World Vision Australia CEO, Claire Rogers welcomed Friday’s report card on how Australia is contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. But she called for the government to commit to a national action plan so all people – especially children – could live in a fairer and safer world by 2030.
“The Sustainable Development Goals aim to leave no-one behind, and to reach those who are furthest behind. For World Vision, that means reaching vulnerable children in the world’s most fragile contexts,” Ms Rogers said.
“Every five minutes, a child dies of violence. This is the invisible epidemic that plagues the world – we have a unique opportunity and momentum here to change this.”
Ms Rogers congratulated the Australian Government on their Voluntary National Review on how we are contributing to the SDGs, which are a global set of 17 objectives agreed to by all countries to eradicate intergenerational challenges – including ending poverty, ending hunger, achieving gender equality and providing clean water, decent work and a healthy environment in developing and developed countries.
“In this landmark report it’s clear that Australia’s made a good start, but to achieve this transformative agenda by 2030 we need a concrete roadmap with practical actions and timelines,” Ms Rogers said. “We should follow the example countries like China, Germany and Denmark who have these plans.”
Ms Rogers said that in launching the SDGs, the international community acknowledged and agreed for the first time that violence against children was a major drawback to development and that bold steps must be taken to eradicate it, so that the intended outcomes of the SDGs could be achieved by 2030.
“World Vision acknowledges the government’s efforts to protect children from all forms of violence in the Indo-Pacific region and other areas where Australian aid is making a contribution. We encourage the government to embrace a more child centred approach which will enable policymakers across sectors to consider the impact of all policy, programmes and services on children.”
“Overall, the government is committed and has made progress through the aid program to ensure women are empowered to lead their own positive change, but to ensure sustainable development, we must invest in children. They are the next generation of leaders who will transform nations – we cannot leave them behind.”
“A child who is six years old in 2018 will reach adulthood by 2030, so the SDGs are particularly relevant to today’s children.”
World Vision was consulted during the development of the government’s Voluntary National Review and submitted 20 recommendations for the Australian Government to implement by 2020 to deliver on its commitment to the Global Goals. You can read World Vision’s submission here.
Story Source: World Vision Australia
