UN development goals need final push

SINCE THEIR adoption by 193 countries in 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) have been hailed as the “most ambitious” and “transformative” agenda for fixing the world’s biggest challenges.

In some respects, the hype is justified. The goals cover a much wider range of objectives than the Millennium Development Goals, their predecessors, even though they were thought to have saved the lives of 7 million people.

Unlike the millennium goals, which were applicable only to developing countries, both developed and developing countries have committed themselves to achieving sustainable development goals.

The 17 goals seek to end all forms of poverty everywhere by 2030.

Yet progress in achieving them does not match the hype. According to the most recent SDG index, an unofficial but influential barometer on the goals, most countries are struggling to make headway.

For example, Denmark, the top performer for 2019, has only succeeded in eradicating poverty, reducing inequality and building strong institutions.

Algeria, the highest-ranked country in Africa, is experiencing either “significant challenges” or “major challenges” with 11 of the goals, with an upward trajectory for eliminating poverty, and promoting industry, innovation and infrastructure.

Decision-makers tend to ascribe weak performance to the widely published $2.5 trillion “financing gap” between current expenditure and what is required to attain the SDGs.

But there might be other reasons. With only 10 years to go until 2030, the year when they should be achieved, it’s an opportune moment to look at the weaknesses and identify ways they can be addressed.

In my work at the South African SDG Hub on the goals in Africa and beyond, I have encountered critical questions.

Are the goals redundant? They cover a number of priorities governments focus on as a matter of course.

The overlap with pre-existing objectives ranges from decreasing the number of HIV infections and reducing stunting through improving access to electricity to combating corruption and increasing tax collection.

But these overlaps need not be a problem. Their value, then, lies in getting governments to raise their level of ambition.

One way of making these stretched targets more than mere wish lists is using the SDGs to set up more networks that share good practices.

We may ask: are the SDGs unattainable? The targets are exceptionally ambitious. The level is clear when considering a snapshot of the 169 targets.

One target seeks to end all malnutrition by 2025 and another wants to ensure that all women have access to contraception by 2030.

One target wants to ensure access to safe and affordable water for all people, while another wants the same for electricity access.

Does this mean the goals are unattainable? Not if they are used to foster game-changing innovation.

They have the potential to take governments to a mindset that promotes innovation.

Fourie is an associate professor at the University of Pretoria and co-ordinator of the SDG Hub, University of Pretoria. This article was first published in The Conversation