Archive for category: Sustainable Development Goals

, , , , ,

Clean Water and Sanitation: Evaluating Sustainable Development Goals

Clean Water and Sanitation
The Sustainable Development Goals, better known as the SDGs, are the United Nations’ pride and joy. The SDGs are a continuation of the previous Millennium Development Goals (the MDGs), but are more inclusive in scope and size.

In 2015, the United Nations came up with “17 goals to transform our world.” The goals cover a lot of ground and aim to reduce poverty and hunger, address inequality, protect the environment and encourage peace among a variety of other things. The United Nations hopes to achieve its goals and this sustainable development agenda by the year 2030.

There is one goal in particular that proves essential to the success of nations with impoverished citizens — SDG #6, ensuring access to water and sanitation for all.

Clean Water and Sanitation

Ensuring access to clean water and sanitation for all is a lofty goal, but a great deal is being done to achieve it. Since the 1990s, strides have been made to improve the quality of drinking water around the world, but 663 million people are still without access.

Additionally, at least 1.8 billion people around the world use a source for drinking water that is in some way fecally contaminated, and 2.4 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation facilities. These numbers are extremely high and represent a larger portion of the population than those living in extreme poverty.

In the first set of U.N. goals — the MDGs — this goal was not included, thus making it difficult to target aid and progress made in ensuring clean water and sanitation. By including this goal in the SDGs, much more progress has been made since 2015, and creative ways to solve the problem are being developed and implemented around the world.

Very recently, on March 22nd, the United Nations launched the International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028. This initiative calls for increased cooperation, partnership and capacity development to achieve all water-related SDGs by the set target year, 2030. This agenda focuses on the importance of water-related goals and will further their progress and solution implementation.

WASH

WASH United is an organization dedicated to solving issues of water and sanitation. The acronym WASH stands for Water, Sanitation and Good Hygiene. The organization and its partners works with primarily children in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to promote proper WASH behaviors.

The organization also focuses heavily on educating girls about proper menstrual hygiene. The organization initiated menstrual hygiene day, which now takes place every 28th of May.

WASH focuses on changing personal attitudes and behaviors related to sanitation for the people it serves. The organization puts an emphasis on working with people and their passions so as to best connect with its advisees emotionally and pass on their message. WASH also does a lot of advocacy work and has helped facilitate national policy changes related to sanitation.

WASH works in tandem with SDG #6, and hopes to achieve clean water and sanitation for all by the year 2030. With WASH and other organizations dedicated to achieving the goal, success seems to be imminent.

– Sonja Flancher

Photo: Flickr

, ,

The UN Sustainable Development Agenda’s Relationship with Soft Power

The UN Sustainable Development Agenda and Its Relationship with Soft Power
Soft power, a phrase coined by Joseph Nye, is at the center of debates surrounding foreign aid and assistance. In Nye’s 1990 journal article titled “Soft Power,” Nye describes the strong shift in global powers.

The Shift to Soft Power

As the world grows more interdependent, there is a decline in the practicality of hard power — military might as a form of international governance and conquest. In our technologically advanced era, the strength of power no longer solely lies with resources, land and power of military, but rather in a nation’s soft power. Soft power can refer to a multitude of actions, and can be defined by multiple factors:

  • Technology
  • Education
  • Economic Growth
  • Cultural Ideology

The extent to which a nation can control the global political environment, the cultural standing and domestic relations with other nations, and identify common goals and standards, all work to strengthen soft power.

Soft power must be developed over years, and in many instances, may be like walking a tight rope as nations compromise and work to maintain positive diplomatic relations along the way.

In a technologically advanced time where we move toward a global economy, hard power is becoming more expensive as it works to decrease the legitimacy of a nation’s leadership and can undermine its control over other nations in the global sphere. If other countries admire the values, culture and prosperity of a powerful nation, that nation can use soft power to co-opt rather than coerce compliance.

The U.N.’s Response: 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda

The United Nations (U.N.) was formed in 1945 when 50 countries met in San Francisco to create the United Nations’ Charter. Since their first meeting, nearly 200 countries are now member states of this esteemed organization.

In late 2015, the U.N. convened at the General Assembly for the 70th session; here the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda was introduced. The “Preamble to the Agenda” outlines the resolve to promote prosperity and peace across the planet, ending the “tyranny of poverty” with a desire to “heal” the planet.

Sustainable development is the idea of developing and progressing forward, without damaging the future potential for progress, prosperity and growth. With this agenda, the U.N. and its 193 member countries agreed to the three core elements of sustainable development:

  1. Economic growth
  2. Social Inclusion/Equality
  3. Environmental Protection

All three of these goals are interconnected with one another and cannot succeed without the other. These core elements contribute to the development of soft power as it works to strengthen the U.N.’s standing in the global sphere and promote global peace.

The Relationship to Soft Power

Furthermore, the eradication of poverty is stated as necessary for the growth and prosperity of nations and is ranked number one out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, there are five areas of critical importance on the U.N. Sustainable Development Agenda:

  1. People: desire to end world hunger and poverty with an emphasis on equality.
  2. Planet: sustainable management of resources supporting the needs of present and future generations.
  3. Prosperity: desire for all people to enjoy prosperous lives where progress can occur in harmony with the environment.
  4. Peace: hard power loses its place as the U.N. fosters peaceful societies. They make it clear: no peace, no sustainable development. No sustainable development, no peace.
  5. Partnership: highlights the importance of the interlinkages and solidarity between nations. Through common goals for peace and prosperity these goals can be reached.

The Fight for SDGs

The focus of the U.N. and its 193-member states to co-opt other nations into common goals is the epitome of soft power. This peaceful but necessary force will work in the U.N.’s favor to ensure the U.N. achieves its 2030 Agenda, pushing for a more prosperous and peaceful world where all of humanity is seen and treated as equals.

– Kelilani Johnson

Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

Three Global Healthcare Initiatives of the Global Health Council

18. Three Global Healthcare Initiatives of the Global Health Council
The Global Health Council fights for U.S. and international policies and resources that advance global health programs and goals through several global healthcare initiatives. Three major global healthcare initiatives of the Global Health Council are Global Financing Facility (GFF), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Global Health Security.

 

1. Global Financing Facility

The development of the Global Financing Facility was announced at the 69th U.N. General Assembly in 2014 by the World Bank and the Governments of Canada, Norway and the United States.

The GFF developments was for supporting reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) through Every Women Every Child, to reduce preventable maternal, newborn, child and adolescent deaths, as well as improving health overall.

Part of GFF’s strategy to channel international and domestic resources towards RMNCAH includes continuing the work with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and focusing on sustainable development and business plans.

Through domestic and international, private and public funding, $12 billion has already been aligned to country-led, five-year investment plans in four initial countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

New commitments were made by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the governments of Canada, Japan and the United States; in addition, eight additional countries were announced to benefit from the GFF: Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda.

 

2. The Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 global goals that aim to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity with each goal having specific targets to be reached by 2030.

The 17 goals are:

  1. No Poverty
  2. Zero Hunger
  3. Good health and well-being
  4. Quality Education
  5. Gender Equality
  6. Clean Water and Sanitation
  7. Affordable and Clean Energy
  8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
  9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  10. Reduced Inequalities
  11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
  12. Responsible Consumption and Production
  13. Climate Action
  14. Life Below Water
  15. Life on Land
  16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  17. Partnerships for the Goals

The globe reached an agreement to strive to implement these goals, and the entity of the Global Health Council is no exception.

 

3. The Global Health Security

The Global Health Security serves to prepare for and respond to public health threats and reduce or prevent its spread across borders. The effort accomplishes this by implementing strong health systems with resources and personnel that identify threats and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

The IHR, International Health Regulations purpose is to enable the international community to prevent and respond to public health risks that will potentially cross borders and threaten populations worldwide.

To ensure countries are able to meet the IHR, the U.S. is committed to the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) — a partnership with other governments, international agencies and other stakeholders that seeks to prevent, detect and respond to global health threats.

These three global healthcare initiatives, as well as others, are making significant and meaningful impacts in countries all over the world.

– Julia Lee

Photo: Flickr

How Satellite Technology is Helping Developing Countries

Not many people would think of satellite technology as something that is helpful for developing countries, but it is an investment that can help countries achieve more sustainable development. Satellites’ ability to connect and communicate is essential for developing countries, especially in rural areas. These advancements are a boon to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were adopted by the United Nations in 2015.

Some specific ways that satellite technology can be used by developing countries are for communication in disaster areas, obtaining information about weather for use in agriculture and fishing and sharing medical information. By improving these areas, satellite technology can be used as one solution for many SDGs. For example, by using information gathered about agriculture and fisheries, satellites are assisting in the development of economies. In some countries, illegal fishing is a problem that satellite technology can help reduce, which improves the livelihoods and security of people in the fishing industry. Communication about healthcare (for general care or in disaster areas) and education improves people’s safety and gives them access to education.

Satellite technology is helping developing countries such as Indonesia and Nigeria. In Indonesia, the U.K. space agency Inmarsat has a program aimed at improving the management of the fishing industry, which is important to the economy in Indonesia. The program uses satellite-based tools on fishing boats in order for the government to collect data that can reduce illegal fishing practices, while also being a tool to relay information about the weather to fishermen that are out at sea.

