UPSC Daily Current Affairs-10th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2025

Why in News? The 10th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2025 has raised serious concerns about the global progress toward the 2030 Agenda. Rather than moving forward, several nations are witnessing stagnation or even a reversal in achieving their goals, putting the dream of sustainable and inclusive development at risk.

Relevance : UPSC Pre &  Mains

Prelims :  SDG 2025

Mains  : GS 3

Overall Global Status:

• Progress on 35% of SDG targets (spread over 14 out of 17 goals) has either halted or moved backward.
• Critical concerns arise in SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 6 (Water & Sanitation), SDG 8 (Decent Work), and SDG 10 (Reducing Inequality)—with 50–57% of these targets regressing.
• Other endangered areas include SDGs 12, 14, 15, and 16, where 40–42% of targets are off-track.

Specific Goal-Wise Highlights:

SDG 2: Zero Hunger:

• 4 of the 7 targets under this goal are currently in decline.
• The global hunger rate has risen to 1%, affecting between 713 to 757 million people, compared to 7.5% in 2019.
• Sub-Saharan Africa reports the highest hunger rate at 2%, while South Asia has the largest number of hungry individuals, totaling 232 million.
• In 2023, nearly 50% of countries faced severe food price inflation, which is about three times higher than pre-pandemic levels.

SDG 4: Quality Education:

• 57% of educational targets are experiencing no progress or setbacks.
• Key areas of concern include school completion rates, foundational literacy, and gender parity in education.

SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation:

• Almost half of the targets are failing to progress.
• In 2024, around 2 billion people did not have access to safe drinking water, 3.4 billion lacked sanitation, and 1.7 billion people lived without basic hygiene facilities.

SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth:

• 50–57% of the targets are regressing.
• Informal employment makes up 8% of the global workforce (2024).
• Youth unemployment stands at 9%, over three times the adult unemployment rate (3.7%).

SDG 10: Reducing Inequality:

• Inequalities are widening globally, particularly in terms of income, access to vaccines, digital connectivity, and climate resilience.
• No significant policy changes have been implemented globally to address redistribution post-pandemic.

Other Areas of Concern:

• SDG 14 (Life Below Water) is underfunded and faces severe threats from marine pollution and depleting fish stocks.
• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being): Two of its twelve targets—maternal mortality and universal health coverage—show stagnation. Post-pandemic recovery of health systems remains sluggish.

Encouraging Developments:

• HIV infections have decreased by nearly 40% since 2010.
• Malaria prevention efforts have averted 2 billion cases and saved 12.7 million lives since 2000.
• Social protection schemes now reach more than 50% of the world’s population.

Climate Concerns:

• 2024 became the hottest year on record, with temperatures averaging 55°C above pre-industrial levels.
• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicts an 80% probability that at least one year between 2025 and 2029 will break this temperature record.

Financing the SDGs:

• Official Development Assistance (ODA) dropped by 1% in 2024, ending a consistent five-year growth period.
• The estimated global annual SDG financing gap is US$4 trillion.

Governance and Conflict:

• Over 60 nations are currently affected by conflicts and political instability, hampering progress on SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).