KYIV, 25 November 2022 – Following a meeting today with national state institutions and development partners regarding progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine announced it would conduct and submit its Voluntary National Review (VNR) in 2023. The VNR is a process through which countries assess and present national progress made in implementing the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs with 169 targets.  All 191 UN Member States have agreed to achieve the SDGs by the year 2030 and are expected to conduct at least two VNRs during the implementation period.

Ukraine’s 2021 Voluntary National Review showed a decline in poverty from 58.3 percent in 2015 to 43.2 percent in 2018. However, these positive trends are quickly reversing: early UNDP projections suggest that up to 90 percent of the population of Ukraine could face poverty and vulnerability to poverty if this war continues into a second year.

Christophoros Politis, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, underlined the tremendous importance of preserving progress achieved by Ukraine with the SDGs and said the recovery and rebuilding process will be an opportunity to support the country in getting back on track. “It is time to redouble our joint efforts to ensure the SDGs are at the centre of Ukraine’s recovery processes,” he said. “We and all our partners will support the people and Government of Ukraine in their efforts to build forward better in a way that integrates the central SDG value of ‘leaving no one behind.’ This includes supporting the country with its VNR.”

Anatolii Kutsevol, Deputy State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, said the SDGs provide a good framework to guide Ukraine’s development priorities while also providing a way to attract financial support for the resilience building and reconstruction of the country. “The SDG framework is increasing the effectiveness of the Government of Ukraine and helping ensure high efficiency and better value for money invested in its recovery and development,” he said.  “We remain committed to the SDGs despite the challenges and setbacks the war is bringing.”

The coordination meeting was held within the framework of the SDG BRIDGE Ukraine project (Increasing sustainability for the effective achievement of development goals), implemented by UNDP Ukraine in partnership with the Office of the Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with the financial support of Sweden and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.

Media enquiries: Yulia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Communications Lead; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org