AWO participates in the 2017 United Nations High Level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals

6/29/2017

HLPF meetings  on Sustainable Development at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which took place from 11 to 17 July 2017, discussed:
* Progress towards achieving the goal of gender equality (SDG 5):
- Participants shared the centrality of the role of women in development.
- Despite government efforts to achieve equality and women's empowerment are inadequate, women's representation in parliaments remains weak and women's representation in management positions is low, occupying less than one-third of middle and senior management jobs.
- Global domestic output will increase 28 trillion dollars annually if the economic participation of women and men is equal.
* Progress in implementing the health improvement goal (SDG 3):
- Participants noted that, despite the positive signs of a decline in the number of child and maternal deaths, there are challenges that need to be solved as a result of lack of financial resources, with some 400 million people in the world lacking basic diagnostic and treatment services.
- The issues surrounding health are mainly of a political nature.
- Statistics show that 24% of the economic growth in the middle-income countries is due to investment in health.
- Reports confirm that the education of girls is one of the strongest mechanisms in investing in health.
* Progress towards the goal of financing for development (SDG 17):
- Participants stressed the need for each country to integrate development goals within its national plans
- There is a gender gap in the financial services sectors.
- Reports confirm that gross domestic product (GDP) can rise substantially at the global level if each country can achieve gender equality, increase women's participation in the workforce, leadership positions and decision-making.