In the words of the UN Secretary-General, developing countries have limited access to the financial resources they need to address the dramatic challenges they face and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global financial architecture, created for a very different world eight decades ago, needs urgent reform to make it fit for purpose
The Global Goals represent a quest to achieve human rights for all. In the face of democratic backsliding and a global trend to restrict free speech, we must ensure that civil society remains an active force for their progress
Each year, trillions of dollars are poured into harmful fossil fuel subsidies or tax breaks that undermine our progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Shifting these funds to fuel the clean energy transition would accelerate access to basic energy services, improve public health, and put the world on a safer climate trajectory
Sub-Saharan Africa
For most countries, public finance, raised through tax, should be the primary source of investment in the SDGs. How can developing countries increase their tax receipts, fairly and efficiently?
Uneven access to affordable financing for development, starkly exposed by the pandemic, has become even more entrenched as events over the past year have exacerbated divides between developed and developing countries. Without urgent action, such financing divides risk becoming sustainable development divides
Investment in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is often presented as discretionary, expendable when funds are tight. We must change public and political perceptions to recognize the full scope of the returns that SDG-aligned investments can yield
At the mid-point on the way to 2030, SDG financing is under pressure. Reforms of the global finance system, and more targeted financing solutions, are needed to get back on track to meet the Global Goals
Digital platforms offer powerful spaces for female voices. But online violence and abuse against women have also grown massively, and will only worsen without urgent action
Education, a cornerstone of society, cannot achieve gender equality alone. It must be part of a broader, multifaceted effort to tackle all forms of inequality and injustice around the world
Progress on the SDGs is stagnating. Action on gender data may provide a path to rescuing them
