With less than a decade of reaching the deadline for the global achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the countries with the greatest obstacles to present a panorama of progress in 2030 are precisely those where the highest indicators in terms of morbidity and disease prevail. cause-specific mortality.
Today, 6 out of 10 deaths in the world are due to non-communicable conditions, 3 in 10 to communicable or nutritional conditions, and 1 in 10 to injuries.
Many developing countries have mortality patterns that reflect high levels of infectious diseases and the risk of death during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as different types of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and chronic respiratory diseases that cause the majority of deaths in the world. developed.
The foregoing, as intricate as it may seem, is closely linked to the marked delay of a vast majority of countries in the global south in achieving the goals that must be achieved before the end of 2030. But where does the sudden urgency arise? for the SDG 17 that marks the title of this text?
As it emanates from the promulgation of the last of the SDGs, the alliances refer to the need to accelerate and improve the existing mechanisms of intersectoral collaboration between countries to achieve all the objectives by the year 2030.
It is a call to countries to align their policies. It is a vision for improved and more equitable trade, as well as coordinated investment initiatives to promote sustainable development across borders.
In short, it is about strengthening and streamlining cooperation between nation-states, both developed and developing, using the SDGs as a shared framework and a common vision to define that collaborative path to follow.
However, on a simple glance at any of the available rankings on public predilection for the SDGs, number 17 is nowhere near the top. Not even close.
A poll conducted by Ipsos for the World Economic Forum between April 23 and May 7 of this year ranked the top SDG priorities for public opinion globally. SDG 2 (zero hunger), 1 (end of poverty) and 3 (health and well-being) emerged as the top three priorities from the point of view of global citizens.
The opinion poll, which involved 20,000 adults in 28 countries, gives a second priority level to SDG 6 (drinking water and sanitation), 8 (decent work and economic growth) and 4 (quality education). These are followed by the SDGs related to climate change and the protection of biodiversity.
SDG 17 is about a call to countries to align their policies.
On the other hand, approximately 4 out of 10 respondents state that companies in their countries are shirking the responsibility of achieving the SDGs, and the majority hold this opinion in Chile, Canada, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Italy, Hungary and Colombia. Another 4 in 10 say that “most of the people” in their country are not doing enough.
If the above does not fully demonstrate the urgency of injecting renewed momentum into SDG17, it will have to be insisted on and with absolute determination at the highest levels of political decision-making. In order to reinvigorate this roadmap without further pretexts or excuses, with a marked emphasis on partnerships for development.
As the decade of United Nations action progresses, it is perfectly clear that any last-minute alliance will have been in vain. The time to act is now.
At the Diplomatic Coalition we are convinced that SDG 17 is a sine qua non requirement for all other goals. This is not a scientific statement. It’s common sense, plain and simple. Without immediate progress on the fronts that refer to this SDG, tangible and sustainable success on the other fronts will be frankly unfeasible.
We are faced with an irrefutable fact: if immediate, sustainable and effective measures are not adopted to coordinate, collaborate and convene all those involved in this mission, within and between countries, to work tirelessly and together towards the SDGs, the probability of achieving them will decrease exponentially with the passage of each year.
