SDGs

Secretary-General António Guterres holds a virtual press briefing from UN Headquarters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

UN chief calls for ‘solidarity, unity and hope’ in battling COVID-19 pandemic

30 April 2020
Global

Amidst the destruction of the of COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations chief expressed concern over a lack of “sufficient solidarity” with the world’s developing countries, that need support in responding to the worst economic and social crisis in generations. 

People living along the Kenya-Uganda border are amongst the poorest in the region.
WFP

‘Leave no one behind’ mantra matters more than ever, as coronavirus threatens all humanity: Guterres

23 April 2020

Secretary-General António Guterres issued a three-point global “Call to Action” on Thursday to cushion the colossal fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, pressing Governments to unify around a defining moment in history, as the new session of the UN’s Financing for Development Forum got underway. 

A girl in Timor-Leste shows the online platform she will use to study while her school is closed, due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
©UNICEF/Bernardino Soares

Coronavirus economics: Debt-laden countries at risk, as financial markets screech to a halt

17 April 2020

Economists and finance experts are warning that countries with “high” or “distressed” public debt levels are at risk of severe economic shocks amid the COVID-19 pandemic and calling for restructuring plans based on the principle of solidarity.

A 19-year old mother takes her three-month-old son to the Nyakuron primary health care centre in South Sudan’s capital Juba for a polio and penta vaccine. When he is old enough, she will also inoculate him against measles.
© UNICEF/Helene Sandbu Ryeng

COVID-19 isolation threatens life-saving vaccinations for millions of children globally

13 April 2020
Global

As countries around the world continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 117 million children risk missing out on measles vaccines, two UN agencies warned in Geneva on Tuesday.

Woman waits with cash in hand to make purchase an old time New York City bakery, which counts the number of people it allows in to maintain a safe distance between customers.
UN News/Elizabeth Scaffidi

Low-skilled workers, developing countries at risk of steep economic decline as coronavirus advances

1 April 2020

The global economy could shrink by up to one per cent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and may contract even further if restrictions on economic activities are extended without adequate fiscal responses, according to analysis released today by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

Hawaii's landscape is largely volcanic.
ILO Photo/John Isaac

First Person: Humankind’s ‘modern mentality to tame’ the environment: A volcanologist’s view

31 March 2020
Asia Pacific

The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it’s anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living or studying aspects of the goals in their everyday work.

Diane Paloma is the CEO of Lunalilo Home in Honolulu, Hawaii.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson

First Person: Hawaii’s ‘silver tsunami’: the challenge of caring for kupuna elders

28 March 2020
Asia Pacific

The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it’s anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living aspects of the goals in their everyday work. 

Mouna went to a Gulf country with the help of a recruitment agency, she was lied to, and trafficked.
© Sibylle Desjardins / IOM

First Person: False promises in Mauritania

28 March 2020
Africa

Women and girls face particular challenges as migrants, whatever their reason for leaving their country of origin. UN agencies are learning more about these difficulties, and how to address them.

Industrial seaport in China.
© World Bank/Curt Carnemark

‘Concerted efforts’ needed to meet 2030 Global Goals in Asia-Pacific region

25 March 2020

Action to reverse the depletion and degradation of the environment across Asia and the Pacific is a top priority if the region is to stay on course to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new United Nations report launched online, for the first time, on Tuesday.

The Hawaiian archipelago in the Pacific is one of the remotest parts of the world.
ILO Photo/Kevin Cassidy

Reaching ‘beyond the possible’ in Hawaii to meet sustainability goals

23 March 2020
Asia Pacific

The people and government of the US state of Hawaii will reach “beyond the possible” to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality; The SDGs are a set of targets agreed by countries around the world to reduce poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all, by 2030. Hawaii introduced its own initiative, Sustainable Hawaii, in 2016 in support of the SDGs.