LONDON - The UK published its voluntary national review of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), concluding that the review identifies many reasons to be proud yet also outlines key areas where further action is required, stating that
the UK remains fully committed to continuing to strengthen and enhance efforts on the Goals, both domestically and internationally, generating continued concrete action to Leave No One Behind.
The 2030 Agenda comprises 17 Goals, 169 Global Targets and 244 Global Indicators. As of June 2019, UK data are reported on 180 (74%) of the 244 Global Indicators, one of the highest proportions in the world.
Maternal, child, and sexual and reproductive health (3.1, 3.2, 3.7)
On maternal and child health, the UK invested approximately £1 billion a year across bilateral programmes and multilateral organisations from 2014-17.114 In 2017, the UK invested in the Global Financing Facility to increase financing of evidence-based maternal and child health interventions in 27 countries.
The UK is a global leader on sexual and reproductive health, co-hosted the 2017 Family Planning Summit, and is investing an average of £225 million per year in voluntary family planning from 2017-2022. Between April 2017 and March 2018, 14 million women and girls were reached with voluntary modern contraception, preventing 4.4 million unintended pregnancies, 1.2 million unsafe abortions and saving 4,900 women’s lives.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (5.1, 5.6)
The UK is a world leader in promoting and supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Since 2015, UK aid has provided 16.9 million women and girls with modern methods of family planning.186 At the UK’s 2017 Family Planning Summit, the UK committed to spend an average of £225 million per year on family planning (2017/18-2021/22). It is estimated that, every year, UK investment will support nearly 20 million total users of contraception, prevent 6 million unintended pregnancies, and thus prevent more than 3 million abortions, many of which would be unsafe. It will save the lives of over 6,000 women every year.187 On maternal and child health UK government invested an average of approximately £1 billion per year across bilateral programmes and multilateral organisations from 2014-2017.