The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a Blueprint for a Strong Recovery from COVID-19 and a Better Future for All

In 2015, World Leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The 17 SDGs call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while maintaining peace, protecting the planet, the people and building partnerships. With only ten years remaining to achieve these goals, countries are accelerating steps towards ending poverty, fighting inequalities, tackling climate change, and ensuring that no one is left behind.  Every month, the United Nations spotlights one of the 17 SDGs, highlighting its purpose, targets, and criticality in advancing Agenda 2030. This month’s focus is on all the SDGs in light of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

BY NATHALIE NDONGO-SEH

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten our progress towards achieving Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development; bold, up-scaled, and immediate action is required worldwide. With less than ten years remaining to realise the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global leaders are under pressure to respond to the crisis in an effective manner, whilst ensuring progress towards Agenda 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a unique opportunity for the world to recover better and ultimately enable the prosperity of the people and the planet.

This year, as the United Nations commemorates its 76th anniversary amidst exceptional circumstances, the threat of persons being left behind is greater than ever before. The SDGs, as stated by the UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, “are a blueprint for beating poverty and hunger, confronting the climate crisis, achieving gender equality and much more, within the next ten years. At a time of great uncertainty, the SDGs show the way forward to a strong recovery from COVID-19 and a better future for all on a safe and healthy planet.”

The UN Secretary-General has called upon sectors to take ambitious and immediate action on three levels: global action in which greater leadership, resources and solutions for the SDGs are secured; local action including necessary adaptations to policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks of governments and local authorities; as well as people action in which civil society, the private sector, the media, academia and others create an incredible movement for transformations towards the SDGs.

This year, global leaders are meeting for the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 76), from 14th to 30th September, to discuss pertinent issues facing the global populace today. Under the auspices of the General Assembly, the first High-Level Dialogue on Energy, since the UN Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy in 1981, will be hosted at the UNGA. This High-Level Dialogue on Energy will seek to promote targets related to SDG 7: “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” by mobilising renewed efforts towards SDG 7 through innovative solutions, partnerships and investments.

Energy lies at the heart of the SDGs and plays a key role in efforts to develop economies, create employment opportunities, empower women, eradicate poverty, adapt to climate change, ensure access to education for all and ultimately create a sustainable world. However, the world is not on target to achieve SDG 7 as 789 million people around the world, of whom 548 million live in sub-Saharan Africa alone, still lack access to electricity. Biomass fuels such as animal waste, charcoal and wood are often used as alternative means to cook. These fuels release toxic fumes once burned and ultimately contribute to four million deaths around the world.

Access to electricity and clean cooking solutions for all are essential to the achievement of Agenda 2030 and must be prioritised, as reflected in efforts to promote SDG 7 in this year’s High-Level Dialogue.

The UN Food Systems Summit 2021; a significant event at the UN General Assembly, will take place on 23rd September, at which leaders from across the world will seek to approach progress towards the 17 SDGs through a “food systems lens, leveraging the interconnectedness of food systems to global challenges such as hunger, poverty, climate change and inequalities.”

The UN Food Systems Summit will lean on the findings of food systems dialogues hosted around the globe. In the Kingdom of Eswatini, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, ten dialogues were hosted on various relevant food systems, including: dairy, sugar, beef, poultry, pork, vegetables, fruit, maize, cotton, nutrition and social security. Stakeholders from across the country participated in the informative dialogues, as did members of the public, sharing invaluable information on progress, challenges and innovative solutions within the various food systems.

SDG 2, which seeks to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture,” will play a critical role in the Food Systems Summit, as leaders attempt to provide solutions to global challenges in efforts to become food secure.

A staggering 811 million people worldwide are food insecure, including over 100 million Africans. In the Kingdom of Eswatini, an estimated 31 percent of our population are anticipated to be food insecure in 2021. Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in commodity prices, drought and other climate change-related disasters, the number of hungry people is expected to rise rapidly. Without immediate action, food insecurity will continue to pose as one of our greatest threats to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and overall prosperity.

However, the SDGs are intrinsically linked with one another and rely on continuous progress amongst all 17 goals to make a significant, positive impact across the world.

According to the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020, progress has been made in areas such as maternal health, women’s representation in Governments and access to quality education. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, hunger and the acceleration of climate change, however, threaten to unravel this progress. 

The report highlights that Africa is not on track to achieve many of the SDGs. The outbreak of coronavirus has slowed progress towards achieving Agenda 2030, cutting Africa’s economic growth by 2.1 percent in 2020. This economic contraction pushed a further estimated 40 million African people into poverty, hindering not only the achievement of SDG 8, “decent work and economic growth,” but SDG 1, “no poverty,” too.

According to the Report, Africa is falling behind in the achievement of SDG 5; “gender equality and women’s empowerment,” and its related targets, including: equal access to education and healthcare, and the reduction of violence and human trafficking. The East and Southern Africa region have exceptionally high rates of sexual violence against women and girls: with seven countries reporting that 20 percent of females aged 15 to 24 years have experienced sexual violence from an intimate partner. Worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown measures and in turn, restricted movements, this percentage is anticipated to rise, with UN Women estimating that for every three (3) months that lockdowns continue, an additional 15 million cases of gender-based violence are likely to take place.

Women continue to be the foundation of the region’s informal sector, and account for 3 out of 4 informal workers. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 devastated the informal sector and caused an immense loss of livelihoods; increasing the vulnerability of many women.

Economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic must therefore be approached with a gender perspective where purposeful efforts are made to empower women across the continent and ensure the longevity of their livelihoods.

Climate change, reflected in SDG 13 “climate action”, is an incredible threat to Africa and the achievement of Agenda 2030. In Southern Africa, more than 70 percent of the rural population depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Ambitious efforts must therefore be made to build resilience amongst impacted communities using local and climate-smart solutions.

It is without a doubt that the 17 SDGs represent a shared vision for the prosperity of all people and planet. In this Decade of Action, and with only eight years remaining to achieve Agenda 2030, a renewed commitment and bold action is required from all persons, everywhere.

The United Nations Development System in Eswatini, through the UN Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2021-2025, continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Eswatini in the nation’s recovery from COVID-19 and efforts to achieve a “just, prosperous and resilient Eswatini in which nobody is left behind.”