No one in Asia-Pacific should be left behind

February 21, 2024

BEIJING – Based on the current rate of progress in Asia and the Pacific, the Sustainable Development Goals will only be achieved by 2062 — a sobering reminder of how much work remains. Women and girls continue to face discrimination in accessing basic needs, and men face health and personal safety challenges which will need to be urgently addressed so everyone can meet the SDGs.

Our Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2024 shows that while the Goals are meant to be universal, their implementation varies significantly across different segments of the population. Factors such as sex, age and location contribute to existing inequalities and sometimes exacerbate them. Women and girls often face discrimination in accessing education and employment opportunities while men suffer from higher rates of intentional homicide, suicide and road traffic deaths. These analyses reaffirm the need for granular data to better understand how different population groups are affected and how these lead to unequal outcomes. Governments can act upon these data insights to formulate policies which target the causes of inequality.

Data gaps hinder progress assessment

However, half of the SDG indicators do not have sufficient data to properly assess their progress. Gender equality (Goal 5) and peace, justice, and strong institutions (Goal 16) continue to be the Goals with the least data. Filling the data gaps requires more investment in data systems, as well as better coordination for effective data sharing and increased use of the data within countries and by international partners. We see positive developments in North and Central Asia, where Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have partnered with the