New York – The UN says it will officially usher in on Jan. 1, 2016, an even more ambitious set of goals to banish a whole host of social ills by 2030.
According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, this is just as the 15-year cycle of the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has come to an end with the end of 2015.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted unanimously by 193 Heads of State and other top leaders at a summit at UN Headquarters in New York in September.
The 17 goals and 169 targets are expected to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change over the next 15 years.
“The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the world’s leaders and the people.
“They (SDGs) are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success,” Ban said.
He said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls on countries to begin efforts to achieve the 17 SDGs over the next 15 years.
The UN Scribe said the goals addressed the needs of people in both developed and developing countries, emphasising that no one should be left behind.
According to him, the 17 goals and 169 targets are broad and ambitious in scope.
He added that the SDGs addressed the three dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental, as well as important aspects related to peace, justice and effective institutions.
He acknowledged the mobilisation of means of implementation, including financial resources, technology development and transfer and capacity-building, as well as the role of partnerships, as critical.
Ban said the 17 SDGs built on the eight MDGs, which specifically sought by 2015, among others, to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women.
He added that the other eight goals of MDGs were to reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.
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He said not all the MDGs were met globally, depending on regions and the state of a country’s development, but significant progress was made in several areas.
The official ushering in of the 15-year cycle of SDGs will take place over a 24-hour period, coming into effect in each region of the planet as the clocks strike their midnight peal on Dec. 31. (PANA/NAN)