Sustainable Development Goals

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Where the world stands on the SDGs

Back in 2015 the United Nations set goals with a target date of 2030. Four years from now. The Sustainable Development Goals consist of 17 global objectives to create a better future for all humans and our world. My work with Thrive: United for Democracy led me to taking a closer look at the SDGs. Right now, with four years to go, only 35% of the targets are on track, nearly 50% are not advancing, and 18% are actually regressing!

SDG#1 is No Poverty

This goal calls for an end to poverty in all forms everywhere by ensuring access to resources, social protection, and economic opportunities for the vulnerable.

The pandemic caused a spike in extreme poverty, the first increase in decades. At this time, that spike has resolved itself, but around 700 million people are living under the international extreme poverty line. 

The UN defines poverty, in part,  as “a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society…not having enough to feed and cloth[e] a family…insecurity, powerlessness…susceptibility to violence…”

The most recent data on poverty rates in the US come from 2024. At that time, nearly 36 million Americans were living in poverty, according to the US Census Bureau. This number represents about 11% of the country, with nearly 1 in 7 children living in poverty.

I think it is safe to say that in 2026, those numbers are growing. 

The US has very few people living in extreme poverty, so the focus here is on social protections and resilience, two target areas of SDG #1. 

Until recently, the US demonstrated good progress on SDG #1.3, social protections for all. Those protections are under threat right now, and many Americans have lost coverage. 

As for SDG #1.5, resilience, again, progress was being made to ensure Americans were protected from climate and economic disasters, but the current administration has derailed these efforts. 

I live in Montana, and prevailing wisdom says this summer will be long, hot, and fiery, thanks to an astonishingly dry winter. This is a mostly red state at the moment, so maybe the current administration will help us out with disaster aid if it is needed. Then again, given cuts to the Forest Service, maybe they won’t. 

What can creatives do about SDG 1?

The protagonist of my WIP is an American citizen who suffers a tragic loss and relocates to England. Her story begins in 2030, in a future in which every other UN member country has made substantial progress on the SDGs. America, on the other hand, has lost ground on every single one. 

There was a time when fiction, especially YA fiction, focused on dystopian stories to warn society where we were headed if we did not change our ways. As an urgent optimist, I think right now, we are better served by fiction and other creative work that inspires and motivates us to achieve goals like the SDGs. Whether it is no poverty,  gender equality, or clean energy, all of the UN SDGs are attainable with the tools countries possess right here, right now. 

Creatives can show our audiences what is possible, so they can urge our leaders to step up and address the issues that really matter to us all.