UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened members of the new SDG Stimulus Leaders Group to advance efforts to equip developing countries with the financial resources they need to get back on course to achieving the SDGs by the 2030 deadline. The leaders discussed the Secretary-General’s call for an SDG Stimulus.

Advocating at the highest level, the SDG Stimulus Leaders Group includes Heads of State and Government of Barbados, Brazil, Canada (co-chair), France, India, Italy, Jamaica (co-chair), Kenya, South Africa, and Spain.

“Developing countries and billions of people are facing the worst economic outlook in more than a generation,” said the Secretary-General addressing Group members. “Financing is the fuel of development, and we must ensure that countries are not forced to run on empty.”

Initially proposed some 18 months ago, the SDG Stimulus calls for: tackling the high cost of debt and rising risks of debt distress; massively scaling up affordable long-term financing, especially through multilateral development banks (MDBs), by at least USD 500 billion per year; and expanding contingency financing to countries facing liquidity constraints.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Co-chair of the SDG Stimulus Leaders Group, said the SDGs “are crucial to growing our communities, building a better future, and keeping the air clean.” Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, called for the international financial system to “urgently respond through innovative mechanisms to create the fiscal space… [developing countries need] to build a sustainable and resilient future for present and future generations.”

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley welcomed the opportunity to “turbocharge” the SDGs. She said together with the Bridgetown Initiative, the Paris Pact for People and Planet, and other international initiatives, the SDG Stimulus is working to “scale up the scope of financing and speed up its disbursement.”

World leaders endorsed the SDG Stimulus at the SDG Summit in September 2023. The 2023 G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration also welcomed the initiative.

According to a UN new story, G20 countries have empowered the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assist developing countries with liquidity financing by rechanneling USD 100 billion in special drawing rights (SDRs). The release also notes that MDBs have embarked on a series of reforms to collectively expand lending by USD 300 billion to 400 billion over the next decade. However, it states, in light of the worsening fiscal conditions in many developing countries, more and bolder action, is needed.

The SDG Stimulus Leaders Group will work to advance the SDG Stimulus over the next year. [UN News Release]