In Nigeria, Inmarsat has launched another project that is benefiting healthcare systems. Satellite technology is being used in research institutions as well as the federal and state health centers. The research institutions are using satellite technology for data collection to see what needs to be improved. The health centers use satellite technology for communication, disease surveillance and video-based training for their staff.

By helping improve communication and data collection, satellites are a beneficial investment for the sustainable development of countries. The improvements that can be made to their economies as well as their healthcare systems can improve people’s security and save lives.

– Deanna Wetmore

Photo: Flickr

,

Taiwan’s Sustainable Development Shows Progress

sustainable developmentOn September 15, Taiwan released its first Voluntary National Review at a forum meeting in New York. Taiwan has been working toward meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals despite it not being a U.N. member.

The government of Taiwan has been actively establishing partnerships in agriculture, public health, education, environmentalism and information and communications technology. These partnerships have allowed Taiwan to advance its development in the areas of poverty, education, hunger, health and gender equality.

Additionally, Taiwan has an active recycling system, which has been introduced in Romania, where it is also being implemented. This system allows for the recycling of polyethylene terephthalate water bottles, benefitting the environment and communities of Taiwan.

Taiwan’s sustainable development efforts have also been working toward eliminating other harmful toxins found in items such as cosmetics. Beginning in January 2018, the nation will be prohibiting the production of cosmetics that contain small plastic particles, and fewer stores will be allowed to offer free plastic bags to customers.

The nation has already been seeing the positive effects of its environmentalist efforts. According to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emissions are expected to reduce by half of the 2005 volume by 2050. The efforts being made by the Taiwanese government are benefiting the nation’s most vulnerable. By tackling climate change and other environmental issues, Taiwan is protecting its citizens who live off the land.

Additionally, Taiwan is seeking improvements in its healthcare, universal education and women’s political participation, which will provide more resources for the nation’s poor and historically subjugated groups. Working alongside a number of other countries, Taiwan has been successfully fighting diseases including Zika, Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

If Taiwan’s sustainable development continues to improve, the nation will see an increase in health, educational and employment opportunities and a decrease in poverty and the gender gap, which will put Taiwan on par with major developed countries.

– Kassidy Tarala

Photo: Flickr

,

Positive Effects: Sustainable Development Policy in Monaco

Sustainable Development Policy in Monaco

The principality of Monaco borders France on the Mediterranean Sea and draws tourists because of its casino and pleasant climate. It is 0.8 square miles and is the most densely populated country in the world and the second smallest after Vatican City. Immigrants comprise 55 percent of the total population. Tourism, banking, consumer products and much more are vital to the economy as it welcomes wealthy vacationers and residents. With the influx of people, Monaco wants to ensure economic sustainability and high quality of life while continuing to attract investors.

While Monaco is a well-established country, some of its current concerns include “managing industrial growth and tourism, environmental concerns and maintaining the quality of life.” To combat these issues, the government has created a sustainable development policy in Monaco. The plan includes reducing greenhouse gases and the effects of climate change, creating soft mobility in the city and providing aid to impoverished countries.

During the 2015 United Nations Climate Conference, Monaco announced its target of reducing greenhouse gases by 50 percent by 2030, which is about 20 percent more than the figure announced at the 2009 conference. This sustainable development policy in Monaco works together with the principality’s soft mobility initiative to “reduce traffic in the neighborhoods…whilst maintaining the development of business activity, in a space shared by all.” Monaco is also working to improve the service of city transportation and provide price incentives for drivers, buses and public parking.

The initiative of mobility is not the only aspect of the sustainable development policy in Monaco. They have also developed five flagship programs, some of which include fighting against sickle-cell disease, supporting vulnerable and street children and controlling pandemics such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. These programs are a part of the overall sustainable development policy in Monaco and support “more than 130 projects in 12 countries, primarily least developed countries (Madagascar, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal et Burundi).”

There have been great strides in moving forward with the sustainable development policy in Monaco, not just to improve their citizens’ quality of life, but the lives of children, women, the disabled, refugees and other vulnerable groups. This policy can be of benefit to millions in developing countries and a model for other nations.

– Jennifer Lightle

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Gates Foundation Report: Optimism in the Fight Against Poverty

Gates Foundation ReportThe recently published Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation report entitled ‘Goalkeepers: The Story Behind the Data’ seeks to highlight the progress made by public health workers and governments around the world in the fight against poverty and infectious diseases. The Foundation plans on publishing a Goalkeepers report every year until 2030. Their main objective is to demonstrate that investments in the fight against global poverty truly do have an impact, thus fighting skepticism of foreign aid. This year’s report puts the progress in this area in perspective; contrary to what seems to be a prevailing pessimism about the state of the world, the 2017 Goalkeepers report clearly demonstrates that the “world is better now than 25 years ago”.

