What are the SDGs?
On September 25, 2015 at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters, world leaders officially endorsed the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda as a global development agreement. Around 193 heads of state were present, including Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla who also ratified the SDGs Agenda.
With the theme "Changing Our World: Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development", the SDGs, which contain 17 Goals and 169 Targets, are a global action plan for the next 15 years (effective 2016 to 2030), to alleviate poverty, reduce inequality and protect the environment. The SDGs apply to all countries (universal), so all countries without exception developed countries have a moral obligation to achieve the goals and targets of the SDGs.
SDGs are designed to be participatory
Unlike the predecessor Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs are designed to involve all development actors, be it the Government, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the private sector, academia, and so on. Around 8.5 million voices of citizens around the world also contributed to the SDGs Goals and Targets.
Leave No One Behind
Leaving no one behind is a key principle of the SDGs. With these principles, the SDGs must at least be able to answer two things, procedural justice, namely the extent to which all parties, especially those left behind, can be involved in the entire development process and substantive justice, namely the extent to which development policies and programs can or are able to answer the problems of citizens, especially disadvantaged groups.
Introduction to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Program
SDGs is a program that contains 17 Goals and 169 Targets that are expected to be achieved by 2030. This program was developed to answer the demands of world leadership in overcoming poverty, social inequality, and climate change.
The SDGs program contains 17 Goals and 169 Targets that are expected to be achieved by 2030. The 17 goals of the SDGs are as follows:
Goal 1
Eradicate poverty (No Poverty). Until now, poverty is still a major problem in various parts of the world. In order to improve the welfare of the world's population, poverty eradication is one of the main agendas in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Goal 2
End hunger (Zero Hunger). In addition to poverty, the problem of hunger or lack of food also still haunts various places in the world. Therefore, promoting agriculture and food security is a major agenda in achieving the goal of improving nutrition.
Goal 3
Good Health and Well-Being. Health issues are also a major concern in the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, healthy lifestyles and supporting well-being for all ages are now being promoted.
Goal 4
Quality Education. Ensure that quality education is accessible to all. This is because education plays a very important role in improving people's quality of life.
Goal 5
Gender equality. Despite the recent massive development of gender equality, discrimination against gender, especially women, is still a problem in many countries. Striving for gender equality can strengthen a country's ability to develop rapidly, govern effectively and alleviate poverty.
Goal 6
Access to clean water and sanitation. The World Bank in 2014 released data that there are still 780 million people without access to clean water in the world and more than 2 billion people on earth do not have access to sanitation. This results in material losses of up to 7 percent of the world's GDP as many lives are lost every day. Therefore, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation for all is essential in order to improve the quality of human life.
Goal 7
Affordable and clean energy. There are still many isolated areas in the world that do not have electricity, even though it is essential to improve economic activities.
Goal 8
Decent work and economic growth. To maximize economic growth, decent work and a healthy working environment must be guaranteed to keep investment and consumption going.
Goal 9
Industry, innovation and infrastructure. In the world, more than 4 billion people do not have internet access and 90 percent of them are from developing countries. Therefore, in order to build a strong infrastructure and sustainable industrialization, this will be addressed.
Goal 10
Reduce Inequality. Reduce disparities within and between countries. Income inequality is on the rise, with the richest 10 percent controlling 40 percent of total global income. On the other hand, the poorest 10 percent of people earn between 2 and 7 percent of total global income. In developing countries, this gap has increased by 11 percent if we account for population growth.
Goal 11
Sustainable Cities and Communities. Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Goal 12
Responsible Consumption and Production. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Goal 13
Addressing climate change (Climate Action). Fighting and addressing the changing climate and global warming is one of the key tasks.
Goal 14
Protecting marine ecosystems (Life Below Water). Due to a lot of poaching and pollution of marine ecosystems, in sustainable development, marine life will be protected more fully.
Goal 15
Protect the land ecosystem (Life On Land). In addition to affecting the climate, managing forests sustainably, rehabilitating damaged land, stopping biodiversity extinction are also major goals.
Goal 16
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies.
Goal 17
Partnership for the Goals. Revive the global partnership for sustainable development.
Today, the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) provides substantive support and capacity building for the SDGs and related thematic issues, including water, energy, climate, oceans, urbanization, transport, science and technology, the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), partnerships and Small Island Developing States.
The DSDG plays a key role in the evaluation of the UN system's implementation of the 2030 Agenda and on advocacy and outreach activities related to the SDGs. To make the 2030 Agenda a reality, broad ownership of the SDGs must translate into a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals. The DSDG aims to help facilitate this engagement.
