Amid the concerns of the ongoing climate crisis, United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) are all set to take centre stage at the 78th annual General Assembly.
Beginning on 19 September 2023, world leaders will take part in a two-day SDG Summit at UN headquarters. The UN has said that the event aims to serve as “a rallying cry to recharge momentum” on reaching those objectives.
The overall theme of this year’s UNGA also calls for more action to achieve the SDGs.
The list of 17 SDGs, which includes 169 specific targets was first adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015 as a roadmap to address a series of complex global problems by 2030.
The UN's SDGs encompass 17 objectives that global nations countries are eyeing to achieve by 2030. These encompass ending poverty and hunger, enhancing education quality, promoting gender equality, and ensuring access to clean water, sanitation and affordable energy.
However, the outlook becomes less optimistic when measured against current global conditions. UN projections indicate that if present trends persist, approximately 575 million people will endure extreme poverty by 2030, with around 600 million facing extreme hunger.