A report to the High-Level Political Forum from Zonta International, a non-governmental organization in General Consultative Status with ECOSOC

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 goals to address key challenges facing the world cannot and will not be realized without gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. The importance, therefore, of Goal No. 5 cannot be emphasized enough, both as a goal in its own right, as well as a prerequisite to achieving the other 16 goals laid out in the 2030 Agenda. As a global organization of nearly 30,000 members in more than 1,100 clubs in 66 countries, Zonta International is working at the global, regional, national and local levels to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. As an organization, Zonta has made Goal No. 5 the centerpiece of its global service and advocacy work; however, efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals must be the priority of all countries and undertaken at the national and local levels. Non-governmental organizations, like Zonta International, have an important role to play in this work. To that end, Zonta International is encouraging all Zonta clubs to engage in meaningful actions to address the SDG5 targets at the local level.

The following report outlines Zonta International’s contributions to achieving Goal No. 5 and addressing the theme of the 2017 High-Level Political Forum, “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world.”

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