The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
The 17 SDGs are integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
The creativity, knowhow, technology and financial resources from all of society is necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context.
In Lao PDR, there are 18 SDGs as shown below. This is due to the unique Lao context and the threat posed by Unexploded Ordnances (UXOs) in the country.
Lao PDR is unique in that it has an additional, 18th, Sustainable Development Goal. SDG 18, “Lives Safe from Unexploded Ordnance (UXO),” was adopted by Lao PDR to handle the legacy of the Second Indochina War, where over 80 million cluster submunitions were scattered across the country. UXOs pose a constant threat to the lives and livelihoods of the local communities and Lao PDR’s 18th SDG strives to remove them.
