The Global Goals - Fighting Poverty and Climate Change
A world without extreme poverty is within our reach.
A world without extreme poverty, hunger, and death from preventable diseases is not only possible but entirely achievable. The money to overcome these problems – and to ensure everyone has access to basic human rights like education and clean water – is out there, if our politicians are willing to act.
In 2015, leaders of 193 countries agreed on a set of ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ to create this world.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals agreed at the UN, to be achieved by 2030.
They promise to:
- halve extreme poverty, reduce inequality, and end hunger
- end preventable mother and child deaths
- control HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria
- get all children into school
- provide clean water, toilets and energy for all
- cut carbon emissions and help low income countries adapt to climate change
Focused global efforts to tackle poverty, ill health and a lack of access to education are essential to give all people a fair chance in life. And they work.
Between 2000 and 2015, world leaders worked towards the ‘Millennium Development Goals’. Because of these efforts, the number of children dying before their fifth birthday was cut in half, saving six million children’s lives every year. The number of people receiving life-saving HIV/AIDS treatment doubled, saving another million lives every year. And more than 90% of children globally started primary school in 2015.
Making this world a reality
Tackling big problems like global poverty and climate change needs big money. But the money is out there – in fact, the world has never been richer. The amount earned all across the world every year can be measured in the trillions. In contrast, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 needs about another $2 trillion.
High income countries already provide $150 billion every year in aid. This should be increased, but we also need to find NEW sources of money to fill the SDGs funding gap.
