Consensus reached over new Sustainable Development Goals

Numerous meetings, conferences, public hearings etc. have been organized over the last years with the aim of formulating new development goals to replace the goals which were formulated in the year 2000. On the 2^nd of August a landmark decision was made by the United Nations when the Member States agreed on a proposal for 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2015-2030.

The new goals are part of a document with the ambitious title “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon describes this document as a “plan of action for ending poverty in all its dimensions, irreversibly and everywhere”. Read Ban Ki-moon's statement here. (UN photo/Mark Garten).

The document with the 17 goals and 169 sub-goals will be finally adopted in a meeting for Heads of States in New York in September.

It is well worth noting the new goals recognize alcohol and drug use as a global health and development challenge. Goal number 3 says: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. As with all the 17 goals, this goal is specified with a number of sub-goals. Sub-goal 3.5 goes: “Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol”.

This is obviously a rather general formulation, but still important. It defines substance use as a global health and development concern, and it stresses the importance of prevention efforts.

News article with more details can be found here at the UN web site.

The full list of Sustainable Development Goals:

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (taking note of agreements made by the UNFCCC forum)
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development