51吃瓜

Economic Development, Social Development

The  on 5 February  is a key global and annual event bringing together governments, businesses, and civil society to tackle economic, social, and environmental challenges. This year’s focus includes healthgender equality, decent work and economic growthocean life, and partnerships. The Forum will spark new ideas and priorities to work on and will look to boost innovative collaborations that will drive action and commitment to the 2030 Agenda and emerging global challenges.

The meeting will mark the work ahead of ECOSOC and the themes discussed at the High-level Political Forum on July 2025.
Photo:UN Photo/Loey Felipe

5 February 2025 — UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the international community to continue pushing for a full ceasefire and the release of all hostages in Gaza, and “to avoid any form...

5 February 2025 — Over one million people in the Gaza Strip have received food assistance since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect nearly three weeks ago, UN aid coordination...

4 February 2025 — UN agencies on Tuesday offered a dire assessment of the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming US administration and reiterated calls for...

UN Sustainable Development Goals

17 Goals to transform our world

The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries — poor, rich and middle-income — to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.

hands holding megaphone and speech bubble

ActNow is the UN campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the lead up to the Summit of the Future, join the 1 Million Actions for our Common Future challenge to contribute to a more sustainable and peaceful world. Find new inspiring actions on and at .

Thomas the Tank engine

Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals! On our student resources page you will find plenty of materials for young people and adults alike. Share with your family and friends to help achieve a better world for all.

children holding up books

Reading and learning are essential to children’s growth and development; stories can fuel their imagination and raise awareness of new possibilities. The SDG Book Club aims to encourage them to learn about the Goals in a fun, engaging way, empowering them to make a difference.

SDG 4: Quality Education
 

Sustainable Development Goal 4 is all about ensuring everyone has access to no matter who they are or where they are. Access to education can help lift people out of poverty and is fundamental to creating a peaceful society.

More from the
United Nations

Featured stories from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

Human Rights, OHCHR

“When I came here, I saw others, I listened to their stories, and it gave me power to convert weakness into strength,” said Swastika Mali, a Nepalese paralegal and activist at Advocacy Forum Nepal, whose father was disappeared over 20 years ago. Co-organized in Geneva, Switzerland, by the , the  (CED),  the , and UN Human Rights, the  united 720 participants from more than 120 countries and 1,392 attendees online. The event, which primarily gathered relatives of the disappeared, provided a platform to share experiences, challenges, and best practices. It also marked a crucial step in shaping a collective path toward justice, truth, reparation, and the prevention of future disappearances.

Economic Development, IOM

Dr. Tsebaot Meles, a young Ethiopian doctor, turned a distressing personal experience into a mission to transform lives. During a visit to Sekota, a small town in Ethiopia's Amhara region, Tsebaot faced an unsettling challenge when she tried to purchase sanitary pads. “I got my period and went to a local shop with my sister,” she recalls. “To our shock, the male shopkeeper refused to help, reprimanding us for daring to request such an item. He insisted they don’t sell such things there.” Desperate, Tsebaot resorted to cutting up a bathroom towel for use as a sanitary pad. The incident ignited a passion within her to address this critical issue. She began researching how to start a company that could make a difference and later founded Ngat Reusable Sanitary Solution, a social enterprise committed to empowering women and girls in underserved areas.

FAO, Culture

Education is a human right and a pathway out of poverty. It is the backbone to development and prosperity, and all children should have the opportunity to go to school. But learning is also a lifelong endeavour, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations () has the resources to accompany you on this journey. Whether you want to know more about sea creatures or you want your children to learn about the importance of trees, we have the publication for you!Here are five suggestions to get you started – and there is topic for everyone’s taste: eating healthy, identifying jellyfish, being environmentally friendly from a young age, connecting digitalization and agriculture and understanding the issue of child labour.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, UNFPA

works to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person has guaranteed access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights.

Pollution and Waste, UNEP

To curb nitrous oxide emissions, we need to reduce synthetic fertilizer use, adopt more sustainable farming practices, and invest in better nitrogen management technologies.

Natural Resources and the Environment, UNESCO

The MangRes Project in Tumbes, Peru, fosters environmental awareness and community-driven conservation efforts to protect mangrove ecosystems through education and youth engagement.

Agriculture and Food, UNOPS

UNOPS has improved food security in Niger by constructing solar-powered irrigation systems, boosting crop yields and supporting economic growth in Sia-Kounza.