The report uses 18 data points from the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, signed in 2015 by world leaders, that are particularly relevant to health and well-being, such as infant mortality and vaccination. Although improvement is stagnating, a majority of the indices show great improvement in the last two decades. Since 1990, more than 100 million lives of children five years or younger have been saved. The rate of infant mortality per 1,000 has dropped from 85 to 38. Maternal deaths have fallen from 275 per 100,000 live births to 179 in 2016.

The report shows that the world is better now than 25 years ago for a large portion of its most vulnerable members. Under the World Bank definition of poverty (living under $1.90 a day), the global poverty rate has decreased from 35 percent in 1990 to 9 percent in 2016.

In terms of health and the fight against infectious disease, the report also emphatically demonstrates how the world is better now than 25 years ago. HIV, for example, has had a remarkable decline in the past two decades, from 0.6 deaths per 1,000 people to 0.25 in 2016. Smoking rates have also significantly improved around the world. In 1990, 22 percent of people 10 years or older smoked; today, that number has dropped to 16 percent. The most impressive improvement is in widespread vaccination, which the report claims is “one of the most impressive public health stories in global health”. 89 percent of target populations have been covered by the eight major vaccines, compared to 73 percent in 1990.

The Sustainable Development Goals have a 2030 deadline, which is why the Gates Foundation report will be released every year until then. Although the numbers demonstrate that the world is better now than 25 years ago, Bill Gates has expressed some concern over a decline and stagnation in funds directed towards foreign aid and global health, especially in the fight against HIV. The remarkable feat of progress achieved so far by the international community at large should serve as an impetus for continued and increased funding, something the Gates Foundation intends to push for.

– Alan Garcia-Ramos

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Positive Planet: Lending to the Greater Good

Positive PlanetAccording to the World Bank, more than 2.5 billion people do not have a bank account and many of those people make up the world’s poor. So, it should not be surprising that just within the past decade, microfinance has become an increasingly popular form of business in many countries. Microfinance, or micro-lending, essentially refers to lending small amounts to individuals who do not have access to typical financial institutions.

Because this service goes to low-income individuals, it is popular among many nonprofits and private businesses to help people start enterprises around the world. Many microfinance institutions lend to women, young people and others who have been historically kept out of finance.

One organization, in particular, strives to alleviate poverty by empowering marginalized populations.

Since its founding in 1988, Positive Planet has set out to provide microloans to women who want to start their own businesses. The nonprofit aims to provide the chance to start a viable, sustainable business to women without resources. The organization also follows some of the intuition behind the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the goals of gender equality, decent work and economic growth.

The organization, based in France, manages projects through different locations that provide assistance to people in different countries. Positive Planet’s reach extends all over the world to 35 countries. Its projects span from helping refugee businesses in the Middle East to inspiring young people in West Africa.

Since its beginning, the organization has touched more than 40,000 people through nearly 40 projects. Just one of these projects helps microfinance groups provide women with financial education. The project aimed to help further develop the infrastructure in place for microfinance in China and also support women’s finance training. Through a partnership with Diageo and the Huimin Microcredit Company, the project was able to directly impact more than 7,000 people.

Another project assisted low-income women in Brazil with entering the labor market and learning the basics of entrepreneurship. The program attempted to benefit vulnerable women through individual support. By partnering with Gerando Vida, a local NGO, the program was able to directly impact the women and their families.

By helping vulnerable women around the world, this organization takes a staunch position against global poverty. This organization and its results demonstrate the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs.

– Selasi Amoani

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Progress Thus Far on the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030

Sustainable Development Goals of 2030
When it comes to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 that would eradicate extreme global poverty, rich countries are lagging behind.

Scandinavian countries are leading the way among 157 nations ranked by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). The United States is ranked 42 in the list while Russia was ranked 62 and China 71. The Bertelsmann Foundation, which looks at global challenges to recommend solutions for pressing political, economic and social issues, says that the most developed countries need to speed up to complete their end on the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.

“A rising ‘my country first’ approach by many heads of government threatens the realization of the SDGs,” according to the SDSN. As reported by Reuters, the countries that are most on track with meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 are Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

“Leaders at the G20 summit in Hamburg must strengthen the commitment towards these historic global goals,” reads the headline posted by the Bertelsmann Foundation. It released a story on countries not in line with meeting their Sustainable Development Goals right before the G20 Summit in Germany. The foundation’s goal is to have this dilemma addressed by the major world leaders at the G20 Summit.

The problem is that the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 are just goals that aren’t mandatory. Therefore, countries may not have this as a priority, or might not even plan on fulfilling them at all. This is why it is so important to lobby policymakers and contact representatives to let them know where about important issues such as these.

– Vicente Vera

Photo: Flickr