Overview : The era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) came to an end in 2015, and the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by 193 member countries of the United Nations in New York on 25th September 2015, took over as a new global sustainable development agenda to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030. In total, there are 17 SDGs, also known as the Agenda 2030. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. The Agenda 2030 is unique in that it calls for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income. It recognizes that ending poverty must go together with a plan that builds economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while addressing climate change and environmental protection. It also covers issues such as inequality, infrastructure, energy, consumption, biodiversity, oceans and industrialization. This new universal agenda requires an integrated approach to sustainable development and collective action, at all levels, to address the challenges of our time, with an overarching imperative of ‘leaving no one behind’ and addressing inequalities and discrimination as the central defining feature. |