What we do

Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, including:

Structure of the
United Nations

The main parts of the UN structure are the , the
Security Council, the , the Trusteeship Council, the , and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative,?policymaking and representative organ of the UN. All?193 Member States of the UN are represented in the?General Assembly, making it the only UN body with?universal representation.

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under?the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international?peace and security. It has 15 Members (5 permanent?and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has?one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are?obligated to comply with Council decisions.

The Economic and Social Council is the principal body?for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and?recommendations on economic, social and?environmental issues, as well as implementation of?internationally agreed development goals.

The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the?UN Charter, under Chapter XIII, to provide international?supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed?under the administration of seven Member States, and?ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the?Territories for self-government and independence.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). It is the only one of the six principal organs of the United Nations not located in New York (United States of America).

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and?tens of thousands of international UN staff members?who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as?mandated by the General Assembly and the?Organization's other principal organs.

Learn more

Climate change is the defining issue of our time and now is the defining moment to do something about it. There is still time to tackle climate change, but it will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society.

Women at UN CSW63 Side Event - “Take the Hot Seat”. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its potential. Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is greeted on his visit to the Central African Republic

While global poverty rates have been cut by more than half since 2000, one in ten people in developing regions still lives on less than US$1.90 a day — the internationally agreed poverty line, and millions of others live on slightly more than this daily amount.

A young girl holds a smiling infant at the Zaatari Refugee Camp

Following up on a made by UN Member States at the UN’s 75th anniversary, the report Our Common Agenda looks ahead to the next 25 years and represents the Secretary-General’s vision on the future of global cooperation. It calls for inclusive, networked, and effective multilateralism to better respond to humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Watch and Listen

Video and audio from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

is deeply rooted in her experience of fleeing Afghanistan at the age of four. Despite initial challenges, she and her family slowly adapted in Kyrgyzstan, with education and language classes from UN Refugee Agency helping them integrate.

2025 International year of glaciers preservation

The raises awareness on preserving glaciers, highlighting their importance and fragility in the face of climate change.

2024: Regional overview food security and nutrition in LAC

Despite progress in reducing hunger and food insecurity, high food costs in Latin America and the Caribbean remain a significant challenge.

UN Podcasts

Catherine hugs children who are dressed in traditional clothes

Protecting children in crisis (AAN: S10-E7)

“There are also great stories and children who I see, who you know, are so resilient, children who have hope for the future.”

Catherine Russell never forgets the children she meets. As Executive Director of UNICEF, she bears witness to the stories of tens of millions of children and young people suffering around the world, and shares causes for optimism and hope wherever she finds it.

“Children just want to be children. No matter what, the bleakest situation, the most terrible things, they still want to play right? They want to find some joy. They want to just be kids, and I think that's what we have to all work to protect.”

2024 was one of the worst years on record for children in conflict, a devastating statistic that the UN is refusing to accept as a deadly new normal. In this episode, Catherine reflects on the impacts of childhood trauma, the limits of human resilience, and looks back on a childhood spent trick-or-treating for UNICEF.

Photo: ?UNICEF/UN0733293/Truong Viet Hung

* Episode recorded end of 2024

The United Nations in Pictures

Images from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

Photo:WFP/Moses Sawasawa

The World Food Programme () is joining calls for the international community to act as a surge in fighting displaces hundreds of thousands of people in camps in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 27 January, the escalation of violence had overwhelmed Goma, the largest city in the east. “Goma falling is the worst thing that we could possibly imagine happening in North Kivu,” said WFP Country Director for DRC, Peter Musoko. “It means we have an urban city centre with a lot of very frustrated and vulnerable people all looking for assistance..” WFP is monitoring the situation to deliver aid where possible. The aim is to reach 800,000 people in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri – 5.1 million people were already displaced across the three eastern states before the current crisis. You can support WFP’s work by donating.

Photo:OCHA

Joseph Yambo, in his sixties, lives in Fada N’Gourma, in eastern Burkina Faso. An attack on his village in 2019 turned his life upside down. He lost his wife after fleeing, and his eldest daughter was forced to drop out of school to care for the family. She joined a radio education programme set up by the Government and implemented by the charity Children Believe. The programme offered her a second chance. Like Joseph, more than 2 million people in Burkina Faso – about 10 per cent of the population – had to flee their homes due to the security crisis affecting the country since 2019. The violence also forced thousands of schools to close. The Government reports that more than 1 million people returned home in the last year, and more than 2,000 schools reopened, but urgent needs remain. The , managed by , has invested in education projects to address the needs of displaced children.