Goal 1: End Poverty in all its forms  

More than 700 million people, or 10% of the world population, still
live in extreme poverty and is struggling to fulfil the most basic needs
like health, education, and access to water and sanitation, to name a
few. The majority of people living on less than $1.90 a day live in
sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, the poverty rate in rural areas is 17.2
per cent—more than three times higher than in urban areas.

Having a job does not guarantee a decent living. In fact, 8 per cent
of employed workers and their families worldwide lived in extreme
poverty in 2018. Poverty affects children disproportionately. One out of
five children live in extreme poverty. Ensuring social protection for
all children and other vulnerable groups is critical to reduce poverty.
Poverty has many dimensions, but its causes include unemployment, social
exclusion, and high vulnerability of certain populations to disasters,
diseases and other phenomena which prevent them from being productive.
Growing inequality is detrimental to economic growth and undermines
social cohesion, increasing political and social tensions and, in some
circumstances, driving instability and conflicts

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

It is time to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food. If
done right, agriculture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious
food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting
people-centered rural development and protecting the environment. Right
now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being
rapidly degraded. Climate change is putting even more pressure on the
resources we depend on, increasing risks associated with disasters, such
as droughts and floods. Many rural women and men can no longer make
ends meet on their land, forcing them to migrate to cities in search of
opportunities. Poor food security is also causing millions of children
to be stunted, or too short for the ages, due to severe malnutrition. A
profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if
we are to nourish the 821 million people who are hungry today and the
additional 2 billion people expected to be undernourished by 2050.
Investments in agriculture are crucial to increasing the capacity for
agricultural productivity and sustainable food production systems are
necessary to help alleviate the perils of hunger.

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Major progress has been made in improving the health of millions of
people, increasing life expectancy, reducing maternal and child
mortality and fighting against leading communicable diseases. However,
progress has stalled or is not happening fast enough with regard to
addressing major diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis, while at
least half the global population does not have access to essential
health services and many of those who do suffer undue financial
hardship, potentially pushing them into extreme poverty. Concerted
efforts are required to achieve universal health coverage and
sustainable financing for health, to address the growing burden of
non-communicable diseases, including mental health, and to tackle
antimicrobial resistance and determinants of health such as air
pollution and inadequate water and sanitation.

Goal 4: Quality Education

Despite the considerable progress on education access and
participation over the past years, 262 million children and youth aged 6
to 17 were still out of school in 2017, and more than half of children
and adolescents are not meeting minimum proficiency standards in reading
and mathematics. Rapid technological changes present opportunities and
challenges, but the learning environment, the capacities of teachers and
the quality of education have not kept pace. Refocused efforts are
needed to improve learning outcomes for the full life cycle, especially
for women, girls and marginalized people in vulnerable setting

Goal 5: Gender Equality

While some indicators of gender equality are progressing, such as a
significant decline in the prevalence of female genital mutilation and
early marriage, the overall numbers continue to be high. Moreover,
insufficient progress on structural issues at the root of gender
inequality, such as legal discrimination, unfair social norms and
attitudes, decision-making on sexual and reproductive issues and low
levels of political participation, are undermining the ability to
achieve Sustainable Development

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation Water

Despite progress, billions of people still lack safe water,
sanitation and handwashing facilities. Data suggests that achieving
universal access to even basic sanitation service by 2030 would require
doubling the current annual rate of progress. More efficient use and
management of water are critical to addressing the growing demand for
water, threats to water security and the increasing frequency and
severity of droughts and floods resulting from climate change. As of the
time of writing, most countries are unlikely to reach full
implementation of integrated water resources management by 2030

Goal 7: Ensure Access to affordable reliable sustainable and modern energy for all 

Access to electricity in the poorest countries has begun to
accelerate, energy efficiency continues to improve and renewable energy
is making gains in electricity sector. Despite this progress, some 800
million people remain without electricity while access to clean cooking
fuels and technologies needs dedicated attention. In addition, if
Sustainable Development Goals 7, 13 and related Goals are to be met,
much higher levels of ambition are required with regard to renewable
energy, including transportation and heating.

