Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

How Britain is helping India with UN goals

Although its multi-dimensional poverty rate has been reduced from 55 per cent (2005-2006) to 28 per cent (2015-2016), India still faces many challenges

How Britain is helping India with UN goals

Many childhood memories for me are filled with yearly trips to see family in Bangalore and Mumbai, spending time with relatives and accompanying my mum to go shopping so we could bring back Indian treats to the UK.

But the visit I made to India earlier this year was different. I wasn’t boarding the plane with my family. Instead of my family, I was teaming up with my colleagues from Unicef UK to understand more about the work being undertaken to support children throughout India and how future partnerships and philanthropy established here in the UK could contribute to India helping to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.


The SDGs, as they’re commonly referred to, are at the heart of an agreement called the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which was adopted by all UN member states in 2015. While the agenda provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future, the SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries, both developed and developing, in a global partnership.

They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. They range from ‘no poverty’ and ‘zero hunger’ to ‘reduced inequalities’ and ‘quality education’.

But, and it’s a big but, the latest SDG progress report found that globally, “many of the SDGs are moderately to severely off track”

LEAD Comment byline pic Mohini Raichura Brown photo 2 Mohini Raichura-Brown

It’s no secret that these goals may not be reached – but what many people don’t know is how important a part India plays in their success.

India is the world’s sixth largest economy. It covers 18 per cent (1,393 million) of the global population, 460 million of whom are children. And although its multi-dimensional poverty rate has been reduced from 55 per cent (2005-2006) to 28 per cent (2015-2016), the country still faces many challenges. There are nearly 22 neonatal deaths for every 1,000 live births; 39 million under five-year-olds are stunted; 46 million people do not have access to toilets; and there are 223 million child brides. These figures are huge and here at Unicef UK we are working hard with our colleagues in India to reduce them.

Over the course of 2021 and 2022, we rescued over 130,000 children from child labour and trafficking; trained 2.2 million healthcare workers in infection prevention and control; and reached more than 398 million children and their families with Covid specific messages.

During my trip to India, I saw this work in action. From working at a systems level with a national partner organisation to train and support midwives, and directly enabling schools to increase their provision of clean toilets and handwashing facilities, to engaging young women in a digital and financial literacy project, our colleagues and partners are having a massive impact on the achievement of the SDGs in India.

We’re working closely with government and community partners, and in doing so changing the lives of millions of children and young people.

Working with local partners and approaching private sector organisations, this programme was able to connect young people to stable housing and access to further education or employment opportunities, so that they could pursue their ambitious career aspirations. Because of this work, countless young care leavers were being given access to meaningful opportunities and the chance to build positive and successful outcomes.

Without our supporters here in the UK, from corporate partners in the private sector and high net worth individual philanthropists to individuals fundraisers and diaspora communities, this work wouldn’t be as impactful as it is.

And after my visit to India I can say with even more assurance than before that donors to Unicef UK, in whatever guise, should feel confident their support is making a difference. But if India is to unlock worldwide SDGs success, we all need to work together to help turn the key. We need to form more mutually beneficial, long-term and strategic partnerships. We need to see communities and businesses coming together to fundraise. We need to maximise our impact in India and, crucially, get SDGs back on track.

Mohini Raichura-Brown is Unicef UK’s deputy executive director, responsible for raising high-value income from across numerous teams, and is the first woman of colour in the executive leadership team at the organisation. Unicef is the United Nations Children’s Fund, working in the world’s toughest places to reach the most vulnerable children and adolescents – and to protect, promote and uphold the rights of every child, everywhere.

More For You

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

TWO brothers accused of assaulting a man inside a Starbucks and later attacking police officers at Manchester Airport are standing trial, with the prosecution arguing they used "unlawful and extreme violence".

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, are said to have acted aggressively on July 23 last year while at the airport to pick up their mother, who had arrived on a flight from Qatar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less