Research reports and studiesJanuary 2020Silvia Guglielmi and Nicola JonesAdolescent girls at school in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Photo: Nathalie Bertrams/GAGE 2019A central pillar of Agenda 2030 is the pledge to ‘leave no one behind’ – a pledge that must not be viewed as a separate course of action, but intrinsic to the achievement of the Agenda as a whole. Moreover, the United Nations (UN) member states made a commitment to reach those furthest behind first, and to fast-track them within the global agenda. Nearly five years into implementation, and as the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) prepares for the 2020 Comprehensive Review, we must consider progress against this pledge.Although the UN Statistical Commission (2019) has highlighted data disaggregation as a key priority, the indicator framework is not delivering sufficient granularity on age and gender differences to be able to measure progress among particular groups. With only 18 SDG indicators explicitly calling for disaggregation by gender and adolescent- or youth-specific age categories, too little data has been accrued on young girls’ and boys’ lives, which means that their specific needs and vulnerabilities remain largely invisible to policy and programme designers.Although the years between age 10 and 19 are increasingly recognised as a critical time in which to accelerate progress against poverty, inequity and discrimination and to foster positive development trajectories, this is not matched by global data generated across the SDGs. In the lead-up to the 2020 Comprehensive Review, we present recommendations to bridge this critical gap and highlight the ways in which young people should be considered more explicitly in order to deliver on the promise of the SDGs.Read the research The invisibility of adolescents within the SDGs: Report The invisibility of adolescents within the SDGs: Policy briefRelated Leave no one behind: married girls in JordanThis policy brief analyses a survey on girls at risk of child marriage, and already married or divorced in Jordan.Briefing papers22 July 2019 Leave no adolescent behind: the gender- and age-specific vulnerabilities of adolescent refugees and IDPs Adolescent girls’ and boys’ experiences in refugee and IDP communities iin Gaza, Jordan and Rwanda.Briefing papers3 June 2019Leave no one behind: an agenda for action to enhance the full capabilities of adolescents with disabilities in EthiopiaThis policy note summarises key results from Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence’s (GAGE) baseline work with adolescents with disabilities in Ethiopia.Briefing papers4 March 2019See more:leave no one behindsustainable development goalschildhood and youthView the discussion thread.
