Saturday, the United Nations (UN) and the Jordanian government launched a joint program to garner investments to stimulate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all."

The SDGs were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.

The two year program aims to make progress in order to achieve the goals through the establishment of strategic building blocks for an Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF), which is a tool for governments and their institutional partners to finance the SDGs at national levels.

A program funded by the UN joint SDG fund called "Jordan- Enabling an SDG Financing Ecosystem" will aim to support the government's endeavors in strengthening the alignment of climate response planning; budgeting and financing; increasing the alignment of public and private investments with Jordanian SDG priorities; and enabling new investments and partnerships, while promoting a gender-responsive SDG financing framework.

In press statements, the Minister of Planning Nasser Shraideh, said the government will continue working with partners to support long-term investments needed for the sustainable development agenda. He said that "accelerating the realization of the 2030 Agenda and its goals is a priority for the government of Jordan and has been incorporated into the Government Executive Program (2021-2024)," adding that "establishing key building blocks for an Integrated National Financing Framework provided with technical support to Jordan has never been more important than today to protect the development gains and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the different sectors."

According to the Petra News Agency, 2021 marks the six year anniversary since the adoption of the SDGs and the second of a 'Decade of Action' towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.

Progress has been seen in several areas, such as improving maternal and child health, expanding access to electricity and increasing women’s empowerment.

However since the outbreak of pandemic, some of these advances were set back in other areas due to issues such as food insecurity growth, the deterioration of the natural environment, and persistent and pervasive inequalities.

"If we want to leave no one behind, we have to fast track SDG gains that also provide a blueprint for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan Anders Pedersen.

The "Jordan- Enabling an SDG Financing Ecosystem" program will be implemented by UNDP, UNICEF and UN WOMEN. The aforementioned will work with the largest investments in Jordan, including the Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) while also engaging civil society organizations and the youth.

The program, in partnership with the UN Global Compact Network and Social Value International will support businesses in managing and measuring their impact. 

It will focus on climate change and gender equality, which are cross-cutting issues that require integrated approaches towards SDG goals and targets.