The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are focused on improvement and longevity, and are a focal point of The UN Week in New York City.

Additionally, a number of Summits

provide the opportunity for world leaders to cooperate in achieving these global goals.

So, what exactly are the world’s biggest problems?

Well, first and foremost, poverty is an inescapable issue for nearly all developing countries.

Roughly 1 in 7 people around the world live on less than $1.25 a day, and nearly half

of the global population lives on just $2.50. While about a third of the world’s poor are located in India,

only 10 countries house 80% of the poorest people on earth.

Closely tied to poverty is the issue of hunger. Inadequate nutrition contributes to nearly half of all child deaths worldwide,

and in regions like sub-Saharan Africa, one in four people are malnourished.

As a result, nearly 800 million people don't have access to enough food to live healthy, active lives.

Similarly, water and sanitation are absolute necessities.

Yet nearly the same number of people without access to food, lack access to water.

And a third of the world’s population risks disease by not having adequate sanitation.

Another major issue for developing countries is a lack of educational opportunities.

The UN predicted in 2011 that if all students had even basic reading skills,

world poverty could be reduced by more than ten percent. But illiteracy is an asymmetrical problem,

and affects considerably more women than men. Of roughly 780 million illiterate adults worldwide,

two thirds are female. As a result, women have considerably fewer opportunities,

and it hurts a country’s ability to progress economically without a fully educated workforce.

This inequality is rampant, and not exclusively relegated to gender.

Economic inequality is also drawn along racial and social divides. Countries like Namibia see only a few thousand

white landowners owning almost half of the country’s agricultural land for a population of more than 2 million.

In fact, land distribution has become an increasingly relevant issue.

With man-made climate change,

deforestation, and overfishing, the rapid environmental decline might be too late to reverse.

Although organizations like the UN have implemented standards,

and worked to save forests, oceans, and the atmosphere, it continues to be a serious issue for the international community.

The UN Summit’s 17 global goals span from micro to macro, and hope to contribute to

solutions for the world’s biggest problems. Through communication, training, and financial

support, it is up to influential world leaders and average citizens to seek to improve the world.

Since addressing issues like poverty and hunger, most countries have made considerable progress on every set goal.

So we know that the United Nations has been effective working on these issues, but HOW effective has it been? Find out in our video.

The United Nation emerged after World War 2, with the objective of achieving a global balance of peace between world powers. Today they have 193 member states.

And they have rougly 100 thousand soldiers, or "blue-berets" (buh-REYS) operating 16 separate peacekeeping missions around the globe.

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