SDGs - Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. A man walks through agricultural land in the village of Mirusuvil, in the northern Jaffna District. Over 122,000 persons have been severely impacted by the drought according to the latest government data. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS

By Roger Hamilton-Martin
LONDON, Aug 13 2015 (IPS)

After 15 years of trying to meet the targets set out to address extreme poverty, the 193 member states of the United Nations have almost reached consensus on a more broad-reaching group of goals.

The only thing left to do is to sign off on the Sustainable Development Goals this fall in New York, when the countries get together for the annual General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters. Seven months of negotiations have produced a document: Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Despite uneven progress on the eight MDGs, the new SDGs comprise 17 goals, with 169 targets. World leaders will set out in New York their visions for achieving these targets, which are hoped to provide a framework to combat poverty, climate change, inequality and hunger.