Leave No One Behind Campaign

The partnership has three principles at its core through which it will seek to prioritise the economically poorest and most marginalised people:

• "Examine: provide new data on who is at risk of being left behind, why and where; we will put a spotlight on the most marginalized groups and monitor progress on reaching those furthest behind first.
• Engage: people all around the world, including civil society activists, world leaders and the wider public, through the creation of compelling content and telling the stories of those who are being left behind.
• Empower: those who are currently at risk of being left behind and who may be marginalised to be able to speak for themselves. We will work with partners in at least 30 countries to build local voices for action and accountability."

In an effort to identify the communities and groups of people most in need of priority access to the resources and programmes being mobilised by the SDGs, the LNB Partnership is conducting an online consultations with civil society groups that work with and on behalf of the most marginalised and disadvantaged people.

In addition, as of September 2016, the Partnership has been working with civil society partners around the world to conduct National Dialogues to help engage the most marginalised and excluded communities in the SDGs. In particular, the national dialogues will help:

• Identify the most marginalised and discriminated against communities in need of priority access to the resources and programmes being mobilised by the SDGs;
• Support innovative solutions from civil society that reach those most in need; and
• Coordinate civil society engagement in the implementation and monitoring of the LNB commitment.

Following the dialogues and online consultations, the outcomes will be examined, and evidence-based recommendations will be developed on how to address inequalities and the needs of LNB communities. The partnership also aims to support national partners to use the National Dialogues as a springboard for action and advocacy in their own countries.

To create awareness of the LNB agenda and to support campaigns and advocacy activities related to the SDGs, civil society partners have produced a toolkit for stakeholder organisations, coalitions, groups, and individuals. It contains information on the SDGs and the LNB agenda, provides practical examples of actions people or organisations can take, and offers guidance on how to organise a National Dialogue. Click here to download the Leave No One Behind Toolkit [PDF].

As explained on the Leave No One Behind website, “Despite impressive progress in some parts of the world, an estimated 1.2 billion people remain in extreme poverty (under $1.25 day) . Fragile and conflict-affected countries typically have the highest poverty rates and in the future, extreme poverty is likely to be concentrated in fragile countries. Poor and excluded people face daily exclusion, violence and discrimination because of their social characteristics. However not all exclusion is poverty related - people can face discrimination and limited opportunities because of their social characteristics across all income groups.

Many groups are being left behind including:

• Girls and women often face multiple and overlapping deprivations, harm and exclusion. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 23% of poor rural girls finish primary school. Worldwide, one woman in every three will experience violence in their lifetime.
• Children continue to face unacceptable levels of harm, violence and exploitation. Every five minutes a child is killed by violence. 5.5 million (26%) of forced labourers are below 18 years.
• Nearly 90% of the world’s 1.8 billion young people live in developing countries. Over 500 million young people, aged 15-24, live on less than $2 per day.
• 80% of world’s older people will live in developing countries by 2050. The number of people aged 60 years and older in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to reach 67 million by 2025 and 163 million by 2050. Many older persons all over the world face continued discrimination, abuse and violence.
• People with disabilities face significant levels of discrimination and stigma and are less likely than others to be able to move themselves out of poverty. People living in poverty are also at greater risk of experiencing disability due to higher risk of malnutrition, disease, lack of access to health care, water supplies and sanitation and worse living conditions.
• People with mental health impairments and intellectual and psychosocial disabilities face unique and complex challenges that are not widely understood or addressed. Adults with mental health conditions are almost four times more likely to experience violence than people who do not have a disability.
• Members of ethnic and religious minority groups are more likely to be poor than people from majority group/s.
• Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people is widespread. Homosexuality is currently criminalised in over 70 countries including 40 of 53 Commonwealth member states.
• Disparities between rural and urban areas remain pronounced. Poverty is still predominantly a rural phenomenon and will remain so for at least the next two decades. Remoteness limits productive economic opportunities and is often linked to discrimination against minority groups. The proportion living in under-served urban areas is likely to rise with increasing rates of urbanisation.
• Crisis-affected populations, refugees and migrants can face additional multiple deprivations and exacerbated risks of discrimination. Over 125 million people are estimated to currently require humanitarian assistance, including over 60 million refugees who were forced to flee their homes because of conflict.
• Globally, about 21 million people are trapped in forced labour or modern slavery."