About the Sustainable Development Goals
In September 2015, world leaders met in New York to approve the next set of Development Goals produced by the UN Foundation. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replace the Millennium Development Goals, set in 1999 for 15 years, and are designed to take more people out of poverty and promote prosperity by 2030.
The SDGs embrace all of the goals being superseded but also consider climate change and ensure sustainability. In the run-up to the UN Assembly in September, a lot of thought, pre-planning, and discussion went into the setting, and eventual agreement was reached by 193 United Nations member states on the 17 goals.
A large team at the UN Foundation in Washington put the goals together, and each has a specialised area they work on.
Rotary contacted Caroline Barrett, an expert on the goals and how they relate to health.
Caroline explained that member governments had played a big part in setting the goals, and she immediately moved to cite the work that Rotary has done in conjunction with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) on polio.
Rotary spoke a little about the Millennium Goals, and the big difference, as was pointed out, is that they had moved from 8 to 17. Caroline said, “There was no direct carryover from the SDGs. They are all different goals since we made an effort not to silo them. Originally, there were three specific health goals, but now there is one health goal across the disease issues.”
Rotary also discussed how the new goals aligned with the Rotary Foundation Areas of Focus, and Caroline had familiarised herself with them before our conversation. She said: “All the Areas of Focus have a corresponding SDG.”
However, it was pointed out that the SDGs went further since they covered climate change and the environment. Caroline said “that some SDGs did cover clean energy and protecting the environment since it is considered work on these will help bring an end to poverty.” She added: “The partners, of which Rotary is one, do not have to work on every goal, especially if they have certain projects to continue with.”
One area that Caroline identified Rotary with was advocacy, remarking, “Rotary should continue its advocacy with donor governments,” she was interested in what comes after polio “since the impact Rotary has made on polio is remarkable.” We went on to talk about Ebola and being ready for the future. “We need to protect our health systems from shocks like Ebola,” she said.
The interview was extensive and covered some wide-ranging topics, and as we were finalising, it was asked if she thought the SDGs were achievable. Caroline was emphatic and said, “Yes, we always have to balance pragmatism and ambition, and the UN member states have led a really good agenda in the middle. It is bold and ambitious, but it is also achievable.”
The UN people Rotary spoke with were wholesome in their praise for Rotary, and they are certain that Rotarians will embrace the new Sustainable Development Goals for 2015.