Unicef warned this Monday that two thirds of the Development Goals (SDG) indicators for 2030 related to the rights and well-being of children are behind schedule, putting 1.9 billion children in 140 countries at risk.
“Halfway towards the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, two thirds of child-related indicators are behind in achieving their goals,” UNICEF warns in its latest report, published on the eve of the UN Summit. SDG, which begins on Monday, and the annual debate of the 78th UN General Assembly on Tuesday, both in New York.
The document, titled “Progress on children’s well-being: Centering children’s rights in the 2030 Agenda”, points out the need for “a historic acceleration” to achieve the SDGs, “only possible if the world puts the children at the center of national agendas”. .
According to UNICEF, to date only 6% of the child population (or 150 million children) in 11 countries has achieved 50% of the goals, which corresponds to the highest level of achievement globally.
“If the planned progress is maintained, only a total of 60 countries – which houses only 25% of the child population – will achieve their goals by 2030, leaving behind nearly 1.9 thousand million children in 140 countries,” he warns. The report.
The SDG criteria were adopted by UN member states in 2015 with the aim of ending poverty, reducing inequalities and building more peaceful and prosperous societies by 2030, but, in the chapter aimed at children, The analysis of more than twenty years of data shows “a varied scenario of advances and setbacks.”
The objectives related to protection, learning and a life free of poverty are the furthest from their goals, the report indicates, recalling the interruption or reversal of years of progress due to the effects of crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic – which directly contributed to a historic decline in immunization services and learning in low-income countries, climate change and economic crises.
For the executive director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, halfway through the 2030 Agenda, the world is running out of “time to realize the promise of the SDGs” and the consequences of not meeting the goals “will be measured in terms of children’s lives and the sustainability of the planet”.
However, several low- and lower-middle-income countries have demonstrated that “accelerated development is possible with strong national commitment, effective policies and adequate financing,” such as Cambodia, India, Morocco, Rwanda and Uganda.
Still, he continues, “these countries still have a long way to go to achieve the goals and must maintain their pace or accelerate even further.”
Furthermore, the report makes clear that to achieve the 2030 goals, lagging countries will have to accelerate progress to “historically unprecedented” levels.
“Data shows that investing in children’s rights drives and sustains results for all societies, people and the planet, as interventions in children’s early years contribute the most to ending hunger, poverty, poor health and inequalities,” he observes.
Specifically, UNICEF lists, on the path to achieving the 2030 Agenda, political commitments and a significant increase in spending in areas such as health, education and social protection, ambitious, realistic objectives adapted to local contexts, priority to knowledge and establishment of solid alliances. .
The organization also highlights investing in climate change mitigation and building a liveable planet and innovating innovative options in financial systems that work.
“A lot can happen in seven years,” says Catherine Russell, but to achieve this, “world leaders must become advocates for children and put children’s rights at the center of their national political and budgetary agendas.”
Source: TSF
