Prof. Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Vice-Chair of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), participated as a discussant in an Expert Group Meeting on Updating the Secretary-General's voluntary common guidelines on Voluntary National Review (VNR) Reports.

The Sustainable Deve­lop­ment Goals (SDGs) have registered some progress since their adoption in 2015. However, gathering storms of weakening global economic growth, rising income inequality, unabated global warming and climate change, and escalating conflict are impeding SDG implementation. The tailwinds of rapid technological advances, on the other hand, offer best hope for accelerating SDG progress.

The global commodity price shock of 2014-2016 has caused setbacks in the fight against poverty; poverty eradication in Africa by 2030 is increasingly becoming out of reach; the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is exacerbating the poverty situation