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Lottery of birth
Lottery of birth

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1.1 Sustainable development goals

In 2015, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were launched in New York. These aim to build upon the successes of the Millennium Development Goals and to complete what they had left unfinished. The new goals were as ambitious as the previous ones:

We resolve, between now and 2030, to end poverty and hunger everywhere; to combat inequalities within and among countries; to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies; to protect human rights and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. We resolve also to create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth, shared prosperity and decent work for all, taking into account different levels of national development and capacities.

(United Nations, no date)

You can see all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the slideshow below. .

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Online activity _unit4.2.1 Slideshow 1
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As with their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals will receive a great deal of national and international resources over the next few years. They have the potential to improve the lives of many millions of people. Look in more detail at the statistics given of any of these SDG that you are particularly interested in and that are particularly relevant to the lottery of birth theme. As you read, also consider how these goals are linked. For example, if you are particularly interested in the impact of the SDGs on children and young people you might choose to focus on:

Goal 3        Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages

or

Goal 4        Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

or if you want to learn more about the SDG that specifically focuses on inequality you might choose:

Goal 10       Reduce inequality within and among countries.

Now, if you haven’t already, look at the SDG regarding gender equality – a topic you will be focusing on more this week. The data in the link below highlights the distance still to be travelled towards these goals.

Snapshot of gender equality across the Sustainability Development Goals [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]

You’ll now look at the issue of the registration of births.