© NGO Forum on ABD
© Both Nomads/Forus
2025-06-25
Leaving No One Behind, Leading from the Front: Civil Society Action on the SDGs at the UN High-Level Political Forum 2025
As the 2030 Agenda marks its 10th anniversary, the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) will take place with only five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet progress on most goals remains off track. Only 17% of SDG targets are advancing at a pace sufficient to meet the 2030 deadline. But civil society around the world is not waiting. Across borders and sectors, grassroots organizations are leading transformative, inclusive solutions—and showing what it really means to leave no one behind.
Under the theme “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda,” this year’s HLPF focuses on five SDGs:
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SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 5: Gender Equality
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SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
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SDG 14: Life Below Water
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SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
At Forus, we recognize that behind every global statistic are local actions: stories of resilience, solidarity, and leadership. Through our We Are Leaving No One Behind, Are You? campaign, we are amplifying these stories. Below, we reflect on progress, persistent gaps, and how civil society is driving forward the SDG agenda in 2025.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed fragilities in health systems worldwide and reversed decades of progress. According to the UN, global life expectancy dropped by nearly two years, and access to Universal Health Coverage has stagnated since 2019, leaving nearly 2 billion people without essential services.
Governments must adopt a rights-based, One Health approach—integrating human, animal, and environmental health—and shift from reactive to preventive public health strategies. Achieving SDG 3 demands policy reforms that prioritize healthy, sustainable diets, mental health access, and equitable healthcare for all, with direct financing for local actors and community-based innovations.
Civil society is supporting in building resilient health systems, especially for communities that have been historically marginaliwed. This work must be resourced and protected.
In China, Forus member CANGO helped restore sight to over 15,000 elderly cataract patients and trained thousands of rural doctors. In Zambia, the Chikankata Ngangula Disabled Farmers Association is integrating health outreach with farming, ensuring persons with disabilities can live with dignity and independence.
From community care to stroke rehabilitation, these initiatives show how investing in local leadership can transform public health.
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Gender equality remains a critical unmet promise. The 2025 HLPF Thematic Review Expert Group Meeting on SDG 5 noted that none of the targets are on track. Meanwhile, nearly one in three women globally still experience gender-based violence, and a $360 billion annual funding gap undermines progress.
Urgent action is needed to uphold sexual and reproductive health and rights, eliminate discriminatory laws, and ensure equal access to decision-making, land, education, and healthcare—especially for women with disabilities and those in conflict settings. A truly intersectional and inclusive approach requires centering women and girls in policy design, service delivery, and peacebuilding. Funding for grassroots feminist movements must be direct, predictable, and long-term.
While action lags, civil society is stepping up.
In Pakistan, AwazCDS helped rural women agricultural workers gain legal recognition for the first time under the 2024 Labour Code, unlocking healthcare, maternity leave, and social protections. In Fiji, PIANGO is equipping women to lead climate resilience planning across the Pacific, making gender justice a pillar of environmental policy.
From Honduras to Benin, grassroots movements are changing laws, shifting norms, and opening doors: discover the Forus March With Us annual initiative for more.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Despite record-low unemployment rates, decent work is elusive for many. The Expert Group Meeting on SDG 8 confirmed that only one of the twelve targets is on a positive trajectory. Informality, youth joblessness, and violations of labor rights are widespread. Globally, youth NEET rates exceed 20%, and informal employment dominates in low-income countries.
Economic growth without labor rights is not progress. Governments must align SDG 8 implementation with international labor standards, enforce decent work protections, and dismantle collusion between public and private sectors that undermines worker rights. Strategies must prioritize full employment, formalization of informal work, and universal social protections—especially for women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, older persons, and migrants.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Innovazing Vision supports women entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers with training and market access, building resilient livelihoods in regions where formal opportunities are scarce. In Nepal, the Rural Area Development Programme brings together poverty alleviation, clean energy, and women’s economic empowerment.
Across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, civil society is creating pathways out of precarity—and into dignity.
SDG 14: Life Below Water
Oceans cover 71% of our planet and are vital to life, yet they are warming, acidifying, and increasingly overexploited. The latest data show that over one-third of global fish stocks are overfished, and marine pollution continues to rise, undermining livelihoods, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
Governments must urgently translate international commitments into enforceable national policies, with dedicated budgets to expand Marine Protected Areas and combat illegal fishing. Civil society and coastal communities must be empowered to lead ocean stewardship efforts—integrating local knowledge and driving accountability.
In Chiapas, Mexico, community reforestation reduces coastal erosion and protects marine ecosystems. In China, CANGO supports rural communities with climate-smart agriculture that protects biodiversity and builds climate resilience village by village.
Localization is a lifeline for fragile ecosystems and coastal communities.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
True partnerships require equity, not tokenism. With 65% of SDG targets dependent on local action, governments must institutionalize localization in planning, budgeting, and reporting. Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) must be scaled up and integrated into national accountability systems.
Donors must prioritize financing for local authorities and civil society, ensuring direct, predictable, long-term funding. Equitable, locally led partnerships must replace extractive models of cooperation—decolonizing development while protecting and promoting an enabling environment for civil society and local governments.
Civil society is already modeling what genuine partnership looks like:
In Côte d’Ivoire, the Convention de la Société Civile Ivoirienne’s Benkadi project unites governments, Indigenous groups, and civil society to address coastal erosion and protect biodiversity. The French NGO Comité Français pour la Solidarité Internationale (CFSI) is linking farmer organizations with policymakers to build fairer food systems, and raising awareness among citizens, especially young people, about the impact of our consumption habits. And in Mexico, the ‘Original’ campaign is protecting Indigenous cultural rights through state–community collaboration.
These are are blueprints for inclusive, decolonized development.
As urgent action is needed to rescue the sustainable development goals by 2030, Forus’ messages for HLPF 2025 are clear:
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Localization is a strategic imperative, not a technical adjustment: With 65% of SDG targets reliant on local action, governments must integrate Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), fund local initiatives, and build inclusive monitoring systems.
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Protect civil society space to operate and thrive: An enabling environment is foundational. Governments must defend civil society’s role in SDG delivery—not restrict it.
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Reform VNRs: They must go beyond reporting. Make them accountable, inclusive, and action-oriented, with civil society as full partners.
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Finance justice now: From social protection to climate adaptation, public services and local organizations must be funded predictably and directly.
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Amplify real stories: Civil society is not a beneficiary, it is a driver of change and often a lifeline for communities. Our We Are Leaving No One Behind campaign proves it.
At Forus, we believe that justice and dignity are not privileges, they’re human rights. Climate resilience must include rural and Indigenous communities. Gender justice is climate justice. No sustainable development without rural equity. Cultural identity is development. And visibility is the first step to justice.
Through our "We Are Leaving No One Behind, Are You?" campaign stories, we amplify real-world impacts and inspire action, proving that with collective action, the 2030 Agenda can still be achieved.
As negotiations and declarations unfold in New York this July, Forus and its members will continue championing the voices of communities on the frontlines—because leaving no one behind means listening to those leading from change from their communities.
