People Pillar
Overview
The People Pillar consists of the first five SDGs, focusing on ending poverty and hunger, promoting good health and wellbeing, as well as quality education and gender equality. Many SDGs in this pillar have seen recent setbacks: efforts to address poverty and hunger have experienced a setback with the onset of several armed conflicts, notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and progress with health and education, as well as efforts to improve the provision of basic services, have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a global failure to adequately address climate change. There are also success stories and many overlaps between the SDGs in this pillar and other SDGs. For example, the fight against COVID-19 and subsequent progress in the area of SDG 3 – ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages – has led the way towards progress on SDG 11 – sustainable cities and communities – as the need to urgently treat those suffering from COVID-19 infection has led to the creation of medical centers and new hospitals in some previously underdeveloped areas.
Status of the Synthesis
The Management Group is co-chaired by UNICEF, UNESCO, UN Women, UNDP, and WFP, with support from UNODC, FAO, PAHO, WHO, OIOS, UNFPA, Norway (NORAD), UNV, the Global Fund, and Southern Voice. Following an initial scoping exercise that assessed the quantity and nature of evaluative evidence and identified thematic priorities for future living syntheses, the first synthesis for this Pillar focuses on the implementation and effectiveness of social assistance interventions to reach the furthest behind across SDGs 1–5.
The synthesis was commissioned in Q4 2024, and a methodological protocol was published in June 2025. The interim report, Evidence Base Brief on Social Assistance Interventions to Reach the Furthest Behind, was published in October 2025, providing an overview of the evaluative evidence base and key evidence gaps. Work is now progressing on the full synthesis report, which will offer a deeper analysis of effectiveness, mechanisms, and enabling factors. The final report is expected in Q4 2026.
