2018 was a memorable year for the global health community – from a new strategy to new partnerships to new challenges for progress. In May at the World Health Assembly, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus set forward a bold, new vision in the 13th “General Programme of Work” to support countries in reaching all of the health-related targets in the Sustainable Development Goals. The “Triple Billion” Targets set forth in this […]

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the World Economic Forum website. 2018 will go down in the record books as one of seemingly incessant geopolitical acrimony. For many policymakers, the imminent turn of the calendar offers brief respite – a moment to clear one’s head and take stock of the most salient challenges on the horizon. What core problems need to be solved amid fast-shifting strategic alliances and the cacophony of public debates? Ultimately,

Data has been the fashionable topic in sustainable development this year, but it’s always top of our minds at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. When we were created in 2015, we were tasked with a big job: to bring partners together and make sure that the opportunities of the data revolution were available to, and being used by, everyone working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It’s all about the relationships, so

Reading the news can be depressing, but that doesn’t mean global progress isn’t happening. Even though it doesn’t often make the headlines, the international community is coming together to act on some of our major challenges – and it’s working. In many ways, lives are getting better because people came together at the UN to collaborate and act. While it’s easy to focus on everything wrong in the world, let’s not forget the wins. And

It’s no secret that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can’t be achieved by any one nation or organization. Partnerships are at the heart of the SDGs. SDG 17 itself recognizes that the success of the agenda will be impossible without strong collaboration among governments, the private sector, philanthropy, and civil society. As part of the United Nations Secretary-General’s focus on modernizing the UN to better deliver on the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement, the

Rarely a day passes without a story on an exciting, or perhaps terrifying, advancement in technology as developers discover new ways to leverage quantum computers, robotics, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence (AI) to solve new and age-old problems alike. One exciting new development that tech watchers may have missed this year: efforts the United Nations has taken to modernize its work and better prepare itself as a platform for global discussions on the promises and

For the past 73 years, the United States and the United Nations have remained essential partners in resolving challenges around the world. As we approach the end of the year, it’s safe to say that 2018 was no different, with the U.S. and the UN collaborating in many important areas despite some challenges. Thanks to the strong partnership between UN Secretary-General António Guterres and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, the U.S. and the