The Sustainable Development Goals
How the world's most ambitious development agenda was created, what the 17 SDGs aim to achieve, and whether they are succeeding.
From MDGs to SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which ran from 2000 to 2015. The MDGs focused on eight targets primarily relevant to developing countries: halving extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education, reducing child mortality, and combating HIV/AIDS and malaria. The MDGs achieved significant results: extreme poverty was halved ahead of schedule, child mortality dropped by more than half, and HIV treatment expanded dramatically.
The SDGs, adopted in 2015, are far more ambitious. There are 17 goals and 169 targets covering virtually every aspect of human development: poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, water, energy, economic growth, infrastructure, inequality, cities, consumption, climate, oceans, biodiversity, peace, and partnerships. Unlike the MDGs, the SDGs apply to all countries, not just developing ones. The agenda runs through 2030, and its breadth reflects both the interconnected nature of global challenges and the political compromises needed to secure universal agreement.
