The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are also known as the Global Goals. The SDGs are new, universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states will be expected to use to frame country agendas and policies over the next 15 years. It consists of 17 goals, 169 targets and 232 unique indicators. There are 244 indicators listed in the final indicator. However, since nine indicators repeat under two or three different targets, the actual total number of individual indicators in the list is 232.
LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND. This is what guided world leaders of 193 countries to solving the globe’s most pressing problems of today.
Poverty. Hunger. Inequality. Climate Change. The Millenium Development Goals (MDG) were on its 15-year deadline, and although it was a success, people knew that there was a need to continue the legacy of the MDG and build on a more sustainable future— not only for the generation today, but for the future generations to come.
As a result, the United Nations, along with 193 countries of different backgrounds and cultures, adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 SDGs at its core. The SDGs is a comprehensive set of goals recognizing the connections between the people and the planet, comprised of 169 targets, integrated and indivisible to balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.
The phrase Leave No One Behind was the guiding principle for these goals, and was actually the official motto set by the United Nations. The SDGs was meant to be inclusive, for everyone. It was meant to provide a comprehensive roadmap— a guide for us to achieve the future we want. A future where everybody is able to have food in their tables with their families, a future where employment is attainable to everyone, and a future where citizens do not live on less than $1.25. A future where our natural resources are taken care of. This is the future we want.
2030 Agenda and SDGs
In September 2015, the United Nations Member States has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to guide international, regional, and national development efforts for the next 15 years. The agenda, as contained in the outcome document, “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” has 17 SDGs and 169 targets that cover the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development.
Compared with the MDGs, the new SDGs have a more ambitious agenda. While they identify eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions as the greatest global challenge, they also see it as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. Thus, with bolder targets on health, education and gender equality, the aim is to eliminate rather than reduce poverty. The SDGs also seek to incorporate a larger concept that extends well beyond the social sector – that is, sustainable development that weaves a comprehensive agenda of economic development, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability.[1]
The SDGs and the targets are also integrated, global in nature and universally applicable. The following are the 17 Global Goals, which can be explored further on their respective pages.
[1] Voluntary National Review at the 2016 High-Level Political Forum On the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) PHILIPPINES