During the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, 44 countries, both developed and developing countries, are presenting their Voluntary National Reviews or plans to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the 3-day ministerial meeting from 17-19 July. Among them, 16 countries—Brazil, Luxembourg, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, Monaco, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Kenya, Netherlands, Chile and Malaysia—will be presenting their reviews on 19 July.

The 44 countries are: Afghanistan, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Monaco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Slovenia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

Governments, businesses and civil society are taking bold actions to demonstrate their strong commitment to achieving the Goals and ensuring no one is left behind.

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Ethiopia

The Rural Women Economic Empowerment SDG Fund Joint Programme (RWEE JP)—a five year programme implemented by the Government of Ethiopia in partnership with UN Women, IFAD, WFP, and FAO—seeks to accelerate progress in providing economic empowerment for 2,374 rural women farmers and pastoralists in two pilot regions, Afar and Oromia. The Programme aims to secure their livelihoods and rights in concert with the Sustainable Development Goals and with Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plan II.

Botswana

In Botswana, the “Communities Acting Together to Control HIV (CATCH)” approach has been implemented since June 2015, aiming to invest in communities to lead the AIDS response in the South-East District of the country. Led by the Government of Botswana, collective efforts are being made by national stakeholders with the support of UNAIDS and USAID. Civil society partners—FHI360, Humana People to People and The Constellation—are playing a key role to implement the approach at the community level. CATCH engages tribal leaders to drive their community members to receive the appropriate medical services on HIV and AIDS, in addition to general health checkups and tuberculosis (TB) screening and referrals.

Honduras

Through holistic interventions that combine social, economic and environmental dimensions, efforts are underway in the country to improve food security, health and nutrition, and to provide for employment opportunities for many families, with a particular focus on women. The “Promotion of Food Security and Social Inclusion in the Lempa Region of Honduras” (PROSADE) promotes sustainable development in southern Honduras—a region heavily affected by severe droughts. The project is run by CARE Honduras (NGO) under the auspices of the “A Better Life Programme” of the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (SEDIS). In an effort to “leave no one behind, it has had a positive impact on men, women, children, youth and indigenous people who struggle with poverty, exclusion, vulnerability and social risks.

Maldives

In the Maldives, the Government has been moving to take the actions that are needed to achieve the 17 SDGs in the following actions: Establishment of the SDG Division under the Ministry of Environment and Energy in May 2016 that acts as a Secretariat for all SDGs related activities. Establishment of the National Ministerial Coordination Committee and the SDGs Technical Committee for the implementation of the SDGs. Organization of the National Workshop on the SDG Core Health Indicators to discuss the national target setting in January 2017.

Qatar

Qatar recognises that sustainable development can only be realized when there is social progress, economic growth and environmental change and has been committed to achieving sustainable development since 1971. According to the State of Qatar Paper, the preparation of the Second National Development Strategy (2017-2022) is expected to focus on eight priority sectors: economic diversification, environment sustainability, education, healthcare, social protection, public safety and security, culture and sports, and international technical cooperation.

Slovenia

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia remains strongly committed to the protection of the environment towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and the country. In October 2015, the Government adopted the Framework Programme for a transition to a “green economy” which is low-carbon, efficiently uses resources and is socially responsible.

Tajikistan

An initiative funded by the Russian Federation and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) called “Livelihood Improvement of Rural Population in 9 districts of the Republic of Tajikistan” is one of the most successful projects intended to assist local authorities in effective planning and monitoring of socioeconomic development of the districts. Through the process of developing and updating district development programmes and implementation of about 50 priority initiatives coming from these programmes, the project helps to increase employment, development of business practices with a focus on social and economic needs.

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The programme and summaries of each country’s actions and plans are available online at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf