GOAL OF THE MONTH – Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

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Where We Are

The Sustainable Development Goals are universal and call for action by all countries – developed and developing – to revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. It requires partnerships between governments, the private sector, and civil society and encompasses key areas such as finance, technology, trade and data.

While there’s progress in mobilizing financial resources for development, significant challenges remain. Developing countries face a substantial $4 trillion annual investment gap to achieve the SDGs alongside unprecedented external debt levels and limited internet access in low-income nations. These persistent barriers — compounded by growing geopolitical tensions — underscore the urgent need for sustained collaboration, enhanced cooperation, and strong international support.

To be successful, everyone will need to mobilize both existing and additional resources and developed countries will need to fulfill their official development assistance commitments.

SDG 17 in Numbers

  • Developing countries face a $4 trillion annual investment gap to achieve the SDGs.
  • 37 out of 69 of the world’s poorest countries were in debt distress or at high risk of it in 2022.
  • The share of exports from Least Developed Countries in global merchandise trade has stagnated
  • at around 1% since 2011.
  • 2 in 3 people used the Internet in 2022, with 259 million more male than female users.
  • Official Development Assistance for data dropped by more than 20% (2018-2020).

“We cannot let our financing for development ambitions get swept away. With just five years to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to shift into overdrive.”

– António Guterres, UN Secretary-General (28 April 2025)

 

In Focus

30 June to 3 July | 4th International Conference on Financing for Development

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), is taking place in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July 2025. It will bring together leaders from around the world to advance collective solutions to the pressing financing challenges threatening the achievement of the SDGs.

With only 17 per cent of the SDG targets on track, the Conference aims to drive action to unlock greater volumes of capital at a lower cost and reform the international financial architecture, ensuring it better serves the needs of developing countries. Discussions will focus on two overarching goals aimed at charting a path towards a more sustainable future: delivering a large-scale impact-focused investment push and reforming the international financial architecture.

Key resources:

News Features

14 July | Sustainable Development Progress Report 2025

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 offers a pivotal assessment marking ten years since the SDGs’ adoption. With five years remaining until the 2030 deadline, this comprehensive report presents a nuanced statistical portrait of global development progress. The report highlights significant achievements such as reductions in HIV infections, lives saved through malaria prevention, increased school enrollment, expanded internet access, and near-universal electricity coverage. However, the data also reveals persistent challenges, including widespread hunger, lack of basic services for billions of people , entrenched gender inequality, escalating global tensions, and a staggering $4 trillion annual financing gap constraining development efforts in developing countries.

Despite these formidable obstacles, the report’s evidence-based analysis demonstrates that scaling up proven, effective solutions can still drive meaning progress toward 2030. Additional information on the report can be found here.

14-23 July | High-Level Political Forum

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will convene from 14 to 23 July at UN Headquarters in New York under the theme “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind”.

The SDGs under review will be:

The 2025 HLPF is expected to bring together ministerial and high-level representatives of governments, as well as a wide range of expertise and stakeholders, including heads of UN entities, academics and other experts, and representatives of major groups and other stakeholders. There will also be a three-day ministerial segment of the Forum taking place from 21-23 July 2025. Additional information can be found here.

Key Event

28-30 July | UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4) 

The second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 27-29 July 2025. This event will build on the momentum of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and the first Stocktake in 2023 (UNFSS+2), focusing on accelerating sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems transformation. The UNFSS+4 will provide an opportunity to document progress, strengthen accountability, and unlock investments for transformative action. Additional information on programming and participation details can be found here.

International Days and Years

15 July | World Youth Skills Day

World Youth Skills Day celebrates the key importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. The world faces a multitude of challenges today, many of which affect the youth. On World Youth Skills Day, let us unite in recognizing the potential of young people as agents of peace and commit to providing them with the skills and opportunities to address challenges and contribute to a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future. 

18 July | Nelson Mandela International Day 

The International Day commemorates Nelson Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity. Every 5 years, the UN Nelson Mandela prize is awarded to those who dedicated their lives to the service of humanity as guided by the purposes and principles of the UN, while honouring and paying homage to Mandela’s extraordinary life and legacy of reconciliation, political transition and social transformation.  

The 2025 Prize is awarded to Mrs. Brenda Reynolds of Saulteaux First Nation and Canada, and Mr. Kennedy Odede of Kenya, selected by the UN Selection Committee which was advised by a group of eminent persons. The laureates will be recognized at the annual commemoration on 18 July 2025. Learn more about the laureates here. 

ACTNOW for our Common Future

 

ActNow is the United Nations campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals. The Goals can improve life for all of us. Safer cities. Equality. A Just Society. A peaceful world. These issues matter to everyone. But progress is too slow. We have to act, urgently, to accelerate changes that add up to better lives on a healthier planet. Join the campaign to learn — and do — more for #OurCommonFuture.

Visit ActNow: https://www.un.org/actnow

SDG Media Zone at UN Ocean Conference

 

At the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, global leaders, innovators, and advocates united to drive progress on SDG 14: Life Below Water. The SDG Media Zone hosted discussions ranging from AI-powered solutions to Indigenous knowledge and youth-led action, showcasing bold ideas and urgent calls for collective action. You can find all the videos here: https://www.un.org/en/sdgmediazone/ocean2025

Awake at Night Podcast

Arif Husain, Chief Economist at the World Food Programme, has dedicated his life to advocating for those going to bed hungry every night. In this episode, Arif reflects on how the deadly trio of conflict, climate change and economics conspire to breed hunger, and offers listeners hope from a surprising source. Listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/4eOkXat

Discover all the episodes and previous seasons here ->  https://pod.link/1429922419

SDG EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2025