GLOBAL SDG REPORT 2025 CALLS FOR ACCELERATED ACTION: The six global priority transitions
Global Progress on SDGs: Notable Gains, but Far Off-Track
According to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2025, the 10th annual stocktaking of global progress with only 5 years left to 2030, over the past decade, countries have made notable strides in human development; expanding access to education and healthcare, reducing maternal and child mortality, enhancing gender inclusion, and bridging the digital divide.
However, progress remains fragile and deeply uneven. Millions of people around the world still suffer extreme poverty, chronic hunger, inadequate housing, and lack basic services. Vulnerable groups, including women, persons with disabilities, and marginalized communities, continue to face systemic inequalities and exclusion. Conflicts, climate-related disasters, economic shocks, and widening inequalities are undermining development gains, often hitting the poorest communities hardest. Meanwhile, over 120 million people worldwide have been displaced from their homes due to conflict and instability, more than double the number in 2015. These compounding crises, coupled with a $4 trillion annual financing gap and record-high debt servicing costs in developing countries, are stalling the SDGs’ momentum.
In the words of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “we face a global development emergency.” Without an urgent course correction, many Goals will remain out of reach by 2030.
Despite the setbacks, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2025 also highlights that accelerated progress is possible. Inspiring success stories from various countries show that rapid advances can be achieved with the right policies and commitment. To replicate and scale up such successes, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2025 urges the world to focus on six critical transitions that can drive systemic change across all Goals. The six global priority transitions identified are:
- Food systems: transforming agriculture and food supply chains to end hunger and malnutrition while promoting sustainable farming. This involves supporting smallholder farmers, improving food security, reducing waste, and enhancing the resilience of food systems to climate shocks.
- Energy access: expanding access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy for all. This transition calls for investment in renewable energy, modern electricity grids, and clean cooking solutions.
- Digital transformation: bridging the digital divide by extending internet connectivity and digital technologies to underserved areas.
- Education and skills: ensuring equitable, high-quality education and lifelong learning for all ages.
- Jobs and social protection: creating decent work opportunities and social safety nets that uplift the poor and vulnerable.
- Climate action and biodiversity: combatting climate change and preserving ecosystems through urgent mitigation and adaptation measures.
Advancing these six priorities requires massive investments, bold policies, and international cooperation on an unprecedented scale. The United Nations calls on governments, the private sector, and civil society worldwide to “shift into overdrive” and mobilize the financing and political will needed to make these transformations a reality.
Uganda fully aligns with the global call to accelerate SDG implementation. The Government of Uganda’s third Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report 2024 reaffirmed that the SDGs are integrated into Uganda’s national development frameworks and policies, guiding the country’s socio-economic transformation agenda.
As highlighted in third Voluntary National Review (VNR) Report 2024, Uganda has made progress on several SDG fronts in recent years. The country has reduced poverty rates and improved key human development indicators through investments in health, education, climate change mitigation and adaptation, technology and innovation and ICT systems, decent work and economic growth, infrastructure, energy, and social services all aimed at inclusive sustainable development.
However, challenges still remain. Looking ahead, Uganda has aligned national efforts with the six global transitions identified in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Report 2025. At the UN SDG Summit 2023, Uganda presented six national commitments for SDG acceleration and transformation, developed through broad consultations to focus the country’s SDGs efforts. These commitments, which will guide Uganda’s strategy in the coming years, include: (i) empowering communities and “leaving no one behind” through the inclusive Parish Development Model – boosting local economic development and food security, (ii) mobilizing innovative financing, trade, and investment for sustainable development, (iii) leveraging science, technology and innovation – digital transformation for growth, (iv) strengthening climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, (v) harnessing the full potential of data for decision-making, and (vi) enhancing SDG coordination and service delivery mechanisms across government. These national commitments closely mirror the global SDG transitions, from building resilient food systems and local economies to expanding digital innovation, scaling up climate action, and improving governance and social programs.
Crucially, Uganda’s development strategy reflects these priorities. The Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV, 2025–2030) fully integrates the six SDG acceleration commitments and global priority transitions. This ensures that Uganda’s budgeting and planning for the final stretch to 2030 are aligned with the SDG “rescue plan”, concentrating resources on the areas of greatest impact. Uganda is also strengthening the means of implementation, including domestic resource mobilization and partnerships, to support these efforts. The Ministry of Finance is operationalizing an Integrated National Financing Framework to attract and coordinate funding for the SDGs, while exploring new financing instruments such as green bonds and a carbon market mechanism for climate-smart investments. In addition, the Government is working closely with development partners, the private sector and civil society to localize the SDGs in all districts and communities, raise public awareness, and foster innovative solutions at the grassroots.
We have entered the final critical years to deliver on Agenda 2030. Uganda must therefore redouble efforts, enhance coordination, and act with urgency to overcome persistent challenges. All stakeholders must align their initiatives with these six priority areas: make our food and agriculture systems more productive and resilient; extend energy access and sustainable infrastructure to all Ugandans; harness digital technology for development; improve education and skills training for our youth; create decent jobs while expanding social protection; and protect our environment by tackling climate change and biodiversity loss.
The SDG Report 2025 makes clear that the world’s sustainable development ambitions are still attainable with bold and immediate action to turn the tide in this Decade of Action.
