People Pillar
Overview
The People Pillar consists of the first five SDGs, focusing on ending poverty and hunger, promoting good health and well-being, and advancing quality education and gender equality. Many of these goals have faced recent setbacks: progress on poverty and hunger has been affected by armed conflicts, notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while health, education, and basic service provision have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and insufficient action on climate change.
At the same time, there are notable successes and strong interlinkages across this pillar and other SDGs. For example, efforts to combat COVID-19 and advance SDG 3—ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being—have also contributed to progress on SDG 11, as the urgent need for treatment led to the expansion of healthcare infrastructure, including new medical centers in previously underserved areas.
Status of the Synthesis
The Management Group is co-led by UNICEF, UNESCO, UN Women, UNDP, and WFP, with participation from UNODC, FAO, PAHO, WHO, OIOS, UNFPA, NORAD, UNV, The Global Fund, and Southern Voice.
The Pillar covers SDGs 1–5, addressing poverty, hunger, health, education, and gender equality—areas where progress has been recently affected by conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and persistent systemic inequalities. Following an initial scoping exercise to assess the evaluative evidence base and identify priorities for living syntheses, the first synthesis focuses on social assistance interventions to reach the furthest behind.
An interim Evidence Base Brief on Social Assistance Interventions to Reach the Furthest Behind was released in October 2025, providing an overview of available evidence and key gaps. Work is ongoing on the full synthesis report, which will offer deeper analysis on effectiveness, mechanisms, and enabling factors, with publication expected in Q2 2026.
