Accepting the Challenge Sweden and the 2030 Agenda
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#1 THE UN SUSTAINABLE GOALS INDEX 2017 ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE SWEDEN AND THE 2030 AGENDA 1 2030 GLOBAL GOALS ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE – SWEDEN AND THE 2030 AGENDA The Sustainable Development Goals Sweden’s ambition is to be a leader in implementing the 2030 Agenda – both at home and through contributing are a collection of 17 interrelated global to its global implementation. This small country with big goals agreed upon by the United Nations. ambitions has already come a long way to fulfilling several of the goals domestically. Many consider Sweden one of Critics claim they are too many, too the leaders in gender equality and environmental sustain- politicised or too ambitious. Perhaps. ability. But most Swedes see this as no more than a good But Sweden, historically committed start, mere inspiration for further effort. to international collaboration and global The Swedish social model builds on a long tradition of issues, is dedicated to doing what it working together, both nationally and internationally. In Sweden, the focus is on cooperation between the can to make the world more socially, private and public sectors, civil society and the research economically and environmentally community. Cross-sectoral partnerships, especially inter- national ones, are becoming increasingly important. sustainable. Global partnership is the main key to our success. The urgency is real. After all, if these goals are met, it would mean an end to the threats of extreme poverty, inequality and climate change. And if they are only met in part, at least some progress will have been made. Business as usual is not an option. 2 3 1 NO POVERTY 2 ZERO HUNGER ‘POVERTY IS BOTH RELATIVE ‘HOW DO WE ELIMINATE AND UNACCEPTABLE.’ OBESITY AND HUNGER?’ Due to the high standard of living and well- The goal is quite the opposite: to reduce income gaps, In a prosperous welfare state like Sweden, The Swedish Food Action Plan of 2017 includes a goal developed welfare system, there is no abso- including those between women and men, and to increase ending hunger might not seem to represent whereby the area of ecological farming as a share of lute poverty in Sweden, as internationally the disposable income of certain vulnerable groups. much of a challenge. The full wording agricultural land is to increase from 17 per cent to defined (income below USD 1.25 per day). of this goal, however, is to ‘End hunger, 30 per cent by 2030. But in solidarity with poorer nations, Those most exposed to poverty are older women, single achieve food security and improved Sweden needs to continue its work on mothers, people with disabilities and people born outside nutrition, and promote sustainable Over the past decade, Swedish agriculture has experi- development cooperation. And domestically, economic Sweden, especially newly arrived immigrants. On average, agriculture’. A few of the sub-targets have turned out enced an increase in productivity even as greenhouse differences need to be eradicated. women have lower salaries than men. This is largely a to pose a real challenge. gas (GHG) emissions per unit produced have decreased. result of women being over-represented in professions Sweden has also come far in its efforts to reduce the use that offer lower wages. Hunger is extremely rare in Sweden, although a small of antibiotics in animal production, and constantly lobbies proportion of elderly suffer from malnutrition. There are for global monitoring. Everyone living or working in Sweden is protected by also differences in eating habits that are closely associ- a social insurance system set up to create security and ated with people’s socio-economic situation, educational counteract economic vulnerability. But if an egalitarian level and income. There has been a tangible increase in society is to be achieved, the challenges that the above overweight and obesity over the last decade. More than groups face need to be eliminated. half of all adults are overweight or obese. Another major concern for Sweden is that absolute pov- The fact that Swedes consume more sweets than any erty does exist in other countries. Poverty reduction is an other country per capita might give a clue, but then overarching goal of Swedish international development again, fika (a Swedish coffee break with pastries) is cooperation. Annually since 2006, Sweden has met its a national institution. own goal of allocating one per cent of its gross national income to international aid. However, the biggest national challenge for Sweden lies in maintaining a varied agricultural landscape, which The Swedish International Development Cooperation includes preserving and strengthening biodiversity. Agency, Sida, implements Sweden’s stated policy to The trend in Sweden is negative, and existing policy enable people living in poverty to improve their lives. instruments are insufficient. According to the UN’s Food For development to be sustainable in the long term, it is