Philanthropic Sector’s Expertise, Strategic Investments Key to Realizing Sustainable Development Targets, Deputy Secretary-General Says
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the High-Level Political Forum Side Event: Philanthropy and the Sustainable Development Goals, in New York today:
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations for this special event.
Let me first thank the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Office for Partnerships for coordinating this gathering and for mobilizing our highly valued strategic partners, including the Sustainable Development Goals Philanthropy Platform, the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisers, the European Foundation Centre, Synergos and the United Nations Foundation.
The 2030 Agenda, with 17 interlinked Sustainable Development Goals at its core, is a road map for a collective response to some of greatest challenges facing people and our planet.
It has inspired an impressive early response from Governments, the private sector, local authorities, civil society, the philanthropic sector, the scientific community and many others. But it is also clear that we must move much further and much faster.
On present trends, extreme poverty will not be eliminated by 2030. Hunger is on the rise for the third consecutive year. Wildlife is being lost at an alarming rate, with around 1 million species facing extinction. Disadvantaged population groups remain largely excluded. Globally, youth are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Women face new obstacles and age-old hurdles. In short, the global response has not yet matched the ambition of the 2030 Agenda.
The recently issued Global Sustainable Development Report, prepared by the Independent Group of Scientists, and the Secretary-General’s Sustainable Development Goals Progress report, provide concrete suggestions on the types of actions needed for the Agenda to be made reality.
In particular, we need more ambitious efforts on cross-cutting issues and levers of change. These include finance, data, behaviour change, resilience, institutions, technology and local action — all of which should be underpinned by more effective international cooperation and a commitment to crisis prevention.
The Global Sustainable Development Report also identifies specific entry-points — on food, energy, urban development and sustainable and just economies — that could unleash the greatest benefits across the Sustainable Development Goals, while minimizing trade-offs.
2019 is a pivotal year for this essential work. During the high-level week of the General Assembly in September, the United Nations will hold five closely interconnected summits and high-level events to boost action on climate change and accelerate progress on sustainable development.
The Sustainable Development Goals Summit, and the high-level week as a whole, should be a global moment where we kick-start a new phase of Sustainable Development Goals implementation, prioritizing deep structural changes in society and the economy to realize the human rights of all.
The philanthropic sector has a key role to play in devising approaches and solutions that can help us fulfil the Agenda’s core promise: to leave no one behind. The Sustainable Development Goals can benefit from your knowledge and expertise; your ability to raise awareness of critical issues; your strategic investments; and your deep roots in communities across the world.
Of course, many of you here, as well as many philanthropies around the world — both big and small — are already making contributions to this effort. Significant contributions have been made on so many issues — climate, environment, education, health and gender, to name a few.
However, to fulfil what must be a true Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the world’s poorest will need more. We are not just talking about financial resources. We are asking for more collaboration and partnership, more expertise, more local engagement, especially with youth and women.
We need the philanthropy and foundation community to reposition its response to help leave no one behind, and the United Nations is prepared to work with you to make sure that together we do just that — become fit for purpose to accompany countries and people in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Today, we will hear from philanthropic organizations about how they have been contributing to Sustainable Development Goals implementation and what is needed to inspire even stronger collaboration and ambition. Let me also invite philanthropic organizations and all stakeholders to propose acceleration actions towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the lead-up to the Sustainable Development Goals Summit and the decade ahead to 2030.
In that spirit of common endeavour, I wish you a fruitful dialogue today.