards

Each of the 17 goals contains targets, with 169 overall, but the Secretary-General warned that currently only 15 per cent are on track, while many are going in reverse.

The political declaration “can be a game-changer in accelerating SDG progress,” he said.

It includes a commitment to financing for developing countries and clear support for his proposal for an SDG Stimulus of at least $500 billion annually, as well as an effective debt-relief mechanism.

It further calls for changing the business model of multilateral development banks to offer private finance at more affordable rates for developing countries, and endorses reform of the international finance architecture which he has labelled “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair.”

Millions still starving

The UN chief highlighted the need for action in six critical areas, starting with addressing hunger, which he called “a shocking stain on humanity, and an epic human rights violation.”

“It is an indictment of every one of us that millions of people are starving in this day and age,” he added.

The Secretary-General said the transition to renewable energy isn’t happening fast enough, while the benefits and opportunities of digitalization are not being spread widely enough.

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The 2023 SDG Summit

Education cannot wait

At the same time, too many children and young people worldwide are victims of poor quality education, or no education at all, he continued, before shining a spotlight on the need for decent work and social protection.

Finally, he called for an end to the war on nature and “the triple planetary crisis” characterized by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

Ensure gender equality

“Cutting across all of these transitions is the need to ensure full gender equality,” he said. “It’s long past time to end discrimination, ensure a place at every table for women and girls, and to end the scourge of gender-based violence. “

Mr. Guterres highlighted UN response to each area, including initiatives to transform global food systems so everyone can have access to a healthy diet.

Other efforts focus on boosting investment in the renewable energy transition, promoting internet access for all, creating 400 million new “decent jobs”, and extending social protection to over four million people.

Testament to commitment

The President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Paula Narváez, was heartened by the adoption of the declaration, calling it a testament to leaders’ unwavering commitment towards implementing the SDGs.

ECOSOC is at the core of the UN system’s work on all three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – and provides a platform for follow-up and review of the goals.

The two-day SDG Summit is the centrepiece of the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, the annual gathering of Heads of State and Government, and Ms. Narváez also pointed to two other events on the agenda.

Seize the moment

She said the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development will address the need for an international financial architecture that can respond to current needs and emerging challenges.

Meanwhile, the Climate Ambition Summit presents an opportunity for decisive progress on climate action and to raise the bar for more timely and targeted efforts.

“This week should serve as a turning point to rescue the SDGs,” she said. “We must not let this moment slip away.”

October 15 2023

Launch of SDG Report: Kaduna State, Nigeria

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Concrete actions to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are underway in all parts of the world. Since the beginning of implementation, a series of challenges and opportunities have arisen at the local level, particularly with regards to reaching the communities furthest behind. Successful implementation of the SDGs requires ownership by subnational governments and dedicated efforts to ensure that all residents in states, provinces and cities are included in comprehensive and ambitious SDGs data, monitoring, programming and policy reforms.

Kaduna State, Nigeria, is one of the first subnational governments in the world to conduct an in-depth analysis of local SDGs data and strategy development to implement all 17 Goals in the State. The State has already integrated the SDGs into its State Development Plan for 2016-20 and is improving livelihoods, investing in education and ensuring access to life-saving services, while boosting environmental sustainability, social cohesion and peace for its citizens. The State will release one of the first in-depth reports published by a state government on SDG implementation progress thus far.

Who:

Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Budget and Planning, Nigeria
Barnabas Yusuf Bala, Deputy Governor, Kaduna State, Nigeria
Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, Commissioner, Planning and Budget, Kaduna State, Nigeria
Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria

What: Press briefing on the launch of the SDG Report: Kaduna State, Nigeria

When: Wednesday 20 September, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. EDT

Where: SDG Media Zone, Visitors Plaza, UN Headquarters, New York, or live through http://webtv.un.org

For more information on the SDG Media Zone, please visit: www.un.org/sdgmediazone/

Media contacts

UN Department of Public Information

Francyne Harrigan, T: +1 (917) 428-7505 | E: harriganf@un.org

Kensuke Matsueda, T: +1 (212) 963-0564 | E: matsueda@un.org