and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 60 per cent of essential that ownership of the projects is in the hands Sweden’s local animal breeds are vulnerable to extinction. When it comes to helping other nations stave off hunger, of those who stand to benefit. Therefore, Sida works in 34 per cent of total Swedish public development assis- Sweden has no national definition of poverty; however, collaboration with partner countries and local partner The Programme for Diversity of Cultivated Plants (POM) tance goes to the agricultural sector. Sweden encourages a frequently used measure is the proportion of the pop- organisations. has collected seeds and older varieties throughout responsible investments both for increased productivity and ulation with a disposable income lower than 60 per cent Sweden. The seeds are preserved in the Nordic Gene sustainability in agriculture and for sustainable fisheries. of the national median income. In Sweden, 15 per cent of Bank, and old cultivated plants are reintroduced on the population rate below this threshold. It’s a matter of the market. Women have a central role for food security, and inter- serious concern that in recent years income disparities ventions to ensure the right of women to own, utilise and have increased. In terms of sustainable farmland, the proportion of inherit land and other natural resources constitute an organic cultivation has increased in Sweden since 2005. important area of Swedish development cooperation. 4 5 3 GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING ‘LIVE LONG AND PREVENT ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE.’ In global comparison, Swedes enjoy good persons, national minorities, and indigenous people. health and well-being and the trend shows The government’s goal is to eliminate avoidable health continued improvement. Since 2003, inequalities within a generation. Sweden has followed a national public health policy. The person with the greatest Unhealthy eating habits is one of the greatest risk factors need of health care is to be given priority in Sweden. Cardiovascular diseases and tumours accounted by the health services. for 61 per cent of deaths in 2015 and have long been the two most common causes of disease-related death. One sign of improved health is that women and men in The curve is pointing downwards in both categories, Sweden live longer. In 2015, average life expectancy for however. The death rate due to cardiovascular diseases women was 84 years and for men 80.4. Life expectancy has decreased by 55 per cent since 1987 and by 13 per is greater among those with post-secondary education cent for tumours. than those with pre-secondary education, a difference that has increased over the past ten years. Internationally, Sweden contributes to medical studies, primary healthcare and greater focus on non-infectious Swedes drink less alcohol. Total consumption has diseases. Sweden also prioritises financial support for decreased by 11 per cent in the past ten years. As a child and maternal care and for sexual and reproductive result, alcohol-related mortality has decreased. health and rights. About 18 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women are reported to consume alcohol in at-risk levels. Increasing antibiotic resistance is a major global health The proportion of people who smoke tobacco daily risk. Sweden has been proactive in pushing this issue up has also decreased in all but the oldest age group. the international agenda. In March 2017, the government commissioned the Public Health Agency and the Swedish One of the main challenges facing Sweden is the need Board of Agriculture to assume joint responsibility for a for additional measures to boost health equality, including national unit to promote cross-sectoral work targeting the reduction of disparities in health and well-being antibiotic resistance. The Swedish Medical Products between different groups in society. Affected groups Agency has been tasked with seeking to align pharmaceu- include people with a low level of education, women, tical legislation more closely with environmental consider- LGBT persons, people with disabilities, foreign-born ations, both within the EU and internationally. 6 7 4 QUALITY EDUCATION 5 GENDER EQUALITY ‘IN CONFLICT SITUATIONS, ‘SWEDEN THE MOST GENDER- EDUCATION FOR WOMEN AND EQUAL COUNTRY ON EARTH? GIRLS IS PARTICULARLY CRUCIAL.’ WELL, IT’S A START!’ Sweden has a well-developed educational However, there are important challenges, such as the Achieving gender equality and empowering high employment level, Swedish women have a higher system. The level of education is high and need to increase the equivalence of schools and the all women and girls globally will fuel sus- birth rate than most other European nations (1.85 live has risen sharply in recent years. Primary number of qualified teachers, to improve the quality tainable economies and benefit societies births per woman in 2015). In part, this equation works and secondary school is free of charge, and of teaching, to raise the level of learning outcomes and and humanity at large.