UN High-Level Political Forum 2017: Tracking country progress against the Sustainable Development Goals

What is it?

The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) is the annual meeting of UN Member States and other key stakeholders dedicated to tracking progress against the SDGs. At each meeting, the HLPF will conduct an in-depth review of a small number of the goals, as well as hearing voluntary reports from different countries on what actions they have been taking to achieve the SDGs.

The theme for the discussions this year is “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world” and Member States will focus on:

• Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
• Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
• Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
• Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
• Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

In addition, 44 countries have prepared national voluntary reviews, which you can access online.

Why get involved?

This is an important opportunity for the cancer and NCD community, as it is the first time that countries will be reviewing progress against SDG3. In addition, it offers us a chance to highlight the crucial links between NCDs, health and sustainable development - health is both an essential foundation for, and an outcome of, successful sustainable development. To draw out these links, UICC, as part of the NCD Alliance, has helped to develop a briefing note on the importance of health in the SDGs, which you can download here.

If you are taking part in the HLPF and would like to know more, please contact the Advocacy team at advocacy@uicc.org or check out the calendar of side events. If you were unable to make it to New York, you can always follow the webcast here (SDG3 is due for discussion on Wednesday 12th July).