The United Nations (UN) has called on nations to urgently address the food insecurity, climate crisis, global boiling, civil and international conflicts, the lingering effects of Covid, and extreme poverty wherein millions more people are expected to experience by 2030 as the world goes off track halfway in achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The UN is set to adopt a political declaration during the upcoming SDGs Summit to ensure that countries accelerate affirmative action and meet the agenda’s targets by 2030. 

The declaration will provide “high-level political guidance” to countries all over the world on the essential actions that must be undertaken and accomplished in compliance with the 2030 deadline. 

The UN SDG Summit, which will be held on Sept. 18 to 19 at the UN Headquarters in New York, will mark the “beginning of a renewed push to accelerate programs towards the SDGs.” 

It will pool together political leaders, governments, international organizations, civil society organizations, and the private sector to discuss the breakthroughs that have been done and remain on the objectives of the agenda. 

According to the UN, stakeholders are expected to boost and transform their respective SDG programs. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with the presidents of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, will address the delegations during the opening of the summit. 

It will be followed by a short plenary segment wherein testimonies and commitments will be delivered by six heads of state and government. The six leaders will lay out their “concrete national commitments to SDG transformation.” 

“The SDG Summit in September must be a moment of unity to provide a renewed impetus and accelerated action for achieving the SDGs,” said Guterres in a statement. 

To intensify its calls, an SDG Action Weekend event will be convened from Sept. 16 to 17. Delegates will meet to deeply engage with networks concerning the SDGs in all sectors on Sept. 16 or “SDG Mobilization Day.” On Sept. 17, “SDG Acceleration Day,” UN high-impact initiatives will be discussed. 

The UN said the SDGs, the roadmap for the world to follow to solve or mitigate crises, and the SDG which is a  “global promise to secure the rights and well-being of everyone on a healthy, thriving planet—are in jeopardy.”

Previously, the UN Economic and Social Council gathered to urge countries to supercharge their SDG compliance since progress had been significantly stalled and half of SDG targets have not yet been fulfilled.