‘Shared blueprint for peace’: Development goals reach billions of dollars, but challenges remain

These findings come from SDG Progress Report 2026released on Tuesday, which calls the goals a “shared blueprint for peace” while acknowledging the significant political and financial challenges associated with achieving the 17 ambitious targets.

Call to action

All 193 UN Member States adopted the SDGs in 2015 as an urgent call for action to promote peace and prosperity. With SDGs as its heart Agenda 2030countries aim to achieve the goal by that year.

Coinciding with the annual report is High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)which kicked off in New York on Tuesday and will run through July 15. This forum serves as the UN’s main platform for tracking progress on the SDGs.

Most of the goals still don’t go according to plan

Since 2015, hard-won progress has been achieved, including:

• Nearly one billion people have access to safe drinking water
• 1.2 billion people have access to safely managed sanitation
• New HIV infections will fall by 30 percent between 2015 and 2024
• Electricity now reaches 92 percent of the global population
• Internet access jumped from 40 to 74 percent
• Social protection now covers more than half of the global population

Despite these achievements, the report concludes that overall progress remains too slow:

• One in 10 people still live in extreme poverty
• Food insecurity impacts 2.3 billion people
• The maternal mortality rate is still almost three times the global target
• In 2025, global temperatures will reach 1.43°Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures
• 273 million children and teenagers are still out of school
• The global refugee population has more than doubled in the past decade

Of the 139 SDG targets with trend data, only 36 percent were on track or showing moderate progress. Meanwhile, 49 percent of them experienced progress that was too slow and 15 percent experienced a decline below the baseline figure in 2015.

Rising conflict, climate change, slowing economic growth, rising debt and record declines in official development assistance have slowed progress towards the SDGs and disproportionately impacted the world’s most vulnerable groups, according to the report.

At UN Headquarters on Tuesday, Deputy Secretary-General Aminah Muhammad calls for reforms that allow international development banks to provide debt relief and long-term financing for initiatives that will advance the SDGs.

“Many countries are being asked to fulfill their promises without the means to do so,” said Mrs. Mohammed.

The annual forum is underway

Ministers, top UN officials, civil society representatives and other stakeholders gathered on Tuesday for the opening of the HLPF, which meets once annually under the auspices of the UN. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

HLPF’s official programming will include a variety of special in-person and virtual events for governments, UN entities, the private sector, youth, civil society and other groups to exchange knowledge and ideas on sustainable development.

At the opening event of the forum, ECOSOC President Lok Bahadur Thapa noted widening gaps in areas ranging from clean energy to water security and urged countries to “work differently” to achieve the SDGs.

“The 2030 Agenda remains our shared promise – to people, planet Earth and future generationsMr Thapa said. “The coming years will not ask whether our challenges were difficult. They will ask whether we were their equal.

Events will escalate to the service portion, also known as the High Level Segment (HLS), which will take place from July 13 to 16 and result in the adoption of the ministerial declaration. Negotiations will be led by representatives from Albania and Sierra Leone.

Latest draft the 2026 ministerial declaration includes a commitment to increasing investment in the SDGs and developing governance frameworks for transformative technologies like artificial intelligence.

In the declaration last yearMember States agreed to it increasing public funding for the SDGs, bridging the digital divide, strengthening health systems and reducing maternal and child mortality rates.

Every four years, the SDG Summit, held under the umbrella of the General Assembly, brings together heads of state to produce a political declaration containing concrete commitments to achieve these goals. The last SDG summit took place in 2023, and the next will take place in 2027.

Five goals front and center

With the 2030 deadline to achieve the SDGs fast approaching, this year’s HLPF is focusing on “transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated action.”

Each year, Member States undertake an in-depth review of some of the goals, not all 17 goals. SDG 17 (partnership to achieve goals) is a permanent fixture.

In addition to SDG 17, countries will analyze the challenges and solutions surrounding them SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).

To maintain member countries’ accountability in achieving the SDGs, the UN encourages countries to conduct regular Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) regarding their progress. Nearly every UN Member State has presented at least one VNR since 2016.

From Albania to Uruguay, 36 countries will present VNRs at this year’s forum. The report has been submitted and is currently underway available to view on the HLPF website.

Closing 2030

Some UN officials acknowledged the difficulty of achieving the SDGs by 2030, but they reiterated the importance of the goals in uniting the world around a shared vision for the future.

Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua said decisive action in debt relief, development financing, food and water systems, essential services, and inequality can still safeguard the achievement of the SDGs.

“The focus must shift from commitment to implementationsaid Master Junhua.

Ms. Mohammed told journalists on Tuesday that there were still major obstacles in implementing the SDGs – funding the most important – but the UN had never stopped working to achieve the 17 goals.

“The day after 2015, it happened 2030,” said Mrs. Mohammed. “The day after 2030, for sure, there will be another date promised by member states, because the world has not yet finished its work.”