Around the world today, more than 1 billion people live in extreme poverty and lack access to clean water, electricity and basic health care. Around 263 million children and youth are out of school. More than 6 million children die each year before the age of 5. But, we can change this.
In 2015, 139 countries signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals - a set of 17 objectives aimed at ending extreme poverty, promoting justice, peace and prosperity for all, and protecting the natural environment - all by the year 2030. Everybody - not just governments - is coming together to work towards these common goals. To learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals, visit SDG ZONE.
If we achieve the SDGs, it would mean universal healthcare will be available to all, every child will have the opportunity to gain a quality education, no one will be forced to go to bed hungry, and much more. But making the SDGs a reality requires significant investment.
It is estimated that the world needs to spend between $5-7 trillion USD each year to meet the SDGs, with a financing gap of around $2.5 trillion USD for low-income countries. Luckily, there is enough wealth in the world to help achieve these goals and fill the financing gap.
There are currently 2,208 billionaires in the world today. Their combined net worth amounts to approximately $9.1 trillion. If every billionaire pledged just 1% of their wealth, that would be enough to close about one third of the SDG financing gap in the world’s lowest income countries, and:
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Bring 1 billion humans out of poverty
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Save 6 million children from preventable diseases
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Put 263 million children through school
