New york: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, Mohammed Tamim, emphasized the necessity of strengthening universal health coverage and expanding investment in healthcare. A statement by the Ministry of Planning highlighted that Tamim delivered Iraq’s statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2025, held in New York.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Minister remarked that the forum is being conducted at a critical juncture, with only five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals amid uneven and off-track progress in many countries, particularly in developing nations. He underscored the worsening global challenges, including poverty, hunger, unemployment, geopolitical tensions, climate change, unilateral coercive measures, and the global financial crisis.
The 80th anniversary of the United Nations was marked as significant for evaluating the organization’s effectiveness in achieving its Charter’s principles. The Group of 77 and China, currently presided over by Iraq, placed special emphasis on reviewing specific Sustainable Development Goals this year, notably Goals 3 (Good Health), 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 14 (Life Below Water), and 17 (Partnerships).
The statement stressed the need for enhanced universal health coverage, investment in primary healthcare, support for developing countries in building resilient health systems, and the development of local pharmaceutical production capacities. The Minister highlighted the adverse effects of slowed global economic growth on job creation in southern countries.
The group also called for investments to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, ensure their equal participation in decision-making, support the digital economy and sustainable industries, and provide decent work for all. Unprecedented threats to ocean health were noted, with urgent action required to reduce marine pollution, increase financing, transfer marine technology to developing countries, and enhance the Convention on Biological Diversity beyond national jurisdiction (CBDJ).
Regarding Goal 17, the G77 and China emphasized fulfilling international commitments related to Official Development Assistance (ODA), concessional technology transfer, and ensuring the participation of developing countries in global decision-making. It welcomed the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain, in July 2025, expressing the aspiration to implement the Seville Consensus Declaration commitments.
In conclusion, the group urged the international community to use the remaining years until 2030 to reshape global systems, enabling southern countries to achieve their development goals. It affirmed that development is a universal right, not a privilege for a select few, calling for joint action to build a more just, equitable, and sustainable world for current and future generations.