​This year the world will agree new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to shape global development policy until 2030. Achieving these goals would have transformative effects, eradicating the scourge of global poverty and expanding opportunities for many millions worldwide. Success will require political leadership backed by financial commitments.

This report has a simple message: the proposed SDGs are achievable, but adopting a business-as-usual approach will leave us far short of the target.

Projections based on current patterns of development point to a world in 2030 where:

• low-income fragile states have been left even further behind;
• some 550 million people are still living on less than $1.25 a day, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa;
• around four million children will die needlessly before the age of five; and
• universal health and education are still distant prospects in many countries, with some in sub-Saharan Africa still 20 years away from achieving universal primary education.

This report sets out the case for a strengthened commitment for international public finance (IPF) to support a new social compact, focused on the poorest countries. This basic social compact must include minimum income provisions, alongside universal health care and universal access to good quality education. These are three critical elements in the fight to tackle chronic poverty, stop impoverishment, and accelerate the escape from poverty.