World leaders have adopted the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as Global Goals. They represent an agreed vision to put people and planet on a sustainable path by 2030. In Moldova, emphasis is put on poverty reduction, access to education and women empowerment, where many challenges still persist, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova Dafina Gercheva says in an opinion article, quoted by IPN.
The regional turbulence, together with the many challenges the country is facing, require new ingenious approaches from the people of Moldova and the development agencies working to support the country. “I I’ve learned from my work with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) that setting goals and targets works. A precedent has been set, for example, by the UNDP-EU biomass project. Moldova is now almost totally dependent on external energy sources. By 2020, it plans to generate a fifth of its energy from local renewable sources and reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent. Thanks to the UNDP-EU partnership we have demonstrated the potential of biomass, beginning with the installation of biomass heating systems in 144 public institutions and more than 600 private households, reaching more than 90,000 people throughout the country,” said Dafina Gercheva.
She noted that the Millennium Development Goals targets have already been met on reducing poverty, increasing access to improved drinking water sources, improving the lives of slum dwellers and achieving gender parity in primary school. Moldova is a good example in this sense as the country managed to significantly reduce the rate of absolute and extreme poverty, achieving its targets before 2015. Over the past 20 years, the likelihood of a child dying before age five has been nearly cut in half. Globally, the maternal mortality ratio dropped by nearly half.
Despite this progress, the indignity of poverty has not been ended for all. That’s why these 17 new Goals will continue this journey towards progress for everyone that aims to go even farther to focus the world on ending poverty, hunger and major health problems, as well as break new ground by setting goals and targets on inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, energy, climate change, and peace and justice, among others.
UNDP stands ready to support Republic of Moldova as it develops its plans for making the SDGs a reality. “We will work closely with the government, private sector, civil society and many other partners in the country to strive to achieve lasting results for people and planet,” stated Dafina Gercheva.
