Only 12% of the Sustainable Development Targets (SDGs) are on track – a sobering reality check as the United Nations (UN) High Level Political Forum on the SDGs kicked off in New York.
This comes as a new UN report on SDGs implementation warns that failure to redouble efforts to achieve the goals by the 2030 may fuel political instability, upend economies and lead to irreversible damage to the natural environment.
The Forum also heard a keynote address from South African-born Youth and Disability Rights Advocate Eddie Ndopu, who is one of 17 Global SDG Advocates appointed by the United Nations Secretary General.
It’s a high-level political forum to reinvigorate action on the SDGs – an agenda that is way off track, imperilled further by the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and further undermined by climate impacts and man-made conflicts that continue to stretch resources.
Ndopu became the first person living with a disability to address the forum.
“As we assess the trajectory of our journey towards the 2030 Agenda, we are met with a sobering reality check. Our quest for the Sustainable Development Goals is akin to a long-distance race, and the midway report tells us that we are not leading the pack. Far from it, only 12 percent of our targets are in sight. The rest are either stumbling in a slow-motion advance or have reversed into regression. My friends, this is our planet’s fight for survival, and we’re behind at half-time.”
He’s referring to the midway point of the SDGs that were adopted first in 2015.
This year’s theme is Accelerating the recovery from COVID-19 and the full implementation of the 2030 agenda.”
Of the approximately 140 targets across the 17 goals from ending poverty and hunger, to gender equality, clean water and affordable energy among others, half of them show moderate to severe deviations from the desired trajectory while more than 30% of these targets have experienced no advancement at all.
COVID-19 recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic is said to have stalled three decades of steady progress.
“In our noble pursuit of leaving no one behind, it is the marginalized, the impoverished, those living with disabilities, women, children, and our indigenous populations, continue to be forgotten. Time, that relentless taskmaster, is not on our side and our strategies must adapt accordingly. To fully comprehend the magnitude of our challenge, we must confront the harsh statistical truth. The count of those living in extreme poverty is on the rise, hunger, a spectre we vowed to banish, has once again reared its ugly head, and gender equality, a fundamental right, remains an elusive goal, hundreds of years away at our current rate of progress,” adds Ndopu.
Solutions
Ndopu has called for meaningful youth participation in finding solutions – calling it a wellspring of energy and innovation that can catalyse the transformative change required to reach the goals.
“This is the defining moment. The question is not are we doing enough, but rather, are we doing everything within our power? Can we honestly tell future generations that we strived to pass on a world that’s better, fairer, more sustainable than the one we inherited? I am here as a testament to the triumphs of inclusion. My wheelchair is not a mark of my limitation, but a testament to the boundless progress that inclusion offers. Our Sustainable Development Goals are not simply targets on a sheet. They represent the hopes, dreams, and survival of millions who depend on us to get this right.”
The Forum runs until July 19th and is seen as a precursor to the SDG Summit to be convened by the Secretary General this September.
The world is off track to achieve the #GlobalGoals by 2030.
The climate emergency, the war in Ukraine, the current economic downturn & other crises have made development progress stall for the first time in decades, says latest @UNDESA #SDGreport: https://t.co/BAiZiaMp3v pic.twitter.com/PZ36WQV5qp
— United Nations (@UN) July 10, 2023
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