17 September 2015
UN Official Outlines 2030 Agenda’s Impact on UN System
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Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the interconnectedness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets requires the UN and its Funds and Programmes to: "deliver as one;" help Member States with national-level work to streamline relevant Goals and targets into national strategic plans; help Member States strengthen the review and follow-up through UN's operational teams in countries; and to provide capacity building for countries.

Wu_Hongbo_large9 September 2015: Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the interconnectedness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets requires the UN and its Funds and Programmes to: “deliver as one;” help Member States with national-level work to streamline relevant Goals and targets into national strategic plans; help Member States strengthen the review and follow-up through UN’s operational teams in countries; and provide capacity building for countries.

Wu oversaw negotiations on the SDGs and the overall post-2015 development agenda – now called the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – as head of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

In an interview with UN News Service, Wu also highlighted the differences between the SDGs with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), noting Member States’ ownership of the new agenda from the beginning of the process in 2012. Also unlike the MDGs, the SDGs have a “map” for their means of implementation, in the form of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (the outcome of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, or FfD3).

While expressing confidence that the Goals and targets will be implemented worldwide, Wu also identified challenges to implementation, including: changing mindsets to make sure national leaders are fully aware that each Goal integrates all the three pillars of sustainable development (economic, environmental, and social); changing work methods away from silos and toward cross-cutting approaches; and changing governance structures to ensure all the ministries work together at the national level. Finally, Wu noted the need to address follow-up and review, and capacity building. [Interview Video] [UN Press Release] [DESA Website]

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