Following the promulgation of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals for a sustainable future in 2000, countries adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and improve the lives and prospects for people around the world. All UN Member States adopted the 17 Goals and 169 targets in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which laid out a 15-year plan to achieve them. The goals aimed to eradicate poverty, protect the environment and the planet, and live in peace and prosperity. Significant progress has been made on achieving the first two SDGs, No Poverty and Zero Hunger. It seemed unlikely that any of the remaining SDG goals would be reached by 2030, even before the COVID-19 pandemic; now, the pandemic has made it all the less likely.
Talking about economics, finance, and ecology to achieve sustainable development and reach the SDGs’ targets is alone insufficient. Countries must instead act with the awareness that health is as inseparable a component of sustainable development as the economy and environment are. Moreover, they must take decisive steps to improve social sustainability through equality, diversity, and democratic governance principles. For a behavioral transformation on a global scale, cooperation with civil society and participatory governance practices should be integrated at local, national, and international levels.
