A view of one of the classrooms with a partial roof at the “25 de Junho” School, located in Beira, Mozambique, an area where cyclones Idai and Kenneth hit just a few weeks apart in March and April 2019. Taken 8 July 2019.
Vera Songwe

Realizing a Climate-Resilient and Prosperous Africa

Unless ambitious steps are taken, then, the unfolding climate crisis poses an imminent existential threat. Without such action, it appears impossible for Africa to meet any of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or achieve the transformational outcomes envisioned in the continent's Agenda 2063 and encapsulated in national development plans.

Secretary-General António Guterres launched Youth 2030, the United Nations Youth Strategy, at a high-level Event held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, 24 September 2018. Photo Credit: Mark Garten/UN Photo ​
Jayathma Wickramanayake

Transforming Youth Education to Support the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Educating boys and girls increases productivity and facilitates economic growth; knowledge about sanitation, immunization, nutrition and general health can save lives; quality education provides girls and boys with the skills they need to take on leadership roles at local and national levels, enabling them to take part in decision-making on matters that affect their lives and their communities.

Chronicle Conversation: Stefan Schweinfest, 22 July 2019

Chronicle Conversation: Stefan Schweinfest, 22 July 2019

In our inaugural Chronicle Conversation, the Director of the United Nations Statistics Division, Stefan Schweinfest, explains how better data can lead to better lives, and introduces the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019.

A view of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America, host of the 68th United Nations Civil Society Conference, taking place 26-28 August 2019. Wikimedia Commons/Garrett
Maruxa Cardama

Why You Should Not Miss the Opportunity to Engage in the 68th United Nations Civil Society Conference

Cities and communities are the living laboratories where the challenges and opportunities that are central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change become tangible.

In Uganda, UN human rights officers work with the local authorities, including the Uganda Prisons Services, and the Ugandan Human Rights Commission to improve prison conditions in the Karamoja region. Sylvester Lotieng/OHCHR
Andrew Gilmour

The Nelson Mandela Rules: Protecting the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty

The Nelson Mandela Rules emphasize that the provision of health care for prisoners is a State responsibility, and that the relationship between health-care professionals and prisoners is governed by the same ethical and professional standards as those applicable to patients in the community. Moreover, the Rules oblige prison health-care services to evaluate and care for the physical and mental health of prisoners, including those with special needs.

Patricia, 23, arrived at the fair in Ahua Village, Côte d’Ivoire, knowing very little about contraception. But she was intrigued. "I do not want to have more children now because I do not have the means to support them," she said. © UNFPA WCARO
Natalia Kanem

The Pursuit of Rights and Choices for All

Population policies today are about people, not numbers, and about the rights of individuals and couples to freely decide whether, when or how often to have children. But it has not always been this way.

Scene from 2019 Economic and Social Council Youth Forum. The theme of this year's Forum is “Youth: Empowered, included and equal”. April 2019, New York. 
Inga Rhonda King

The July 2019 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development: An Opportunity to Right-track Our Multilateral Engagement

More people are living better now than they were just 10 years ago. Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, we know that many Governments are putting the SDGs at the centre of their development plans and are aligning their policies and institutions behind the Goals.

Lise Kingo at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit. Photo credit: Joel Sheakoski/UN Global Compact ​
Lise Kingo

The UN Global Compact: Finding Solutions to Global Challenges

While the United Nations needs to put the right plans and policies in place they will also need to cultivate partnerships with Governments, civil society and the private sector to harness the resources, innovative ideas and skills that we so desperately need to turn the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into a reality.

Pulse Lab Kampala is working on a project to gauge via radio the quality of health-service delivery in Uganda, March 2017. ©UN Global Pulse
Robert Kirkpatrick and Felicia Vacarelu

A Decade of Leveraging Big Data for Sustainable Development

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) are driving global changes in our society—from the way we communicate with each other to the forces that shape our economy and behaviour. The rapidly evolving capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) offer new opportunities to unlock the value of big data for more evidence-based decision-making that can accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Two women look up at security cameras in Toronto, Canada. ©Unsplash/Matthew Henry​
Eleonore Pauwels

How Can Multilateralism Survive the Era of Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is converging with an extraordinary array of other technologies, from biotech and genomics, to neurotechnology, robotics, cybertechnology and manufacturing systems. Increasingly, these technologies are decentralized, beyond State control, and available to a wide range of actors around the world.

Chaesub Lee

Standards Build Trust: How the International Telecommunication Union Supports Inclusive Sustainable Development

Standards connect us with reliable modes of communication, codes of practice and frameworks for cooperation.