ADRA Joins UN in Global Goals

ADRA Joins United Nations in Sustainable Development Goals

ADRA is preparing to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals around the world when they launch later this month. The Global Goals, as they are being called, expand and follow up on the Millennium Development Goals, which were established in 2000 and expire at the end of this year.

“ADRA as a worldwide organization is committed to continuing to work toward ending global poverty and injustice. All human life is important and for this reason, we join the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, governments, and communities around the world in this effort,” said Jonathan Duffy, President of ADRA International.

This time, UN Member States agreed on 17 goals that addressed more issues than the initial Millennium Development Goals.

The 17 proposed goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all people at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

The new goals will be adopted at the UN summit in New York between September 25-27 and will become applicable starting January 2016.
ADRA has been at the front lines of social change for more than 30 years. Today, ADRA’s projects around the world support many of the Global Goals, including ending poverty, achieving food security, ensuring healthy lives, and achieving gender equality.
“We believe that while we have already made progress toward these goals, there is still so much to be done,” said Duffy. “This is a critical time and the right time to bring impactful and sustainable change to the world. As global citizens we have to come together to make sure that people are thriving.”
#PrayerforEveryone
Starting on September 24-October 1, ADRA will join faith communities around the world to take part in the “Prayer for Everyone” initiative to share the goals with the Seventh-day Adventist Church community.
For more information, visit ADRA’s Facebook page starting on September 24 at Facebook.com/joinADRA.

About ADRA
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International is the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its work empowers communities and changes lives around the globe by providing sustainable community development and disaster relief. For more information, visit ADRA.org.