In 2017, the SDG Knowledge Hub provided news on all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting actions being taken on issues related to the Goals and how efforts to address the challenges are evolving. Below we share one story on each SDG, to provide a snapshot of key issues raised regarding the Goals in 2017.
On SDG 1 (no poverty), a policy brief reviewed progress on poverty eradication, based on reports prepared by the UN for the in-depth review of SDG 1 at the 2017 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The brief highlights the importance of ensuring that SDG 1 and the others are implemented in an integrated and co-beneficial way, with minimal tradeoffs.
The zero hunger Goal (SDG 2) was the subject of concern at the Committee on World Food Security’s (CFS) 44th session, which noted that global hunger increased for the first time in ten years, driven by conflict and climate change. As noted in our summary, delegates said the world is not on track to achieve SDG 2 or other targets related to food security and nutrition.
Positive news was reported on SDG 3 (good health and well-being), following the first report to simultaneously track progress on the 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Our story highlights that significant gains in health were reported in the past decade for the African region, including a substantial decline in child and maternal mortality, and in the incidence of HIV.
On SDG 4 (quality education for all), interlinkages with other Goals and issues were a common theme. We reported on a call from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education to address discrimination that blocks 263 million children around the world from education, related to being migrants or refugees, or to their cultural, linguistic or ethnic backgrounds.
A policy brief on SDG 5 (gender equality) highlights three new sets of gender guidelines adopted in the second half of the year: the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan, the Global Environment Facility’s Policy on Gender Equality, and the International Tropical Timber Organization’s Policy Guidelines on Gender Equality and Empowering Women, with the latter specifically designed to take forward SDG 5.
A monitoring initiative for the Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) was discussed at the UN-Water meeting in August, with multiple UN agencies reporting on an interagency effort to draft methodologies for the SDG 6 indicators, produce a baseline assessment, and contribute to the SDG-6 synthesis report that will be released prior to HLPF 2018.
Progress towards SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) is not sufficient in the area of electrification rates among the least developed countries (LDCs). Our summary of the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) LDCs Report notes that realizing universal access to energy by 2030 will require a 350% increase of the annual rate of electrification in LDCs.
SDG 14 (life below water) was in the spotlight for much of 2017, as the UN held the Ocean Conference. Following the Conference, we reported that the UN launched nine thematic multi-stakeholder Communities of Ocean Action to generate new voluntary commitments and support collaboration across ocean stakeholders.
1990-2018, IISD