Countries vow faster action on development financing in annual declaration

Those reforms – largely stemming from the commitment made by Member States attending a landmark development finance summit in Sevilla last year – include mobilising public and private investment, expanding debt relief mechanisms for developing countries, and combating corruption.

"Today’s outcome demonstrates that, through dialogue, mutual respect and compromise, multilateralism can deliver meaningful results,” Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) President Lok Bahadur Thapa said.

The annual ministerial declaration marked the conclusion of the UN’s High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which took place in New York starting 7 July under the auspices of ECOSOC.

In the declaration, Member States also acknowledged the UN’s liquidity constraints, condemned attacks on critical infrastructure such as shipping routes, identified eradicating poverty as the greatest global challenge, highlighted the need for inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) governance and decried unilateral trade measures – reflecting current geopolitical challenges.

SDGs push stymied

Most funding required to achieve the SDGs comes from domestic sources, but UN reports have noted that official development assistance (ODA) is essential for sustainable development funding in the poorest countries.

Despite the Sevilla Commitment and repeated multilateral agreements to scale up SDG financing, ODA fell by 23.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, largely due to falling aid by the US, UK, Germany, France and Japan, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In the 2026 declaration, signatories urged developed countries to scale up ODA to the UN’s target of 0.7 per cent Gross National Income (GNI). If every member country in the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee met that target in 2023, an additional $200 billion in aid would have been available.

Two new UN reports presented on Thursday by Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), show that existing ideas such as coordinated actions and bridging the digital divide can lead to progress on the SDGs.

UN Committee for Development Policy Chair José Antonio Ocampo said on Thursday that reducing the high cost of borrowing and increasing the capacity of the multilateral development banks will be key to accelerating progress on the SDGs.

“Leaving no one behind, including leaving no country behind, remains an imperative for achieving sustainable development by 2030 and beyond,” Mr. Ocampo said.

UN looks to the future

Throughout the HLPF, UN officials repeatedly recognised that many of the SDGs are not on track to be fully achieved by 2030, but they have also begun to discuss what development policy could look like in the years that follow.

“While the focus remains on accelerating progress on the SDGs ahead of the 2030 deadline, it’s time to start discussing what sustainable development beyond 2030 will require,” Mr. Ocampo said.

Next year, in addition to the annual HLPF, the UN will hold its quadrennial high-level SDG Summit, where Member States will consider the future of sustainable development.

Glass half full

Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed reflected on the lessons learned from 11 years of the SDGs, asserting their “transformational” impact on multilateralism while acknowledging the challenges associated with the recent trend of national self-interest over such cooperation.

Ms. Mohammed said the UN is not searching for a successor for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but is considering multiple possibilities, including another set of goals.

“The next five years are for delivering on the promise of the SDGs and building the foundations for beyond,” Ms. Mohammed said.