SDG Progress Reports 2019: Are we on track to achieve the global goals?

SDG Progress Reports 2019: Are we on track to achieve the global goals?
The year 2019 will close the first cycle of the 2030 Agenda implementation. In July, the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) will have reviewed global progress on the last remaining set of SDGs and 142 countries will have presented their Voluntary National Reviews. Two SDG progress reports will try to shed light on the progress the world is making to achieve the SDGs and highlight the areas that need our most urgent attention.

Both reports show that despite progress in a number of areas over the past four years, on some of the Goals, progress has been slow or even reversed. The most vulnerable people and countries continue to suffer the most and the global response has not been ambitious enough.

For instance, extreme poverty has reached the lowest point since its tracking began. And yet, at the current pace, we are still not on track to end poverty by 2030. Similarly, many countries are taking actions to protect our environment, but the health of our earth is still deteriorating at an alarming rate.

This is republished from UNDESA Voice:

The Report of the Secretary General: The Special Edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report, is an official document mainly intended to inform the HLPF on progress towards the SDGs. Going beyond the usual data-driven analysis of progress, the special edition addresses the global response to the 2030 Agenda and the gaps and challenges encountered over the first cycle of its implementation. It also describes efforts necessary to accelerate SDG action. It highlights cross-cutting actions to advance progress on all the Goals and targets and help the ones who are falling behind.

The report was prepared by UN DESA, in cooperation with the UN system Task Team on HLPF, co-chaired by UN DESA and the United Nations Development Programme.

The Sustainable Development Report 2019 tells the stories of SDG progress with charts, infographics and maps, and presents an in-depth analysis of selected indicators. This report is prepared by UN DESA’s Statistics Division with inputs from more than 50 international and regional organizations. In addition to the global trends, this report also highlights regional progress and analyses.

Both reports are based on the global indicator framework developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators and present those indicators for which sufficient data are available.

The Sustainable Development Report 2019 will be launched on 9 July 2019—the opening day of the HLPF. The Secretary-General’s report is already available to Member States as they prepare for their deliberations at the HLPF. The two reports are accompanied by a comprehensive Statistical Annex and the Global SDG Indicator Database with country and regional data. The reports will also be presented in an interactive platform on the Sustainable Development Goal indicators website.