The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
A slowdown in the progress made during the past decade against maternal and infant mortality is projected in the African region, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report finds. The Atlas of African Health Statistics 2022 assessed the nine targets related to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on health and …
In 2020, the Sustainable Mobility for All partnership applied its innovative approach for improved public decision making in transport to South Africa, using the set of tools it had developed—Catalogue of Policy Measures, and Selection Algorithm–to generate a country action plan of 31 most impactful policy measures to achieve sustainable …
Eradicating poverty in all its forms, everywhere, requires indicators that measure sustainable pathways out of poverty, and not only the absence of acute poverty. This paper introduces a trial Moderate Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MMPI) that reflects moderate rather than acute levels of multidimensional poverty. The MMPI adjusts nine of the …
Maintaining the state or health of rivers is a vital part of sustainable development. Healthy rivers are able to support and maintain key ecological processes and thus ecosystem services on which society depends. The monitoring and reporting of river health is well documented at a local scale, but at national, …
Industrialization is central to Africa’s development prospects. With its young labour force, abundant natural resources and fast-growing internal markets. Africa has the potential to become the next global frontier for industrial development. Africa’s development strategies, from the Sustainable Development Goals to Agenda 2063 and the African Union’s 2011 Action Plan …
The key objective of this SDG 7 Road Map for Pakistan is to assist the Government of Pakistan to develop enabling policy measures to achieve the SDG 7 targets. This Road Map contains a matrix of technological options and enabling-policy measures for the Government of Pakistan to consider. It presents …
This book, explores the crucial role of subnational levels of government in accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific. Subnational governments implement public policies, facilitate partnerships among stakeholders, and act as interlocutors between communities and the state. Many national SDG targets will not be achievable …
The Coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate change have all hampered Africa’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Halfway towards 2030, most African countries are struggling to meet most SDG targets. Without deliberate policies to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, by 2030, at least 492 million …
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) issued a report introducing a new global index that measures shortfalls in achievements in three areas: quality-adjusted human development; environmental sustainability; and good governance. The Development Challenges Index (DCI) adapts the Human Development Index (HDI), and shifts “from quantitative development …
This report, presents the data on the links between water, health and development and the status of drinking water, with actionable recommendations to accelerate access to safe drinking water. The recommendations, structured around governance, financing, capacity development, data and information and innovation – the five accelerators of the UN-Water SDG …
Of the 164 million unregistered children under 5 worldwide, more than half (around 91 million) live in Africa, according to this new statistical update on birth registration in Africa, published by UNICEF in partnership with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Nearly half of all African children under 5 …
Estimates of the number of people living in extreme poverty, as reported by the World Bank, figure prominently in international development dialogue and policy. An assumption underpinning these poverty counts is that there are no economies of scale in household size—a family of six needs three times as much as …
This report aims to survey the outlook for the off-grid solar market and interventions needed for the sector to achieve its full potential impact. Chapter 2 discusses what it will take for the sector to achieve its primary development goals, including both access to electricity and a host of other …
Rural economies are key to ensure food security and creating decent jobs. Yet the global context dominated by the impact of multiple and interlinked crises has laid bare prevailing decent work deficits, with many rural workers living in poverty and working informally. This policy brief looks at the transformative changes …
This report aims to inform NbS-related initiatives and discussions on NbS at global, regional, and national levels, with a focus on how NbS can be scaled up to more effectively address social, economic, and environmental challenges. The report i) outlines recent developments on NbS, with a focus on global, regional …
The world is facing a series of multiple and interlinked crises; a perfect storm that is testing the limits of current development paradigms. As countries and cities across Asia and the Pacific struggle to recover from the socioeconomic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis continues to ravage …
Financing the acceleration of the progress needed to reach the NTD 2030 targets was highlighted throughout the global consultation on which the road map was based and, for some time, a lack of resources has been seen as a significant barrier to the control, elimination and eradication of NTDs. This …
USD 46 billion in initial investments has brought electricity and clean cooking to millions and boosted renewables in the past year. At the first-ever EnergyNow SDG7 Action Forum, UN-Energy launched the Energy Compact Progress Report for 2021-2022, reporting on commitments made since last year’s High-Level Dialogue on Energy. The report …
Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) targets universal access to energy, an increased share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvement. While the Asia-Pacific region has made considerable progress in meeting SDG 7 targets, much more work needs to be done …
Seven years into the 2030 Agenda, there is an urgent need to understand where the world stands in eliminating hunger and food insecurity, as well as in ensuring sustainable agriculture. FAO's new report, “Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators”, offers analysis and trends on indicators across eight SDGs …
