Our Correspondent
New Delhi July 14: With only 17 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on track and just six years remaining until the 2030 deadline, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed is calling for a new era of inspiring leadership. This call comes ahead of a special event on Monday designed to galvanize action.
The special event, entitled “Keeping the SDG Promise: Pathways for Acceleration”, is taking place on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) currently underway. The event aims to reinvigorate efforts to achieve the SDGs and ensure no country is left behind. It will highlight the “High Impact Initiatives” championed by the entire UN development system and key investment strategies, while also spotlighting the contributions of individual countries.
Speaking exclusively to UN News’s Mayra Lopes, the UN deputy chief emphasized six key transition areas essential for accelerating the SDGs: food systems, energy access and affordability, digital connectivity, education, jobs and social protection, and climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
UN News: The global community is meeting this week at the High-Level Political Forum. We still have six years left until the 2030 deadline for the SDGs. What is your message to leaders?
Amina Mohammed: Be leaders. Be leaders for the people and the promises made in the SDG agenda. Be leaders for the planet and the necessary steps for a 1.5-degree world.
Be leaders who inspire and are accountable to the UN Charter. Leave the UN knowing that this is where you hear voices of expectation and aspiration. Use that energy and inspiration to return and do the right thing.
UN News: The United Nations system unites around these six key transitions or pathways to acceleration. Can you tell us more about these areas and why it is so important to leave no one behind?
Amina Mohammed: Last year, we had a wake-up call on how badly off-track we were with the SDGs. With only 15 to 17 percent progress in some areas, it was clear we needed to accelerate. We identified six key areas where focused investment could make a significant impact on all 17 SDGs.
Food systems were a priority due to disruptions from COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis. Energy transitions are crucial for ensuring access for all, whether for cooking or small-scale industries. Digital connectivity is vital for financial services and education, enabling people to participate in the global economy without leaving their villages.
Education, particularly for young people out of work, needs urgent attention. We must connect them to markets and improve their skills using technology. Social protection is also critical for building resilience against crises like COVID-19. Lastly, we need to address the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
UN News: I want to refer to the digital innovation part. I wanted to hear if you feel hopeful and how you think we can leverage this new technology?
Amina Mohammed: I recently spoke with a gentleman in Barbados who designed the first search engine, Archie. He described the current era of technology as exciting yet scary, and noted that we are not ready for it. The Secretary-General’s Summit of the Future aims to establish guardrails around technology’s potential, addressing both its opportunities and its darker sides.
This is more transformative than the shift from horse and cart to the combustion engine. It’s about changing societies fundamentally, making us more connected than ever before.
UN News: We are talking a lot about the SDG acceleration, but we have a very challenging landscape right now with wars and global tensions. How do you think we can still push for SDG acceleration in this scenario?
Amina Mohammed: We need leadership at all levels, not just from presidents but from business, civil society, and young people. A stronger United Nations, serving as a town hall for a global village, can ensure that diverse voices are heard and acted upon.
We must secure resources for development and peace, investing in prevention rather than paying for war. The principles of access to resources for rebuilding lives are as relevant today as they were in 1945.
Acceleration can happen because we understand the existential threat of a 1.5-degree world. People will react based on how much injustice they perceive from their leaders. This interconnected world, filled with energetic and anxious young people, must find hope and avoid exclusion.
Terrorists are not born; they are created in environments of injustice and exclusion. We have the resources and frameworks, like the SDGs, to do the right thing. We should rise to the occasion, race this last mile, and deliver on the SDG promise.
