Innovation drives long-term economic growth. This book examines the role of innovation in developing countries, with a focus on Africa.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal set of seventeen goals and 169 targets, with accompanying indicators, which were agreed by UN member states to frame their policy agendas for the fifteen-year period from 2015 to 2030. Written by three authors who have been engaged in the development of the SDGs from the beginning, this book offers an insider view of the process and a unique entry into what will be seen as one of the most significant negotiations and global policy agendas of the twenty-first century. The book reviews how the SDGs were developed, what happened in key meetings and how this transformational agenda, which took more than three years to negotiate, came together in September 2015. It dissects and analyzes the meetings, organizations and individuals that played key roles in their development. It provides fascinating insights into the subtleties and challenges of high-level negotiation processes of governments and stakeholders, and into how the SDGs were debated, formulated and agreed. It is essential reading for all interested in the UN, sustainable development and the future of the planet and humankind.

The aim of this report is to present an overview of the 17 Goals using data currently available to highlight the most significant gaps and challenges.

The Role of Education in Enabling the Sustainable Development Agenda explores the relationship between education and other key sectors of development in the context of the new global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. While it is widely understood that there is a positive relationship between education and other dimensions of development, and populations around the world show a clear desire for more and better education, education remains an under-financed and under-prioritised sector within development. When education does make it onto the agenda, investment is usually diverted towards increasing access to formal schooling, without focusing on the intrinsic value of education as a tool for development within the international development community more broadly. The authors explore these tensions through a review of literature from a range of disciplines, providing a clearer picture of the relationship between education and other development sectors. The book challenges silo-thinking in the SDGs by exploring how achieving the SDG education targets can be expected to support or hinder progress towards other targets, and vice-versa. Drawing on examples from both low and high income countries, the book demonstrates how ‘good’ education functions as an ‘enabling right’, impacting positively on many other areas. The book’s scope ranges across education and development studies, economics, geography, sociology and environmental studies, and will be of interest to any researchers and students with an interest in education and the SDGs.

Explores the great potential for nursing involvement in promoting global health. This unique text elucidates the relationship between global nursing and global health, underscoring the significance of nurses’ contributions in furthering the Post-2015 Agenda of the United Nations regarding global health infrastructures, and examining myriad opportunities for nurses to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and foster health and healthy environments worldwide. While past nursing literature has emphasized nursing’s potential involvement and influence in the global arena, this is the first book to identify, validate, and promote nurses’ proactive and multidimensional work in furthering current transnational goals for advancing health on a global scale. The book includes an introduction to global health, clarification of terms and roles, perspectives on education, research, and theory related to global nursing, a history of the partnership between the United Nations and the nursing profession, an in-depth exploration of the 17 SDGs and relevant nursing tasks, as well as several chapters on creating a vision for 2030 and beyond. It is based on recent and emerging developments in the transnational nursing community, and establishes, through the writings of esteemed global health and nursing scholars, a holistic dialogue about opportunities for nurses to expand their roles as change agents and leaders in the cross-cultural and global context. The personal reflections of contributors animate such topics as global health ethics, the role of caring in a sustainable world, creating a shared humanity, cultural humility, and many others. Key Features: Examines, for the first time, nursing’s role in each of the 17 SDGs Integrates international initiatives delineating nursing’s role in the future of global health Creates opportunities for nurses to redefine their contributions to global health Includes personal reflections to broaden perspectives and invite transnational approaches to professional development Distills short, practical, and evidence-based chapters describing global opportunities for nurses in practice, education, and research

This publication offers a systemic analysis of sustainability in the food system, taking as its framework the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations. Targeted chapters from experts in the field cover main challenges in the food system and propose methods for achieving long term sustainability. Authors focus on how sustainability can be achieved along the whole food chain and in different contexts. Timely issues such as food security, climate change and migration and sustainable agriculture are discussed in depth. The volume is unique in its multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach. Chapter authors come from a variety of backgrounds, and authors include academic professors, members of CSO and other international organizations, and policy makers. This plurality allows for a nuanced analysis of sustainability goals and practices from a variety of perspectives, making the book useful to a wide range of readers working in different areas related to sustainability and food production. The book is targeted towards the academic community and practitioners in the policy, international cooperation, nutrition, geography, and social sciences fields. Professors teaching in nutrition, food technology, food sociology, geography, global economics, food systems, agriculture and agronomy, and political science and international cooperation may find this to be a useful supplemental text in their courses.

The ambitious 15-year agenda known as the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015 by all members of the United Nations, contains a pledge that “no one will be left behind.” This book aims to translate that bold global commitment into an action-oriented mindset, focused on supporting specific people in specific places who are facing specific problems. In this volume, experts from Japan, the United States, Canada, and other countries address a range of challenges faced by people across the globe, including women and girls, smallholder farmers, migrants, and those living in extreme poverty. These are many of the people whose lives are at the heart of the aspirations embedded in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. They are the people most in need of such essentials as health care, quality education, decent work, affordable energy, and a clean environment. This book is the result of a collaboration between the Japan International Cooperation Research Institute and the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. It offers practical ideas for transforming “leave no one behind” from a slogan into effective actions which, if implemented, will make it possible to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In addition to policymakers in the field of sustainable development, this book will be of interest to academics, activists, and leaders of international organizations and civil society groups who work every day to promote inclusive economic and social progress.