World’s most disadvantaged children being left behind with global goals missing targets – New Report

Toronto, September 20, 2024– Children from rural and poor families are increasingly being left behind in global development, as the world falters towards its achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new report by Save the Children. The report Racing Against Time reveals that as few as eight countries are making inclusive progress on child marriage – progress which benefits children from rural and poorer families – and only 40 countries are on track to end stunting and other forms of malnutrition.

There are only six years left until the 2030 deadline to achieve the SDGs, a blueprint of 17 goals with 169 targets agreed by all 193 United Nations (UN) Member States in 2015 to transform the world for the better and leave no one behind. In light of the increasing risk of failure to meet the goals, Save the Children is calling on world leaders to swiftly scale up investment in achieving the SDGs, prioritizing social sectors that benefit children and their families as well as policies that put the furthest behind first.

A delegation led by Save the Children International CEO Inger Ashing and including child campaigners from Zimbabwe and Peru is delivering this message directly to world leaders in New York City attending the 22-23 September Summit of the Future. 

Save the Children’s new report Racing Against Time looks beyond the national averages to demonstrate significant – and often growing – inequalities in many countries around the world. It shows children are still regularly being denied their rights to education, with most countries requiring some or very high levels of effort to reach the ‘quality education’ target, even for primary school completion. 

The report uses the Child Atlas [1] to measure progress on five child-focused SDG indicators: child mortality, hunger, primary school completion, ending child marriage, and birth registration. It found:

• Only 40 countries are on course to reach the target for ending stunting and other forms of malnutrition. Just 18 of 116 countries, for which we have data, have made inclusive progress to reduce stunting, the most severe form of malnutrition, which damages a child’s growth and development [2].

• The rate of progress to reduce under 5 child mortality has been slower for children impacted by inequality and discrimination, with only 9 of 106 countries, for which we have data, making inclusive progress, which includes children from rural and poor backgrounds. 

• Only 8 out of 86 countries, for which we have data, have made inclusive progress on child marriage, which has a devastating impact on childhoods, including adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence, and leaving school early.

The report calls for children’s meaningful participation in decisions which will impact their lives.

Nicole, 17, from Zimbabwe, is attending the Summit of the Future as a child campaigner supported by Save the Children. She said:

“Child marriage in my community makes me sad and angry, as I feel that children should be children, with time to grow, learn and play, rather than being married with the responsibility of a child of their own. Most of them drop out of school and the opportunity to learn is taken away. Child marriage has such a big impact on children’s lives and not enough is being done to address it.”

Anai, 16, from Peru, will also be making her voice heard at the Summit of the Future as a child campaigner, supported by Save the Children. Anai is also part of National Movement of Organized Child Workers in Peru (MNNATSOP), she said:

“Right now, we children and adolescents are living through a crisis affecting all our rights. It’s urgent that we invest in children and address the challenges we face, including the climate crisis and gender inequality. Food security is a pressing issue for many, but people also need access to land so they can grow their own food. These are the issues impacting us, and they could become much worse. The future is now!”   

Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said:

“It’s completely unacceptable that the world’s most vulnerable children are being excluded from the progress being made towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.  All children have the right to meaningfully participate in decisions which will impact their lives today, and in the future. At the Summit of the Future and beyond, world leaders must listen to the voices of children, and they must recommit to financing and accelerating action to meet the SDGs.” 

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.    

Notes

[1] The Child Atlas is Save the Children’s data platform to visualize, compare, analyze and understand children’s outcomes globally. The organization has added a function to the Child Atlas that provides information about countries’ progress towards SDGs.

[2] Save the Children looked at data from 116 countries, focusing on five SDG indicators around child mortality, hunger, primary school completion, ending child marriage, and birth registration. For a country to be considered to have made “inclusive” progress, its progress towards the development goal needs to have closed gaps between children in the following groups: girls compared to boys; children living in rural areas compared to their urban counterparts, and children from the poorest 20% of households compared to the wealthiest 20%.