The United Nations warned on Friday that only 17% of 169 goals aimed at improving the lives of more than 7 billion people around the world are likely to be achieved by the 2030 deadline.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released the annual report saying it “suggests the world is getting a failing grade”.
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World leaders adopted 17 development goals in 2015, ranging from eradicating global poverty to achieving gender equality, and set 169 specific targets to be achieved by the end of the decade.
The report finds that nearly half of the goals have shown minimal or moderate progress, more than a third have stalled or regressed, and only 17 percent are on track to achieve them.
“The conclusion is simple,” Guterres said. “Failure to secure peace, combat climate change and promote international finance is undermining development.”
The report also noted the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that 23 million more people will be pushed into extreme poverty in 2022 compared to 2019, and more than 100 million people will suffer from hunger.
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“In a world of unprecedented wealth, knowledge and technology, the denial of so many people's basic needs is outrageous and unacceptable,” Guterres said.
Meanwhile, the UN reported that for the first time this century, half of the world's most vulnerable countries will see GDP per capita growth fall below that of developed countries, threatening gains in equality, and that almost 60 percent of countries will face moderate to exceptionally high food prices by 2022.
The goal of quality education has been way off: Only 58 percent of students worldwide achieve minimum reading proficiency by the time they leave primary school, and “recent assessments reveal significant declines in mathematics and reading performance in many countries,” the report says.
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When it comes to gender equality, the report says the world is still lagging behind: one in five girls is still married before age 18, violence against women persists, too many women do not have the right to make decisions about their own sexual and reproductive health, and at the current pace, it will take 176 years for women to reach parity with men in leadership positions.
Guterres said the report also contained “silver linings of hope”.
Mobile broadband is now available to 95 percent of the world's population, up from 78 percent in 2015. Global electricity-generating capacity from renewable sources has grown at an unprecedented 8.1 percent per year over the past five years, according to the report.
Expanded access to treatment has averted 20.8 million AIDS-related deaths over the past 30 years; the introduction of a new malaria vaccine could save millions of lives; in most regions, girls have the same access to education as boys; and many women are breaking the glass ceiling, the report says.
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“But the pace and scale of change needed for sustainable development remains very slow,” Guterres said.
He called for action to end wars from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan and beyond, and to “shift spending from destruction and war to investments in people and peace.”
The Secretary-General also called for further action to combat climate change and on the “green and digital transition”.
The report finds that there is a $4 trillion annual investment gap needed for developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. Guterres called for stepped up funding efforts, reduced debt pressures and debt service costs, expanded access to emergency financing for countries at risk of cash flow crises, and a doubling of the lending capacity of the World Bank and other development banks.
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“We must keep our promise to end poverty, protect the planet and leave no one behind,” the Secretary-General said.
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