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UN briefing: Secretary‑General says progress on SDGs but warns of $4 trillion financing gap
Summary
At a UN press briefing the Secretary‑General highlighted gains on child mortality and basic services but warned the world is off track for several Sustainable Development Goals and called for urgent action to close an annual SDG financing gap of more than $4 trillion.
The United Nations spokesperson summarized Secretary‑General António Guterres’s opening remarks at the High‑level Political Forum, saying the world has seen important gains on child mortality, social protection and access to water, sanitation, electricity and the Internet, but is now “entering the toughest stretch” of progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
“About 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water and some 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation,” the spokesperson said, quoting the Secretary‑General and underscoring the scale of shortfalls on SDG 6. The Secretary‑General also warned that artificial intelligence must be used to reduce inequality and limit environmental harms rather than multiply them.
Guterres, the spokesperson said, urged urgent action to close what the briefing described as an annual SDG financing gap of well over $4 trillion. The spokesman said the Secretary‑General called for renewed global efforts to mobilize public and private finance and to focus on policies that protect the most vulnerable.
Why it matters: the High‑level Political Forum is the central UN venue for reviewing progress on the 2030 agenda. The Secretary‑General framed the moment as one of both real achievements and significant new risks that, he said, require faster and larger financing flows.
What the spokesperson said next: the Secretary‑General will continue to press member states for diplomacy and funding commitments at the Forum and related events this week.
