25 May 2023¨C Ant¨®nio Guterres was addressing the first high stakes meeting of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Economic and Social Council¡¯s (ECOSOC) Operational Activities for Development Segment at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters in New York, which he described as ¡°an important first step¡± towards providing accelerated action for reaching the , by the 2030 deadline.
He said among the ¡°fundamental goals¡± heading in the wrong direction, was that of reducing poverty and hunger. ¡°Progress on another 50 per cent is weak and insufficient¡±, he added.
He outlined a raft of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ initiatives ¨C from the emergency SDG Stimulus measure to scale-up financing for countries in need, to the Black Sea Initiative to aid countries suffering the effects of the Ukraine war ¨C which he said were all serving the wider aim of getting the SDGs back on track.
Mr. Guterres praised the effectiveness of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Country Teams worldwide, which were leading the Organization¡¯s efforts for sustainable, inclusive development.
¡°Nobody could have foreseen, when the development reforms were put in place, that Country Teams would face such a challenging global environment.
¡°Despite that, four years on, the reforms have succeeded¡Resident Coordinators are bringing United Nations entities together in support of countries¡¯ priorities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda¡±, he said.
¡®Financing abyss¡¯ for poorer nations
But when it comes to funding the Agenda, he said investment has fallen short.
¡°Many developing countries simply cannot afford to invest in the SDGs because they face a financing abyss¡±, he said.
The funding gap stood at $2.5 trillion before the COVID pandemic, but now stands at $4.2 trillion, according to the OECD.
Impressing on Member States the need for an SDG Stimulus of at least $500 billion a year, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief also noted that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ¡¯s own Resident Coordinator system was ¡°still chronically underfunded.¡±
Arms vs development
Given that the relatively ¡°tiny investment¡± of $85 billion would underpin the stability of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ development system, he contrasted this, with the more than $2 trillion per year spent on military budgets.
¡°It is simply not credible to pledge support for peace, if they are not prepared to invest a tiny fraction of this amount in sustainable development ¨C the greatest prevention tool we have¡±, said the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief.
In conclusion, he said September¡¯s SDG Summit ¡°must be a moment of unity to provide a renewed impetus and accelerated action for achieving the SDGs¡±, that delivers concrete progress, and ¡°a clear commitment to overhaul the current international financial architecture.¡±
That call was echoed by the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, who said this was "no ordinary year" for the battle to meet the SDGs.
"And this is no ordinary ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment. It is a milestone in our reform efforts and a critical bus-stop on our way to September", she added.
Rescuing SDGs, ¡®more important than ever¡¯
The Vice President of ECOSOC with responsibility for development issues, Albert Chimbindi, told the meeting that the key Development Segment was taking place ¡°during one of the most challenging times in history¡±, with COVID-19 ¡°still being felt worldwide¡±, amid new conflicts such as the Ukraine war, which continues to disrupt energy markets, stoking food insecurity and malnutrition.
¡°At the same time, the climate crisis, and natural disasters continue to impose massive economic damages, generating humanitarian crises in many countries¡±, he added.
Only collective action that addresses the interconnected crises, will be effective, he warned, in the form of integrated and well-designed policies ¡°with multiplier effects within and across countries.¡±
¡°In a world in crisis, rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals is more important than ever¡±, he continued, adding that for now, most of the 17 goals were moving backwards.
Rescuing and turbocharging them, ¡°must be our highest common priority¡±, and the driver for the whole Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Development System¡¯s progress during the ECOSOC meetings in the weeks ahead.
Source: Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ News.