When 193 countries ratified the new set of Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations last month, many of us applauded world leaders for launching an impressive blueprint to advance human development in all countries — rich and poor — over the next 15 years.
The new goals call for transformative change across the world through 2030, including eliminating extreme poverty, ending preventable maternal and child deaths and combating climate change.
But these lofty goals will fail unless world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, also take concrete action now to address the world’s mushrooming number of vulnerable and desperate people trying to manage in fragile and conflict-ridden countries and ongoing crises.
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