Are the Sustainable Development Goals a lost cause?

The year 2025 is a challenging time for the international development sector.

USAID has been gutted; many countries including the UK are slashing overseas development spending; the US and Argentina have withdrawn from the World Health Organization; and it seems like multilateralism is no longer a priority. In this bleak political climate, it is tempting to think that the global agenda outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a lost cause. But is that really the case? Or is there still hope for the SDGs?

In July 2025, I was part of a delegation from Sightsavers to the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York. This is the annual conference where countries share their reports on the progress made towards the SDGs in voluntary national reviews. This year, the HLPF was particularly reflective, and the mood was sometimes downbeat. With only five years remaining until 2030, and progress in some cases stalling or even regressing amid conflict, climate change and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, some have questioned whether the SDGs remain relevant.

To conclude one way or the other, it is worth reflecting on a few questions.

First, what do the SDGs stand for?

The SDGs were launched by the United Nations in 2015, to provide a bold blueprint for a better world. The 17 goals, with bold and ambitious targets to guide global development until 2030, focus on eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, tackling climate change, and increasing access to health and education.

The SDGs aim to galvanise action across borders and sectors, encouraging localisation of the goals to reflect national level priorities. For policymakers, the goals have provided a common language, with targets to work towards. They provide opportunities for citizens to be part of the development discourse and hold their governments to account. For Sightsavers in particular, with our vison of a world where no one is blind from avoidable causes, and where people with disabilities have equal opportunities, the goals have brought about a paradigm shift in how the world views disability inclusion.

How successful were the Millennium Development Goals?

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which preceded the SDGs, ran from 2000 to 2015. They were led by donor countries and focused on improving living conditions in low and middle income countries. However, the SDGs were shaped with more input from these countries and include targets for people with disabilities (as well as other groups that are often marginalised, including women, older people and refugees), to make sure that no one is left behind.

To properly assess the progress of the SDGs, it is key to critically examine the gains made by the MDGs. The MDGs were incredibly successful: the final report from the UN shows significant achievements.

• The number of people living in extreme poverty fell by more than half, from 1.9 billion people in 1990 to 836 million in 2015
• The number of out-of-school children of primary school age worldwide fell from 100 million (in 2000) to 57 million in 2015
• The infant mortality rate for children under five plummeted from 90 deaths per 1,000 (in 1990) to 43 per 1,000 in 2015
• The maternal mortality rate dropped by 45% worldwide, and an estimated 6.2 million malaria deaths were averted between 2000 and 2015
• An estimated 91% of the world’s population had access to clean drinking water by 2015 (up from 76% in 1990)

The list of achievements goes on, but even in the development sector, they are barely talked about today.

The MDGs were not all achieved and by 2015, there were still huge challenges to address. But what we do know is that the 25 years between 1990 and 2015 saw the fastest improvement in living standards in history. Beyond this, huge progress was possible in spite of the many conflicts and crises which took place during the period, including the Rwandan genocide, war in Bosnia, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Asian tsunami of 2004 and the global financial crisis in 2008. Nor was the political climate always favourable: following 9/11, international relations revolved around the ‘war on terror’.

As Hans Rosling showed in his TED talk, people’s perception (especially among development professionals!) of the average life expectancy, literacy and wealth across the world is woefully inaccurate and overly pessimistic. And the MDGs show that multilateral efforts to drive international development goals can be very effective. So: can the SDGs still defy expectations?

How much progress has been made towards the SDGs so far?

Currently, according to the UN’s 2025 SDG report, only 35 per cent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress, with nearly half moving too slowly. Most concerning of all is that 18 per cent of targets have regressed below 2015 levels. But cut through the doom and gloom, look at the detail, and there are some astounding examples of progress.

• The global mortality rate for children under five fell from 44 per 1,000 in 2015 to 37 per 1,000 in 2023, and 133 countries have already met the target for 2030
• Expanded HIV treatment access has halved AIDS-related deaths, from 1.3 million in 2010 to 630,000 in 2023
• Since 2015, 109 million more children and youth have entered school, with completion rates rising for all levels, and there are now more girls than boys in primary and secondary education
• Global electricity access reached 92 per cent in 2023, up from 84 per cent in 2010
• The number of people requiring interventions for neglected tropical diseases fell to 1.5 billion in 2023, down from 2.2 billion in 2010
• Globally, all regions are projected to see a decline in average national poverty rates

So, are the SDGs still worth pursuing?

It is clear that many of the SDG targets for 2030 will not be met. If our measure of success for the SDGs is for every goal to be met in every country, we know they will fail. But that would be unfair, and play into the hands of those advocating for further cuts to international development spending. The goals articulated in the SDGs remain relevant, and the goals still present a unique opportunity and vision for all countries to work together for a better future.

Despite the many crises in the world, it is indisputable that in many places, and despite little media coverage, significant progress is being made. This isn’t naïve optimism; the data speaks for itself. Ultimately, it is too soon to give up on the SDGs, and there are still five years to go until 2030. So it’s time to rally all efforts to make the most of the SDGs, shout about the achievements made so far, challenge the doom-mongers, and redouble our efforts to make as much progress as we can.