SDGs – we have to get a move on!
Since their adoption in 2015, meaningful gains have been made across the Sustainable Development Goals. But they remain uneven and insufficient in the face of serious headwinds. Without a decisive push to rapidly scale up proven solutions, the promise of the 2030 Agenda risks slipping out of reach. This is the conclusion reached in the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, which the United Nations recently presented.
Positive developments ….
First, here are some positive developments which the report emphasises:
- For the first time in history, social protection now covers over half of the global population.
- 134 countries have met the target for reducing child mortality.
- New HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have each fallen by roughly a third.
- 59 countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease.
- Disaster-related deaths have dropped by 65 per cent compared with the previous decade.
- Harmful practices like child marriage are declining.
- Access to safe drinking water and sanitation has expanded at scale.
- Electricity now reaches 92 per cent of the world’s population, with a third powered by renewable sources.
- Internet access has surged from 40 to 74 per cent, connecting billions to new education and economic opportunities.
- Health outcomes have similarly improved.
… but the results remain unsatisfactory
These developments show that progress is achievable when sound policy meets political will and adequate investment.However, with just a few years left to reach the goalpost, the results so far are not exactly encouraging. Of the 139 targets for which we can compute reliable historical trends, only 36 per cent are on track or making moderate progress. Nearly half (49 %) are moving too slowly, and 15 per cent have slipped below their 2025 baselines. Thus the world is far from eradicating its most pressing challenges:
- One in ten people still lives in extreme poverty.
- Food insecurity remains well above 2015 levels, affecting 2.3 billion people.
- About 2.1 billion people (roughly one in four) lack access to safely managed drinking water.
- More than 150 million children are stunted.
- Maternal mortality remains nearly three times the global target.
- Everyday discrimination – still felt by one in five people world-wide – continues to limit human potential.
Vulnerable countries hardest hit
The reasons are well documented – they reach from the collapse in development assistance to growing debt burdens in developing countries, rising conflicts, slowing global economic growth, climate chaos and other shocks. And then there is the war in the Middle East, which has disrupted maritime traffic, choking off energy, fertiliser and food corridors, and driving up inflation. These pressures are hitting vulnerable countries the hardest, widening the gap to achieving the SDGs and threatening to undo decades of hard-won progress, UN Secretary General António Guterres notes.
More data to rely on
One of the positive aspects Guterres highlights is the improved availability of data. “We now measure more and better, with far greater precision than ever before,” Guterres points out. As we move into the last mile to 2030, this stronger evidence base can help countries to better target their development efforts.”
The report identifies the priority actions needed to accelerate progress, including increased investment, strengthened international cooperation, expanded access to technology and data, a faster energy transition, greater gender equality and renewed commitments to peace. And he once again stresses that the SDGs remain the world’s shared blueprint for peace, prosperity and sustainability. This is why they must be urgently returned to the centre of global decision-making.
(UN/sri)
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