Leave No One Behind

The ambitious 15-year agenda known as the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015 by all members of the United Nations, contains a pledge that “no one will be left behind.” This book aims to translate that bold global commitment into an action-oriented mindset, focused on supporting specific people in specific places who are facing specific problems.

In this volume, experts from Japan, the United States, Canada, and other countries address a range of challenges faced by people across the globe, including women and girls, smallholder farmers, migrants, and those living in extreme poverty. These are many of the people whose lives are at the heart of the aspirations embedded in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. They are the people most in need of such essentials as health care, quality education, decent work, affordable energy, and a clean environment.

This book is the result of a collaboration between the Japan International Cooperation Research Institute and the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. It offers practical ideas for transforming “leave no one behind” from a slogan into effective actions which, if implemented, will make it possible to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In addition to policymakers in the field of sustainable development, this book will be of interest to academics, activists, and leaders of international organizations and civil society groups who work every day to promote inclusive economic and social progress.

Chapters and Contributors

1. Getting Specific to Leave No One Behind on Sustainable Development
   Homi Kharas, John W. McArthur, and Izumi Ohno
   
   Part I: People
2. Women on the Move: Can We Achieve Gender Equality by 2030?
   Hilary Mathews and Michelle Nunn
3. Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap
   Lindsay Coates and Scott Macmillan
4. No Smallholder Farmer Left Behind
   Jane Nelson
5. No Refugees and Migrants Left Behind
   Dany Bahar and Meagan Dooley
   
   Part II: Problems
6. Leapfrogging to Ensure No Child Is Left Without Access to a Twenty-First Century Education
   Rebecca Winthrop and Lauren Ziegler
7. Vulnerable Populations and Universal Health Coverage
   Krishna D. Rao, Saeda Makimoto, Michael Peters, Gabriel M. Leung, Gerald Bloom and Yasushi Katsuma
8. No Women Left Excluded from Financial Services
   Eiji Yamada, Erica Paula Sioson, Enerelt Murakami, and Akira Murata
9. Leaving No One Behind: Can Tax-Funded Transfer Programs Provide Income Floors in Sub-Saharan Africa?
   Nora Lustig, Jon Jellema, and Valentina Martinez Pabon
   
   Part III: Places
10. Spatial Targeting of Poverty Hotspots
    Jennifer L. Cohen, Raj M. Desai, and Homi Kharas
11. Leaving No Fragile State and No One Behind in a Prosperous World: A New Approach
    Landry Signé
12. The Importance of City Leadership in Leaving No One Behind
    Tony Pipa and Caroline Conroy
    
    On Politics
13. Left Behind or Pushed Back? Redistributing Power Over the Sustainable Development Goals
    Paul O’Brien

Homi Kharas is the interim vice president and director of the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution.

John W. McArthur is a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution and senior advisor on sustainable development to the United Nations Foundation.

Izumi Ohno is the Director of the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute.