With more than 265 million children currently out of school – 22 percent of them of primary school age – there is a long road ahead to ensure that a free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education leads to relevant and effective learning outcomes by 2030.
The fourth sustainable development goal of the United Nations’ SDG initiative, is to provide quality education for students worldwide. Over the past decade, the UN says that major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrollment rates in schools — particularly for women and girls.
“Basic literacy skills have improved tremendously, yet bolder efforts are needed to make even greater strides for achieving universal education goals,” reports the UN. “For example, the world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys, but few countries have achieved that target at all levels of education.”
But reaching the 2030 goal for providing a quality education for all students will require better trained teachers, improved conditions of schools and better educational opportunities for rural children. “For quality education to be provided to the children of impoverished families,” notes a UN report, “investment is needed in educational scholarships, teacher training workshops, school building and improvement of water and electricity access to schools.”
The problem is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for
half of out-of-school children around the world. How to ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
was a key focus of high-level political forum held last year by the United
National Economic and Social Council.
“Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality
education for all is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda,” noted a recap of the 2019 UN program. “Platforms
for cooperation, new partnerships, more support for teachers and increased
investment in universal quality education and lifelong learning are imperative.”
One of the key observations from the Economic
and Social Council forum was that increasing access to quality education for
all is an essential component for dealing with global challenges, such as
climate change, employment opportunities, and economic development.
“In order to secure the quality of education in
the future, it is necessary to have platforms for cooperation, new partnerships
and shared values around the importance of education, greater support for
teachers and increased investment in universal quality education and lifelong
learning,” the recap report noted.
Experts have warned about an education “crisis” for more than a decade, according to Human Rights Watch. With stalling quality and access to education, growing numbers of young people are leaving schools without the skills they need, and large gaps in education funding are evident in many countries.
“While most out-of-school children are in lower-income countries, there are huge and growing gaps in access and learning in middle- and higher-income countries too,” the Human Rights Watch report notes. “The source of the problem is not always poverty, but entrenched discrimination and sustained exclusion, perpetuated by impunity for governments that negligently or intentionally keep children out of their education systems, including through under-investment in education.”
To improve the status quo, the UN says, people around the world need to ask their governments, NGOs, and companies to prioritize education. “Encourage the private sector to invest resources in the development of educational tools and facilities,” the report says, and “urge NGOs to partner with youth and other groups to foster the importance of education within local communities.”
Posted: January 24, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Leveling the Playing Field for Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Industrialization and economic development in lesser developed countries around the world need to increase in order to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goal for industries, innovation, and infrastructure.
According to a UN report, global manufacturing accounts for 45 percent of global manufacturing value-added per capita worldwide, but just 15 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.
What is needed is a focus on building resilient infrastructure, fostering innovation, and promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial growth.
“Investments in infrastructure – transport, irrigation, energy and information and communication technology – are crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities in many countries,” notes another UN report. “It has long been recognized that growth in productivity and incomes, and improvements in health and education outcomes require investment in infrastructure.”
Manufacturing is an important driver of economic development and employment. And technological progress is needed achieve economic and environmental objectives, including increased resource and energy-efficiency. Without technology and innovation, the UN report notes, industrialization will not happen, and without industrialization, development will not happen.
The UN says more investments are needed in the high-tech products that dominate the manufacturing process to increase efficiency. In terms of infrastructure, there also needs to be a focus on mobile cellular services that increase connections between people. While 90 percent of the world’s population has accessible cellular service, many people cannot afford it.
But the decade ahead will be challenging when it comes to meeting the goals for SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. “Economic changes have also made Sustainable Development Goal implementation more challenging, says António Guterres, secretary-general of the UN. “Global economic growth is anticipated to remain slow and uneven across regions amid lingering trade tensions and unsustainable levels of household and corporate debt. Debt vulnerability in low-income countries has increased substantially in recent years. In addition to an expected slowdown in emerging economies, lower growth rates are projected in developed economies in general.”
Last Updated: January 23, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Expo 2020: Opportunity, Mobility & Sustainability
By Greg Sandler
Expo 2020, the next world’s fair, is on track to begin in October 2020, in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Dubai expo coincides with the UAE’s 50th anniversary in 2021, marking an important milestone for the host country.
The exposition, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” will feature 120 country pavilions, more than 20 performance venues, over 60 events each day, and more than 200 restaurants. It is the first World Expo ever to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region.
Expo 2020 will focus on three main themes: opportunity, mobility, and sustainability.
