NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Barbara Crossette

The shock of the unexpected coronavirus pandemic will make it harder to achieve success on the Sustainable Development Goals, now a third of their way to the finish line, in 2030. However, the problems that have stymied or reversed progress go back long before Covid-19 hit, leading development experts say.

In conjunction with a high-level review of the goals, the authoritative United Nations Committee for Development Policy,  an independent advisory group under the Economic and Social Council, issued a study recently, assessing how governments were self-reporting on their progress in 2019. The findings in the paper, “National Reports on the 2030 Agenda: What do they (not) reveal?” exposed some basic problems with governments’ interpretation and action on the goals.

Photo courtesy of United Nations COVID-19 Response.