UN Development Goals Struggle in Conflict Zones, IRC Report Finds

Progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is falling furthest behind in countries affected by conflict, according to a new report by the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

The report comes as world leaders gather in New York for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, with governments also preparing to select a new UN Secretary-General.

Only 15% of the SDG targets are currently on track or have been achieved, the IRC said in its report, Global Goals for a World in Conflict. The organisation argues that the development framework adopted in 2015 did not adequately account for prolonged conflict and fragility.

The SDGs set a 2030 deadline for tackling extreme poverty, hunger, preventable disease and other global challenges. But conflict disrupts the systems needed to meet those targets, while restricting humanitarian access and forcing people from their homes and livelihoods.

The IRC estimates that more than half of the world’s extreme poor will live in the 20 countries on its Emergency Watchlist by 2030. Almost a quarter of the world’s acutely malnourished children already live in those countries, where the average wasting rate is more than twice that of other countries.

Armed conflict had slowed global progress towards the SDGs by the equivalent of 18 years as of 2021, according to evidence cited by the organisation. Fragile and conflict-affected countries now occupy many of the lowest positions in SDG assessments.

“Conflict and fragility determine whether any development goal succeeds or fails,” David Miliband, president and CEO of the IRC, said.

He called for the remaining four years before the 2030 deadline to be used to expand approaches that have demonstrated results in crisis settings and to inform the design of the next generation of global development goals.

The IRC said existing measures can improve outcomes in conflict-affected communities. These include cash assistance for families, simplified treatment for acute malnutrition and flexible education programmes.

According to the organisation, a simplified approach to treating malnutrition can reduce costs by 20%, while flexible education models could reach five million children by 2030 at a cost of as little as four US dollars per child.

For the period after 2030, the IRC is proposing a development framework with fewer goals, a shorter timeframe and funding committed upfront.

Its proposed 2035 targets include halving extreme poverty among people affected by fragility, conflict, displacement and crisis, expanding social protection and humanitarian cash assistance, and providing effective treatment to 80% of children suffering acute malnutrition in fragile and conflict settings.

The proposals also call for closing immunisation gaps among children in conflict zones, ensuring children can continue learning during war and displacement, increasing the participation of women and girls affected by conflict in decisions that affect their lives, and substantially reducing attacks on healthcare facilities and workers.

The IRC said humanitarian organisations and local groups are already filling gaps where governments cannot reach affected populations, but argued that international financing needs to provide more reliable support for such efforts.

Source: FSX Business News