This year’s Sustainable Development Goals Report provides an update on the world’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, prepared in collaboration with over 200 experts from more than 40 international agencies using the latest available data and estimates. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all—demand a transformation of the financial, economic, and political systems which govern our world in order to guarantee human rights for all. According to the report, global progress before the COVID-19 pandemic was heterogeneous, but had some positive gains: “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. However, 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.” Currently, no country is on track for achieving all SDGs.
Countries will need to rebuild after this crisis to rebound from these dire circumstances, and there will be no better time to use the SDGs, to guide transformations of economies and societies to build back more sustainably. One crucial gain in the midst of so many losses is the reduced environmental impacts as a result of the decline in economic activity. Once the restoration of economic activity begins, it will be essential that nations do so without restoring patterns of environmental degradation. While this crisis has showcased profound weaknesses in public health systems—including in many of the richest countries which were deemed to be well-prepared for the pandemic—there can be room for improvements to health systems, and room for global cooperation as interdependent economies work together to build back better.
Find out more about the road ahead for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by reading through the report and perusing the visual data presented in the SDG country profiles.