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth can drive progress and
generate the means to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

Globally, labor productivity has increased and unemployment is back
to pre-financial crisis levels. However, the global economy is growing
at a slower rate. More progress is needed to increase employment
opportunities, particularly for young people, reduce informal employment
and the gender pay gap and promote safe and secure working environments
to create decent work for all

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Aspects of the prevailing global economic environment have not been
conducive to rapid progress on Sustainable Development Goal 9. While
financing for economic infrastructure has increased in developing
countries and impressive progress has been made in mobile connectivity,
countries that are lagging behind, such as least developed countries,
face serious challenges in doubling the manufacturing industry’s share
of GDP by 2030, and investment in scientific research and innovation
remains below the global average.

Goal 10: Reduced Inequality

Inequality within and among nations continues to be a significant
concern despite progress in and efforts at narrowing disparities of
opportunity, income and power. Income inequality continues to rise in
many parts of the world, even as the bottom 40 per cent of the
population in many countries has experienced positive growth rates.
Greater emphasis will need to be placed on reducing inequalities in
income as well as those based on other factors. Additional efforts are
needed to increase zero-tariff access for exports from least developed
countries and developing countries, and assistance to least developed
countries and Small Island developing States

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Substantial progress has been made in reducing the proportion of the
global urban population living in slums, though more than 1 billion
people continue to live in such situations. Urgent action is needed to
reverse the current situation, which sees the vast majority of urban
residents breathing poor-quality air and having limited access to
transport and open public spaces. With the areas occupied by cities
growing faster than their populations, there are profound repercussions
for sustainability.

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Worldwide material consumption has expanded rapidly, as has material
footprint per capita, seriously jeopardizing the achievement of
Sustainable Development Goal 12 and the Goals more broadly. Urgent
action is needed to ensure that current material needs do not lead to
the over extraction of resources or to the degradation of environmental
resources, and should include policies that improve resource efficiency,
reduce waste and mainstream sustainability practices across all sectors
of the economy

Goal 13: Climate Action

With rising greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is occurring at
rates much faster than anticipated and its effects are clearly felt
worldwide. While there are positive steps in terms of the climate
finance flows and the development of nationally determined
contributions, far more ambitious plans and accelerated action are
needed on mitigation and adaptation. Access to finance and strengthened
capacities need to be scaled up at a much faster rate, particularly for
least developed countries and Small Island developing States.

Goal 14: Life below Water

The expansion of protected areas for marine biodiversity and existing
policies and treaties that encourage responsible use of ocean resources
are still insufficient to combat the adverse effects of overfishing,
growing ocean acidification due to climate change and worsening coastal
eutrophication. As billions of people depend on oceans for their
livelihood and food source and on the transboundary nature of oceans,
increased efforts and interventions are needed to conserve and
sustainably use ocean resources at all levels

Goal 15: Life on the Land

There are some encouraging global trends in protecting terrestrial
ecosystems and biodiversity. Forest loss is slowing down, more key
biodiversity areas are protected and more financial assistance is
flowing towards biodiversity protection. Yet, the 2020 targets of
Sustainable Development Goal 15 are unlikely to be met, land degradation
continues, biodiversity loss is occurring at an alarming rate, and
invasive species and the illicit poaching and trafficking of wildlife
continue to thwart efforts to protect and restore vital ecosystems and
species.

Goal 16: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Advances in ending violence, promoting the rule of law, strengthening
institutions and increasing access to justice are uneven and continue
to deprive millions of their security, rights and opportunities and
undermine the delivery of public services and broader economic
development. Attacks on civil society are also holding back development
progress. Renewed efforts are essential to move towards the achievement
of Sustainable Development Goal 16

Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Progress on some means of implementation targets is moving rapidly:
personal remittances are at an all-time high, an increasing proportion
of the global population has access to the Internet and the Technology
Bank for the Least Developed Countries has been established. Yet,
significant challenges remain: ODA is declining, private investment
flows are not well aligned with sustainable development, there continues
to be a significant digital divide and there are ongoing trade
tensions. Enhanced international cooperation is needed to ensure that
sufficient means of implementation exist to provide countries the
opportunity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.