“It is time to sound the alarm. At the midpoint on our way to 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals are in deep trouble. An assessment of the around 140 targets for which trend data is available shows that about half of these targets are moderately or severely off track; and over 30 per cent have either seen no movement or regressed below the 2015 baseline,” the report stated.

Failure to redouble global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – the promise of a better world for all – may fuel greater political instability, upend economies and lead to irreversible damage to the natural environment.

That is according to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition on Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet.

The report raises the alarm, urging people and planet rescue plan. It advises that the international community move on with the proposed SDG Stimulus to scale up affordable long-term financing for all needy countries.

The SDG Stimulus includes three areas of action: a massive increase in development finance enabled by a change in the business model of Multilateral Development Banks; a new debt initiative in which short-term debt could be exchanged for longer-term instruments at lower interest rates; and the expansion of contingency financing to all countries in need.

"Developing countries are bearing the brunt of our collective failure to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many face a huge financing gap and are buried under a mountain of debt. One in three countries is at high risk of being unable to service their debt… We are at a moment of truth and reckoning. But together, we can make this a moment of hope. I urge all Member States to make 2023 the moment when we jump-start progress on the SDGs, to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for all," says António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

“Leave no one behind,” the report said adding that, the defining principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a shared promise by every country to work together to secure the rights and well-being of everyone on a healthy, thriving planet.

“But halfway to 2030, that promise is in peril. The Sustainable Development Goals are disappearing in the rear-view mirror, as is the hope and rights of current and future generations. A fundamental shift is needed – in commitment, solidarity, financing and action – to put the world on a better path. And it is needed now.”

With only seven years remaining for implementation of the Goals, the stakes are huge. Using the latest available data and estimates, the report presents a sobering picture of the SDGs as the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (10 to 19 July), where countries will showcase concrete actions they are taking to achieve the SDGs, kicks off today - Tuesday.

The Forum comes ahead of the SDG Summit (18 to 19 September) a defining moment for world leaders to urgently reverse course and turbo-charge the SDGs.

The report says that, the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic stalled three decades of steady progress in reducing extreme poverty, with the number of people living in extreme poverty increasing for the first time in a generation.

"Under current trends, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, and only about one third of countries will meet the target to halve national poverty levels. Shockingly, the world is back at hunger levels not seen since 2005, and food prices remain higher in more countries than in the period 2015–2019.

"The way things are going, it will take 286 years to close gender gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws. And in education, the impacts of years of underinvestment and learning losses are such that, by 2030, some 84 million children will be out of school and 300 million children or young people attending school will leave unable to read and write, " UN report said.

The report also warned that while the lack of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals is universal, it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable who are experiencing the worst effects of these unprecedented global challenges.

According to the report, this is a direct result of global injustices that go back hundreds of years but are still playing out today.

“The compounding effects of climate, COVID-19 and economic injustices are leaving many developing countries with fewer options and even fewer resources to make the Goals a reality,” it said.

World leaders made a historic promise to secure the rights and well-being of everyone on a healthy, thriving planet when they agreed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs in 2015.

However, the combined impacts of the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine, a gloomy global economic outlook and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed systemic weaknesses and significantly hampered progress towards the goals.

“A reality check of the progress made on the SDGs at the midpoint towards 2030 reveals significant challenges. The latest global-level data and assessments from custodian agencies1 paint a concerning picture: of the approximately 140 targets that can be evaluated, half of them show moderate or severe deviations from the desired trajectory.

Furthermore, more than 30 per cent of these targets have experienced no progress or, even worse, regression below the 2015 baseline. This assessment underscores the urgent need for intensified efforts to ensure the SDGs stay on course and progress towards a sustainable future for all.”

Progress in some areas

The report also looked into progress in some areas since 2015 which illustrates the potential for further advances.

It said the share of global population with access to electricity has increased from 87 per cent in 2015 to 91 per cent in 2021, with close to 800 million additional people being connected.

“The global electricity access rate increased from 87 per cent in 2015 to 91 per cent in 2021, serving close to an additional 800 million people. However, 675 million people still lacked access to electricity in 2021, mostly located in LDCs. Despite steady progress in the last six years, the annual access growth rate of 0.6 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 lags behind the 0.8 percentage points observed in 2015–2019. In sub-Saharan Africa, due to population growth, the number of people without access has remained stubbornly stagnant since 2010, leaving 567 million without access in 2021. Electrification can help increase educational attainment, improve health care, support agriculture development, reduce gender inequality, enhance climate action and create business opportunities and jobs. However, if the current pace continues, some 660 million people will still be without electricity by 2030. To change course and achieve universal access by 2030, the access rate must increase by 1 percentage point annually between 2021 and 2030.”

By 2021, 133 countries had already met the SDG target on under-5 mortality, and an additional 13 are expected to do so by 2030.

“There has been some progress on improving global health in recent years. For example, 146 out of 200 countries or areas have already met or are on track to meet the SDG target on under-5 mortality. Effective HIV treatment has cut global AIDS-related deaths by 52 per cent since 2010 and at least one neglected tropical disease has been eliminated in 47 countries. • However, insufficient progress has been made in other areas, such as on reducing maternal mortality and expanding universal health coverage. Globally, approximately 800 women died every day from pregnancy or childbirth in 2020. And 381 million people were pushed or further pushed into extreme poverty in 2019 due to out-of-pocket payments for health.”

These important development gains, according to the report, demonstrate that a breakthrough to a better future for all is possible through the combination of collective action and strong political will, and the effective use of available technologies, resources, and knowledge.

This advance, it indicated, can lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, improve gender equality and put the world on a low-emissions pathway by 2030. Strengthening data ecosystems will also be key to understanding where the world stands and what needs to be done to achieve the SDGs.