You may not know it, but the world is on the eve of a momentous historic event. It’s as big as Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon or Steven Gerrard scoring in the 2005 Champions League Final. On Friday world leaders will meet to sign the new global goals at the United Nations in New York. These global goals aim to end extreme poverty by 2030. The key word here is end – not reduce or decrease, but end. We’re talking about consigning extreme poverty to the history books, forever. This is the most ambitious plan ever created to tackle global poverty.
There’s no denying that the task is huge. Working with international charity WaterAid, I’ve learnt that more than 650 million people still don’t have access to clean water. I believe access to clean water to drink, to wash and somewhere safe to go to the toilet are fundamental human rights. Without these, people are unable to take the first step out of poverty.
The biggest mistake we can make is to be daunted by these statistics or the staggering challenge ahead. The global goals present a real opportunity for change. We have the ability and capacity to end extreme poverty by 2030.
As a committed long-term supporter of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, I’ve met people suffering in the current refugee crisis in Europe as well as those seeking safety in the countries neighbouring Syria. Whether it’s in a refugee camp or a European border, access to clean water and sanitation is critical. I’ve seen first-hand how important it is to get these life-saving basics to people who have been forced to flee. Longer term, they are a vital component of sustainable solutions. Extreme poverty can contribute to conflict and displacement. The global goals provide a vision for a peaceful and more equitable world.
I’m a father of three children, and I cannot imagine how it must feel for your children to grow up where the only water to drink is dirty and can make you sick; or where going to the loo means stepping outside after dark to find a hidden place in a bush or field, leaving them vulnerable to harassment or even attack.
There’s something wrong with our times where I can FaceTime my children from a film set on the other side of the world, but a child in Madagascar can’t turn on the tap to drink clean water. Technological advancements come thick and fast, but many millions of people remain left behind without even the most basic services. The point of the global goals is to ensure that no child ever has to live in these conditions; that no one is left behind.
Ending extreme poverty is the challenge of our time. We must find a solution to create a fairer, more sustainable world for the next generation. The stakes are high and there is no room for failure. While the preceding millennium development goals may have seen great strides forward in access to water – much of this was uneven. The poorest, those living in the most remote areas, those with disabilities, the elderly – all are still left behind. Sanitation remains one of the most off-track goals, with 2.5 billion people still living without somewhere safe or private to go to the toilet.
On Thursday evening, on the eve of the global goals, thousands of people are set to gather on Millennium Bridge in London calling on the UK government to commit to these goals and end extreme poverty. They form part of action/2015, one of the world’s largest citizens’ movements, made up of more than 2,000 organisations and active in more than 150 countries around the world. Now is the time for governments to show their commitment to the global goals, so these goals can assume their place as a landmark in history.
