Canadians want to see change in the world
If we stopped you on the street and asked you what the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were, would you know?
Well, we did just that. We hit the streets and asked people about the SDGs. That’s not all: we also hosted a Twitter chat for youth and surveyed hundreds of people across the country. We wanted to know if people were talking about the SDGs and if these 17 goals meant something to them. What did we find out?
And the results are in
What we discovered was that many Canadians are unaware of the SDGs. But more significantly, we also learned just how much Canadians care about doing good and changing the world.
Every single one of the goals outlined in the SDGs will play an important role in making the world a better place, and Canadians care about seeing this change for generations to come. But what Canadians may not know is just how far the world has come in the last couple of decades.
What progress have we made?
These incredible facts show the progress we’ve made in the last two decades:
- The number of people living in extreme poverty globally has been cut in HALF since 1990.
- 2.6 billion people have gained access to clean drinking water since 2000.
- The number of children dying before their 5th birthday has been cut by more than half.
- The number of mothers dying from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth has been reduced by 45% since 1990.
- Enrolment in primary education in the developing world reached 91% in 2015, up from 83% in 2000.
- Deaths from malaria have been reduced by 58% globally since 2000.
The bottom line: We’ve come a long way, but we can do so much more! Coming off the success of the Millennium Development Goals, the world is primed and ready to officially adopt the SDGs.
Why we’re talking about the Sustainable Development Goals
At Plan, we care about the SDGs because achieving these goals aligns with our mission to improve the lives of children around the world. The goals focused on access to education, gender equality, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, food security, sustainable economic development, and promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies all relate closely to what we’re working to achieve every single day.
Many Canadians have already let us know that they care about the issues the SDGs aim to address, and about creating a safer, fairer, and healthier world. With a federal election on the horizon, we have a unique opportunity to use our voice and let our leaders know that achieving these goals is important to us.
The most basic, fundamental tool we as Canadians have to influence the direction our country takes is our vote. On October 19, make sure your voice is heard and vote.