Opportunity: Unlocking the potential for individuals and communities to shape the future
Mobility: Creating smarter and more productive movement of people, goods and ideas, both physically and virtually
Sustainability: Respecting and living in balance with the world we inhabit to ensure a sustainable future for all
Over six months, the 4.38 km site is expected to host 25 million visitors from around the world. Special events planned during the Dubai expo include RewirEd, a three-day event that will focus on three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that the United Nations is working to achieve by 2030. More than 3,000 participants are expected to participate — from governments, global education stakeholders, strategic partners and the private sector.
“The UAE believes that investing in people’s welfare, knowledge, and capabilities produces the greatest dividends for individuals, families and communities as a whole,” says Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020. “Education, which is the essence of human capital, drives our national priorities and is central to our international development strategy. We believe that now is the time to reshape the global conversation on education and this summit is the perfect platform to do so.”
In addition to country pavilions, dozens of corporate sponsors are helping to make Expo 2020 a reality. Among the highlights of the six month-long program will be a glimpse into the future of hyperloop, a preview of 3D printing technology, world-class architecture, and a taste of foods from around the world.
Learn more about Expo 2020, Oct. 20, 2020 thru April 10, 2021.
Last Updated: March 9, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Progress on Decent Work and Economic Growth
Economic growth over the past the past 25 years has reduced the number of workers living in extreme poverty. In developing countries, according to the United Nations Development Programme, the middle class now makes up more than 34 percent of total employment — having tripled between 1991 and 2015.
Continued economic growth, says the UN report, requires higher levels of productivity and technological innovation. “Encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation are key to this, as are effective measures to eradicate forced labor, slavery and human trafficking,” the report says. “With these targets in mind, the goal is to achieve full and productive employment, and decent work, for all women and men by 2030.”
The UN says that more progress is needed to increase employment opportunities, reduce informal employment, close the gender pay gap, and promote safe and secure working environments.
“The global unemployment rate has finally recovered from the global economic crisis,” the UN report says. “In 2018, the global unemployment rate stood at 5.0 percent – matching pre-crisis levels. Youth were three times more likely to be unemployed than adults.”
The UN target for SDG Goal 8 is for sustained per capita economic growth worldwide, including at least 7 percent gross domestic product growth per anum in the least developed countries. The UN initiative also calls for achieving “higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors”
Last Updated: January 17, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
840 Million People Worldwide Have No Electricity
Electricity, a lynch-pin for sustainable development, remains an elusive service for hundreds of millions of people in the poorest nations in the world.
In addition to the 840 million people without electricity, the United Nations estimates that about 3 billion people worldwide rely on inefficient cooking systems that contribute to pollution.
Access to affordable and clean electricity is also closely connected with development of renewable energy resources, and better access to transportation and heating.
“Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today,” notes a United Nations report. “Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. Working towards this goal is especially important as it interlinks with other sustainable development goals.”
Access to energy and the increased use of renewable energy is crucial to creating more sustainable and inclusive communities, and providing resilience to environmental such as climate change, the UN report notes. And progress is being made regarding the use of renewable electricity from water, solar and wind power.
But, the UN report says, the challenge is far from being solved and there needs to be more access to clean fuel and technology and more progress needs to be made regarding integrating renewable energy into end-use applications in buildings, transport and industry. Public and private investments in energy also need to be increased, says the UN, and more focus on regulation is needed.
Posted: January 10, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Billions of People Lack Water and Sanitation Facilities
Clean water and sanitation is lacking for much of the world. In fact, according to the United Nations Development Program, water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the world’s population. Moreover, 4.5 billion people lack safely managed waste disposal facilities, and half of those people don’t even have basic sanitation options.
“Despite progress, billions of people still lack safe water, sanitation and handwashing facilities,” notes a recent UN update on progress toward meeting its 17 sustainable development goals. “Data suggests that achieving universal access to even basic sanitation service by 2030 would require doubling the current annual rate of progress. More efficient use and management of water are critical to addressing the growing demand for water, threats to water security and the increasing frequency and severity of droughts and floods resulting from climate change.”
Worldwide, 785 million people lack access to basic drinking water, and 701 million lack basic sanitation facilities. “Safe water and adequate sanitation for all – the object of Sustainable Development Goal 6 — are indispensable to achieve many other goals,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres “Safe water and adequate sanitation underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and healthy ecosystems.They contribute to social well-being, inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods. But, growing demands for water, coupled with poor water management, have increased water stress in many parts of the world.”
Gutteres said solutions for water and sanitation need to be made more readily available to those in need. To that end, he called on the UN to lead efforts to transform a “silo-based approach to water supply, sanitation, water management and disaster risk reduction” in order to better address water issues and to combat climate change. He also said that existing water and sanitation programs and projects need to better align with the 2030 SDG agenda. Finally, he called for an increase cooperation and partnerships to address water and sanitation challenges.
