With devastating effects on the Ukrainian people, infrastructure and economy, the war in Ukraine will also potentially have far-reaching impacts on sustainable development globally. This was a key message today at a high-level conference on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, noting dire impacts already being felt globally.
“With each passing hour, two things are increasingly clear: first — it keeps getting worse. Second — whatever the outcome, this war will have no winners, only losers”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, warning that a resulting meltdown of the global economy is provoking a "hurricane of hunger", as he addressed reporters outside the Security Council chamber in New York.
With less than a decade left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment, the commitment is yet to translate into action on the ground. The Eighth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, which was held in Kigali, Republic of Rwanda, from 3 to 5 March 2022, offered Africa a unique opportunity to engage all stakeholders on accelerating actions towards achieving SDG 5 by 2030.
“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Latin America and the Caribbean require transitions in energy, digital connectivity, and food systems. More effective spending and investment in human capital is needed to unlock and accelerate progress on the SDGs,” said Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General at the Forum of countries of Latin American and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development held on March 7-9, 2022.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General urged UN Resident Coordinators across Africa to turn a broad range of profound challenges into opportunities with their convening power to support countries for much-needed transformation to “rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” Following the opening ceremony of the eighth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development on Thursday, Amina J. Mohammed met with Resident Coordinators who gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, from all over the continent.
UN scientists on Monday delivered a stark warning about the impact of climate change on people and the planet, saying that ecosystem collapse, species extinction, deadly heatwaves and floods are among the "unavoidable multiple climate hazards” the world will face over the next two decades due to global warming.
Let us take a moment to reflect on the contributions UN country teams and partners are making in advancing disability inclusion towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through the lens of five stories.
