Global Mission, an Abu Dhabi-based non-profit, along with its global partners, has set up a $17 billion fund to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the globe.
“The ‘Global Fund for Sustainable Development’ is the most ambitious SDG fund worldwide,” a senior executive of the mission told Emirates news agency WAM.
Based in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the fund targets to raise $17 billion, with plans to allocate $1 billion each for each SDG,” said Mohamad Elsamad, executive director of operation and administration at Global Mission.
Elsamad said the fund was an initiative on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the UAE.
He said since its inception in 2017, the mission has been working with global stakeholders, including the UN, governments, non-governmental organisations, and other international players to support achieving the SDGs across the world.
The mission has also constituted a committee to oversee the fund, he said.
The 17 SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership, as part of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, adopted by the UN in 2015.
The SDGs recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, along with tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests.
Elsamad said there was not much progress so far, though only eight years were left now.
“Actually, it was the other way around. We have experienced more environmental deterioration, more hunger and more climate change in the past few years. But we are very much hopeful that we can still make the change. Anything can be done if you create the right mindset with the right people,” he said.
100 projects in the beginning
Elsamad said the fund committee has identified around 100 projects to start working with during the first 12 months.
“The projects will be implemented in cooperation with governments and private sector on a PPP platform,” he said.
He also pointed out that the projects will be profitable for the investors because sustainability means financial sustainability as well.
“So, we’re going to work hand in hand with the corporations. But, for us, the main target is going to be really the impact under the SDGs.”
Elsamad said health will be one of the primary targets.
There will also be projects for environment, with focus on carbon emissions, plastic pollution and clean water.
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