SDGs

Floods have affected cities across Europe, including Zurich in Switzerland.
Unsplash/Claudio Schwarz

Deadly flooding, heatwaves in Europe, highlight urgency of climate action

16 July 2021

Heavy rainfall that has triggered deadly and catastrophic flooding in several western European countries, is just the latest indicator that all nations need to do more to hold back climate change-induced disasters, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.

Workers stack bricks at a factory near Dhaka in Bangladesh.
World Bank/Scott Wallace

‘Deeply negative impact’ of COVID pandemic, reverses SDG progress

15 July 2021
Global

Closing a key international development forum on Thursday, the deputy UN chief observed that a year of “immense challenges” has reversed progress on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

A strong, sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID pandemic is needed to keep the promise of the 2030 Agenda.
© UNICEF/Ashmita Parelkar

UN chief says race to reach SDGs ‘can and must’ be turned around 

13 July 2021
Global

The COVID pandemic has taken four million lives, devastated the global economy, pushed a further 124 million people into extreme poverty and continues to inflict profound suffering – dramatically impacting progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN chief said on Tuesday at a key international forum. 

A Somali resident sells meat at a market in Hudur, where food shortages continue to cause suffering.
UN Photo/Tobin Jones

‘Tremendously off track’ to meet 2030 SDGs: UN chief  

12 July 2021
Global

Between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020 – some 161 million more than for 2019  – the UN Secretary-General said on Monday; “new, tragic data”, which indicates the world is “tremendously off track” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. 

Young displaced people who have returned home in South Sudan are learning new engineering skills.
IOM 2021/Aleon Visuals

FROM THE FIELD: South Sudan’s displaced youth, help power change

10 July 2021
Africa

Young people who were displaced by conflict in South Sudan have returned home to power change in their community.

Nearly one-third of all children in Haiti are in urgent need of emergency relief
© UNICEF/Manuel Moreno Gonza

A third of Haiti’s children in urgent need of emergency aid: UNICEF

9 July 2021
Americas

Nearly a third of all children in Haiti – numbering around 1.5 million - are in urgent need of emergency relief due to rising violence, insufficient access to clean water, health and nutrition, said the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Friday.

Displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo do not always have access to the land they need to grow food.
© UNICEF/Patrick Brown

Sustainable development report shows devastating impact of COVID, ahead of ‘critical’ new phase

6 July 2021
Global

The world was not on track to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before COVID-19 struck, and now the challenge has been magnified many times over, according to a new flagship UN report that indicates countries must take ‘critical’ steps on the road out of the pandemic, during the next 18 months.

Women grow vegetables on a farm in India as part of a UNICEF-supported rural development programme.
© UNICEF/Vinay Panjwani

Turning crisis into opportunity: World leaders meet at UN to help drive pandemic recovery

5 July 2021
Global

Leading figures from government, business and civil society are preparing to take part in this year’s High Level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF), where they will discuss ways to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and turn the deadly crisis into an opportunity for a major shift towards a more sustainable global economy.

New power cube technology on display in Vanuatu. The cubes are charged with electricity using solar rays.
UNDP

$1 billion fund for renewables among key energy commitments made during UN ministerial forums

25 June 2021

The IKEA Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation have announced plans to launch a $1 billion fund to boost access to renewable energy in developing countries – one of the key commitments made during a series of virtual UN ministerial forums this week.

Major infrastructure projects like this dam on the Nura River in Kazakhstan often require foreign direct investment. (file)
World Bank/Shynar Jetpissova

Pandemic ‘rolled back’ sustainable development funding for weak economies: UNCTAD

21 June 2021
Global

Financial assistance to the world’s 83 weakest economies fell by 15 per cent in 2020, to $35 billion as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, UN trade and development experts UNCTAD said on Monday.