A new report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from leading experts has a clear message: The status quo is not enough to achieve the SDGs by 2030. All is not lost though. The report also outlines recommendations for how we can transform our approach to achieve the SDGs and create a more sustainable, just world for all. To be sure, remarkable progress has been achieved in recent decades. Extreme poverty is at the lowest […]

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria challenged the world with an ambitious ask this year: Step up the fight against the world’s top three deadliest diseases by collectively committing to provide at least $14 billion needed to get back on track to achieve the targets for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria under Sustainable Development Goal 3: Health and well-being for all by 2030. And governments and private sector companies are answering the

No poverty. Zero hunger. Gender equality. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a global roadmap for a better future for people and planet, but achieving such ambitious aims will require each and every one of us to go beyond the status quo. Thankfully, there are entrepreneurs, innovators and changemakers of all kinds turning local action into scalable progress. At this month’s UN General Assembly in New York, 10 extraordinary solution makers from across the globe

For nearly a year, Claire Melamed lived in an invisible place. It was a tiny village in Mozambique that didn’t exist on any maps. No one knew how many people lived there, who was born there, or who died there. This information didn’t exist in any official records. This experience taught Claire about the power of data — and why basic statistics about a particular community are more than mere numbers. “The numbers that society

“The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.” Greta Thunberg’s grave warning at the United Nations Climate Action Summit will certainly not be forgotten, but how will world leaders’ response be remembered? On September 23, UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened leaders from government, business, and civil society at the UN Headquarters in New York City to boost momentum in the

Leaving No One Behind Throughout the week of the UN General Assembly, global health leaders called for leaving no one behind on the journey to achieving UHC. In order for health for all to actually be universal, it is critical to keep the most marginalized populations, including those in poor and conflict settings, at the center of programs and policies. Gender equity in particular plays a large role in ensuring we can achieve SDG 3.

At the summit, UN member states adopted a political declaration (diplomatic speak for a shared statement of their intentions.) These documents help set common norms among countries and enable citizens to hold their leaders accountable for their promises. The political declaration, entitled, “Gearing up for a decade of action and delivery for sustainable development,” proclaimed: “We stand firm in our determination to implement the 2030 Agenda as a plan of action for people, planet, prosperity,

Let’s face it, many speeches from world leaders at the 2019 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) probably will not make the history books. But the inspiring oratory of many other attendees will and should. Across the week, inside the UN and outside, a huge and diverse array of speakers proved themselves to be leaders. From the gut-wrenching passion of ‘how dare you,’ to a surprisingly personal moment from a Prime Minister, to impassioned arguments about