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Systems Transformation Needed to Reach SDGs: THP at UNGA78

It’s time to accelerate action to create a world without hunger.

2023 marks the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda. Looking toward the Global Goals, many world leaders have pointed out there has been a lack of progress in eliminating hunger. It is clear that we need to dramatically accelerate progress if we are going to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It cannot be more of the same—it is time to transform the systems of inequity that are preventing us from reaching the SDGs. 

Our team has been on the ground in New York at the 2023 UN General Assembly and SDG Summit, advocating for new ways of thinking and partnering with communities living with hunger. 

“The SDGs aren’t just a list of goals. They carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people everywhere. In our world of plenty, hunger is a shocking stain on humanity and an epic human rights violation. It is an indictment of every one of us that millions of people are starving in this day and age.”

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

Ahead of the global gathering, Violah Nayebare, Communications and Advocacy Officer for THP-Uganda and Co-Chair of THP’s Youth Advisory Council, participated in the Global Town Hall, which teed up the critical discussions that happened at UNGA a few weeks later. Alongside dignitaries, like Ban Ki Moon, former UN Secretary General, she added an important youth perspective to the conversation about food security. Watch the conversation below:

As dignitaries descended on New York, Tim Prewitt, President and CEO of The Hunger Project, reached out to the agriculture community in the US, urging for increased investment in small-scale food producers to increase access to healthy, nutritious foods around the world. Read his thoughts here

Inside UN Headquarters, John Coonrod, Executive Vice President of The Hunger Project and Director of the Movement for Community-led Development, spoke at an event co-hosted by the Missions of Kenya and Sweden, and UNDP, in collaboration with GIZ. The event explored how decentralizing government can catalyze progress by micro-small-and medium enterprises and strengthen the local private sector.

“The most exciting breakthrough this year is that the UN and many funders have recognized that most of the SDGs can only be met by shifting power to local communities.” 

John Coonrod, Executive Vice President of The Hunger Project

On the sidelines of UNGA, our partners at Microsoft and USAID hosted a powerful panel highlighting gender digital equity. The Hunger Project’s CEO, Tim Prewitt, shared about our partnerships in Ghana, Malawi and Mexico where we are blending community-led development methodologies with private sector investments to bring digital resources to remote communities.

Finally, we are looking forward to closing out this powerful week at the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday September 23, where Montserrat Salazar Gamboa, Country Director for The Hunger Project-Mexico, will be spotlighting our work. This annual festival brings together 60,000 committed global citizens with the world’s leading artists and advocates to end extreme poverty. Check out options to watch here.

Photo credit: UN General Assembly 2023 by Basil D Soufi

Panel hosted by Microsoft and USAID, Photo by The Hunger Project