Progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is slowing down
President Dereje Wordofa issued a video statement during the Sustainable Development Goals Summit (September 18-19, 2023), marking the halfway point to 2030.
Read his opinion piece, We Are Failing the Children of the World, published on September 17, 2023, in The Hill.
Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals
We are living in daunting times.
A polycrisis is deepening and intensifying human suffering all over the world.
The progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is slowing down.
Our shared vision of a better world has lost traction.
Worsening poverty means more children experience hardship, and more families are under unimaginable stress.
This weakens their ability to secure their livelihoods and provide their children with the care they need.
Those who have lost or risk losing a caregiver do not even have a family or a support network to navigate these disheartening times.
In one voice, we must call on world leaders to renew the financial and political commitments to tackle poverty and social injustices.
It is time to pay greater and specific attention to children living in vulnerable conditions everywhere through a holistic and child-centered strategy, ensuring their meaningful participation in the search for solutions.
All children should benefit from social protection systems that cover basic needs and access to health, education and food.
Attention should be given to providing care services with a gender-sensitive approach.
Comprehensive psychosocial support and strategies will also help mitigate the consequences of distressing times, stigma and discrimination.
Strengthening families and investing in children should be the utmost priority.
Strong and safe family environments promote children's rights and well-being and enable them to become their strongest selves to face the challenges of today and tomorrow.
By supporting them, our shared future will be brighter.
