To accommodate countries interested in conducting national reviews of SDG progress, the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) announced that a total of 45 countries will present voluntary national reviews (VNRs) during the 2022 session of the UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF). After this update, which adds six countries to the list of 39 announced on 4 October, the list has been closed.

Three of the additional presenters will share their first-ever VNRs: Dominica, Grenada, and Somalia. The others – who will all present their second VNRs – are El Salvador, Lesotho, and Malawi.

The ECOSOC President’s office will issue modalities for the 2022 VNR presentations.

ECOSOC President Collen Vixen Kelapile had earlier indicated an intention to limit the number of VNRs to allow for meaningful interaction on each review. He explained that sufficient time is needed for interactive discussions to ensure adequate feedback to the presenting countries and peer learning among countries.

The office of the ECOSOC president is expected to communicate modalities for the VNR presentations at the July 2022 HLPF.

Kelapile noted that in future years, priority will be given to countries presenting for the first time.

In addition to the 45 VNRs, the 2022 session of the HLPF will review in-depth the following five SDGs: 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality), 14 (life below water), 15 (life on land), and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). [Letter to UN Member States]