“The growing water crisis should be much higher on the world’s radar,” he said. “Let us work collectively towards a more sustainable world, and an action-packed decade of ‘water for sustainable development.’”
Posted: January 7, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Gender Equality: The Path Toward a More Prosperous World
The world is facing an uphill battle when it comes to making progress toward gender equality, the fifth of the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals.
“While some indicators of gender equality are progressing, such as a significant decline in the prevalence of female genital mutilation and early marriage, the overall numbers continue to be high,” notes a UN status report. “Moreover, insufficient progress on structural issues at the root of gender inequality, such as legal discrimination, unfair social norms and attitudes, decision-making on sexual and reproductive issues and low levels of political participation, are undermining the ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5.”
Women worldwide also continue to face socio-economical hurdles that are often rooted in time spent handling domestic chores and unpaid work. For example, according to the UN, women have about three hours less available per day than men for work, education, and/or leisure activities.
Recent UN data also shows that women continue to be under-represented in both management positions in business, and in political leadership. “Over the past 25 years, there has been progress in reforming laws towards improving gender equality, yet discriminatory laws and gaps in legal protection remain in many countries,” the UN report observes.
“When we look at the low numbers of women in senior roles in the private sector, academia, politics and in international organizations, including in the United Nations, we all have to say: ‘we can and must do more,’” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Gender equality, adds Guterres, is both a fundamental human right and a path to a more peaceful and prosperous world. “There is overwhelming evidence that investing in women is the most effective way to lift communities, companies and countries,” he says. “Women’s participation makes peace agreements stronger, societies more resilient and economies more vigorous. And that is why the empowerment of women and girls is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
Posted: January 6, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Quality Education Remains Elusive for Millions of Children Worldwide
With more than 265 million children currently out of school – 22 percent of them of primary school age – there is a long road ahead to ensure that a free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education leads to relevant and effective learning outcomes by 2030.
The fourth sustainable development goal of the United Nations’ SDG initiative, is to provide quality education for students worldwide. Over the past decade, the UN says that major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrollment rates in schools — particularly for women and girls.
“Basic literacy skills have improved tremendously, yet bolder efforts are needed to make even greater strides for achieving universal education goals,” reports the UN. “For example, the world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys, but few countries have achieved that target at all levels of education.”
But reaching the 2030 goal for providing a quality education for all students will require better trained teachers, improved conditions of schools and better educational opportunities for rural children. “For quality education to be provided to the children of impoverished families,” notes a UN report, “investment is needed in educational scholarships, teacher training workshops, school building and improvement of water and electricity access to schools.”
The problem is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for half of out-of-school children around the world. How to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all was a key focus of high-level political forum held last year by the United National Economic and Social Council.
“Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda,” noted a recap of the 2019 UN program. “Platforms for cooperation, new partnerships, more support for teachers and increased investment in universal quality education and lifelong learning are imperative.”
One of the key observations from the Economic and Social Council forum was that increasing access to quality education for all is an essential component for dealing with global challenges, such as climate change, employment opportunities, and economic development.
“In order to secure the quality of education in the future, it is necessary to have platforms for cooperation, new partnerships and shared values around the importance of education, greater support for teachers and increased investment in universal quality education and lifelong learning,” the recap report noted.
Experts have warned about an education “crisis” for more than a decade, according to Human Rights Watch. With stalling quality and access to education, growing numbers of young people are leaving schools without the skills they need, and large gaps in education funding are evident in many countries.
“While most out-of-school children are in lower-income countries, there are huge and growing gaps in access and learning in middle- and higher-income countries too,” the Human Rights Watch report notes. “The source of the problem is not always poverty, but entrenched discrimination and sustained exclusion, perpetuated by impunity for governments that negligently or intentionally keep children out of their education systems, including through under-investment in education.”
To improve the status quo, the UN says, people around the world need to ask their governments, NGOs, and companies to prioritize education. “Encourage the private sector to invest resources in the development of educational tools and facilities,” the report says, and “urge NGOs to partner with youth and other groups to foster the importance of education within local communities.”
Last Updated: January 5, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Uphill Battle To Provide Good Healthcare Worldwide
Access to basic healthcare is a given for many people around the world. But 400 million people in less developed countries lack access to basic healthcare and social safety nets.
What’s more, about 39 million people are battling HIV, and 15 million of them are not receiving any treatment. Achieving Goal 3 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals will require much more progress over the next decade.
“The world is off-track to achieve the health-related SDGs,” notes a UN update on SDG 3. “Progress has been uneven, both between and within countries … And while some countries have made impressive gains, national averages hide that many are being left behind.”
The UN report advocates for increased multisectoral, rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches for achieving the goal of providing better healthcare worldwide. “Good health is essential to sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda reflects the complexity and interconnectedness of the two,” the report notes.
Solutions in the coming decade need to address economic and social inequalities, rapidly increasing urbanization, climate change, and the ongoing battle against infectious diseases.
“Universal health coverage will be integral to achieving SDG 3, ending poverty and reducing inequalities,” says the UN report.
Businesses and industry groups can make a difference. For example, companies in the biopharmaceutical industry are mobilizing resources to help improve healthcare worldwide. The industry has helped create Global Health Progress, an online knowledge hub highlighting 200-plus collaborations between the biopharmaceutical industry and 850 partners in support of the SDGs.
The private sector and industry groups in every sector will have to step-up in the coming decade to help the United Nations achieve its goal of improved healthcare worldwide by 2030.
A framework for action has already been created by the UN. In September 2019, 12 multilateral agencies launched a joint plan to to accelerate progress towards the health-related SDGs over the next decade. The “Stronger Collaboration, Better Health: Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All” outlines how health, development and humanitarian agencies will collaborate to be more efficient and provide more streamlined support to countries to deliver universal health coverage and achieve the health-related SDG targets.
“The plan is called, ‘Stronger Collaboration, Better Health’ for a reason,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of World Health Organization. “Although collaboration is the path, impact is the destination. The release of this plan is the beginning, not the end, of that path.”
Posted: January 3, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
Achieving Zero Hunger Goal Requires More Resources
Efforts to achieve Zero Hunger in the world – the UN’s sustainable development goal 2 – requires a transformation of the global food and agriculture system in order to feed the 815 million hungry people today, and the additional 2 billion people expected by 2050.
Despite efforts to reduce hunger by 2030, the United Nations estimates that approximately one of every nine people in the world is under-nourished. “Hunger is on the rise again globally and undernutrition continues to affect millions of children,” notes a UN progress report on sustainable development. “Public investment in agriculture globally is declining, small-scale food producers and family farmers require much greater support and increased investment in infrastructure and technology for sustainable agriculture is urgently needed.”
According to the UN Report, more needs to be done to improve the capacity of small scale farmers. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, up to 85 percent of food producers are small farmers. “Strengthening the resilience and adaptive capacity of small-scale and family farmers, whose productivity is systematically lower than all other food producers, is critical to reversing the trend of the rise in hunger,” the report notes.
“Our actions to tackle these troubling trends will have to be bolder, not only in scale but also in terms of multisectoral collaboration,” the heads of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) urged in their joint foreword to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.
According to the WHO report, the situation is most alarming in Africa, which has the highest rates of hunger in the world. In Eastern Africa in particular, the report notes, close to a third of the population (30.8 percent) is undernourished. “In addition to climate and conflict, economic slowdowns and downturns are driving the rise,” the report concludes.
SDG Goal 2 seeks to end hunger by 2030, and to ensure that everyone everywhere has enough good-quality food to lead a healthy life.
More information about the UN’s sustainable development goals and progress on SDG Goal 2 are available online.
Last Updated: January 2, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment
World Lags Behind United Nations Goal To End Poverty by 2030
The decline of extreme global poverty continues, but has slowed, according to a United Nations status report on efforts to eliminate poverty, one of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). At its current rate, the report says, the world is not on track to achieve the target of less than 3 percent of the world living in extreme poverty by 2030.
“People who continue to live in extreme poverty face deep, entrenched deprivation often exacerbated by violent conflicts and vulnerability to disasters,” the report notes. “Strong social protection systems and government spending on key services often help those left behind get back on their feet and escape poverty, but these services need to be brought to scale.”
While the total number of people living in extreme poverty DEFNED AS, declined from 16 percent in 2010 to 10 percent in 2015, the UN projects that 6 percent of the world’s population will be living in extreme poverty by 2030. “The situation remains particularly alarming in sub-Saharan Africa, where the share of working poor stood at 38 percent in 2018,” according to the report.
The 2030 UN agenda for sustainable development notes that eradicating poverty “is the greatest global challenge.”
The goal to end poverty includes eliminating extreme poverty for all people everywhere, reducing the number of people living in poverty, and implementing national measures as recommended in the Education 2030 Framework for Action.
“To end poverty, boost shared prosperity, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we must use development financing and technical expertise to effect radical change,” said Jim Yong Kim, past president of the World Bank Group.
According to the UN Global Compact, some actions that businesses can take to ensure they do not exacerbate poverty include respecting worker and migrant rights, implementing a zero tolerance policy for forced labor and child labor, and paying workers a living wage.
More information and tools for action on SDG Goal 1 can be found on the UN Global Compact website.
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