Since their adoption in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have delivered results at scale – bringing access to water, electricity and health care to billions. However, progress remains uneven and insufficient. Without a decisive push to rapidly scale up what works, the promise of the SDGs risks slipping out of reach, according to The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026,released on July 7.

Since 2015, sustained investment, sound policies and international cooperation have improved the lives of billions of people worldwide with measurable gains across the SDGs. Nearly one billion people gained access to safely managed drinking water and 1.2 billion to safely managed sanitation. New HIV infections fell by 30 per cent between 2015 and 2024, and AIDS-related deaths by 35 per cent. Electricity now reaches 92 per cent of the world’s population. Internet access has surged, from 40 to 74 per cent. Social protection covers more than half the global population for the first time in history.

The governments of the United Arab Emirates and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia announced the expansion of the 5 Million Ethiopian Coders Initiative to 7 million with the addition of 2 million new participants, following the qualitative success achieved by the initiative in exceeding its target less than two years ahead of schedule. This step reflects confidence in its results and its wide impact on building digital capabilities and empowering youth with future skills, within the strategic partnership between the two countries in government modernization and development and building digital capabilities.

This achievement embodies the depth of partnership and cooperation between the two governments in building digital capabilities and empowering national competencies, through the integration of visions and experiences to expand opportunities for access to digital knowledge, enhance the readiness of future generations for future skills, and support the journey of digital transformation and the knowledge-based economy.

Aviation is preparing to move twice as many passengers within a generation, without doubling the airports, the fleet, or the people standing at the borders. SITA’s Impact Report 2025 sets out how the industry is closing that gap, and the answer is increasingly software rather than concrete.

The industry will carry 8 billion passengers a year within 20 to 25 years, heading toward 10 billion by 2050, according to IATA. Drawn from a year of work with airlines, airports, governments and travel partners worldwide, the SITA Impact Report 2025 tracks how technology is becoming the principal way the industry adds capacity, manages disruption and reduces its environmental footprint.

David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said “With passenger numbers heading toward 10 billion a year by 2050, the question is unavoidable: how do we move twice as many travelers without doubling our infrastructure? The SITA Impact Report 2025 shows how that shift is already underway. Airports are scaling capacity within the buildings they already have, avoiding the cost and timelines of new construction. Governments are clearing borders before passengers ever reach a queue or an officer’s booth. AI is moving out of pilot programs and into the operations rooms where flights are run. None of this is one company’s achievement. It is a shared tech transformation, where airlines, airports, governments and partners are powering the future of air transport together.”