ONE hails UN’s Global Goals – real work yet to begin

BRUSSELS, 3 AUGUST 2015. Yesterday, the United Nations delegations in New York agreed on the text for a new agenda for global sustainable development over the next 15 years.  The new Sustainable Development Goals will seek to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty, reduce inequality within and among countries, realise gender equality, and take urgent action to combat climate change.  The 17 Goals will be formally adopted in September at the United Nations General Assembly.

Tamira Gunzburg, Director of ONE Brussels, said:

“These new Global Goals are a major landmark in the effort to end extreme poverty by 2030. They set out a global contract for a world where nobody lives in hunger or dies of preventable diseases. Campaigners from every corner of the planet have raised their voices to demand that world leaders sign up to a plan that will leave no one behind.

“When the SDGs are formally adopted in September, there will rightly be fireworks to celebrate. We must do all we can to tell everyone about their significance. But goals alone will not end poverty. The hard work of making this ambition a reality must start in earnest, with a strong EU blueprint for delivery that will improve the lives of the poorest people and the poorest countries, particularly women and girls. The monitoring of the goals needs a sharp focus on accountability, backed by investments in data collection and use so that citizens have the information they need to ensure that leaders keep their promises. The EU, as the world’s largest donor of development aid, has a responsibility to rise to the occasion and make these goals more than just ink on a page.”

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Notes to editors:

• Contact, information &interviews: Marion Sharples // [email protected] // +32 (0)2 300 90 55 // +32 (0)471 34 54 64
• ABOUT ONE: ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of nearly 7 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. To learn more, go to one.org.