The Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals and 169 associated targets for the international development community. These global goals were set by the United Nations and were adopted by UN Member States to guide global development efforts until their expiry in 2030.
The agenda aims to address root causes of inequality in order to make progress toward the eradication of poverty and the sustainable development of a more equitable and just global society.

Significantly for UN Women, the SDGs include a stand-alone goal dedicated to women’s empowerment and gender equality, SDG 5.
This global goal is a call to action for states to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”.

The SDGs provide national leaders and governments with goals around which to frame policies and budgets. The targets associated with the SDGs are in place to keep Member States accountable and ensure that crucial progress is being made. It is the role of civil society, and entities such as UN Women, to hold Member States to account through monitoring and documenting progress towards these commitments and the realisation of the SDGs.

The SDGs build on the Millennium Development Goals, drafted in 2000, which focused on reducing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, and ensuring access to water and sanitation by 2015. The SDGs have been negotiated by, and are applicable to, all UN Member States, thus including both developed and developing countries.