SDG 17 · Partnerships for the Goals

Aid to the world's poorest countries just fell by a record 23%.

Eco Heroes turns that fact into a story a 9-year-old can hold onto: A Huge Problem, book 17 of 17 in the SDG Library.

The target, in plain language

What the UN actually promised

Target 17.2

Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries…

In 2025 the total came to just 0.26 per cent, little more than a third of what was promised.

Target 17.17: encourage effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, the teamwork every other goal depends on.

Why it matters

The number behind the story

−23%

official development assistance in 2025 Aid fell to $174.3 billion, the largest annual drop ever recorded.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, UN DESA. Figures as published in July 2026.

The story

A Huge Problem

Written by David Fernández Sifres (Premio Barco de Vapor) · Illustrated by Rebeca Luciani

Book 17 of 17 in the Eco Heroes SDG Library, one illustrated story for each UN Sustainable Development Goal. Included with any Eco Heroes plan (families from €79 a year + VAT: €95.59 with 21% Spanish VAT; the VAT and the total that apply to you are shown before you pay); SDG 1 is free to try. Published in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Reading guide: questions, vocabulary and activities →

Bring it into the room

Talk about it, try it

Discuss

One question to ask after reading

“What's a problem too big for one person to fix? Who would you team up with to fix it?”

Try it: 15 minutes

Seventeen hands

Split into groups, each taking one SDG. Every group finds one way its goal helps another group's goal. Join them with string or lines on a big sheet and see how connected they are.

Watch

The short mission video

April and Karim walk through this goal in a short video, with subtitles in your language.

Transcript

Everything said in the video, in order, with the words and figures shown on screen.

Version for ages 9–12

April: Together, we finish the job. An Eco Heroes mission.
On screen: An Eco Heroes mission · Goal 17 · ages 9–12
On screen: See something real
April: Fix one goal and you often help another. How can countries that disagree still work together?
On screen: A real question is where every mission starts.
On screen: Investigate the system
Karim: Partnerships is a system, not a headline. 17 connected goals — progress on one often drives progress on others.
On screen: 17 connected goals — progress on one often drives progress on others. (Source: United Nations, 2015)
Karim: $4T a year — the estimated finance gap to reach the goals in developing countries.
On screen: $4T a year — the estimated finance gap to reach the goals in developing countries. (Source: UNCTAD, 2023)
On screen: 2030 the shared deadline the world set itself for all 17 goals. (Source: United Nations, 2015)
On screen: Step 4 · Meet someone who understands it
Karim: Ask the people who know: a twin-town committee, an NGO volunteer, a company's sustainability lead.
April: Your mission — Goal Connector. See how the goals hold hands. Do: Pick 2 of the 17 goals and find how they help each other.
On screen: Prove: Draw the link between them.
On screen: Reflect: Which goal seems to connect to the most others?
April: Bring it to school.
On screen: Bring it to school: Show your class what you found. One finding from each of you becomes a map of your town.
April: Show your class what you found. Discuss it at home.
On screen: Discuss it at home: Tell your family what you did and ask them one question about it. Information fades — questions travel.
April: Tell your family what you did and ask them one question about it. Take action locally.
On screen: Take action locally: Pick the one action from your mission you can do this week — and tell one person why.
Karim: A true story — The Goals That United the World. We are the first generation that can end poverty, and the last that can act on
On screen: Small hands. Real problem. Real change.
Karim: climate change. 17 goals, 13 languages, one hero: your child. eco-heroes.org
On screen: eco-heroes.org/game

Version for ages 13–17

April: No country can fix this on its own.
On screen: An Eco Heroes mission · Goal 17 · ages 13–17
On screen: Notice something real
April: The world set itself 17 goals for 2030. Time is running out. How can countries that disagree still work together?
On screen: Hard questions are where real missions start.
On screen: Map the system
Karim: Cooperation is a system: trade, aid, debt, data and trust. In 2025, aid from rich countries fell by a record 23 percent.
On screen: −23% fall in global aid in 2025, the biggest on record. (Source: OECD/UN, 2026)
On screen: 36% of SDG targets are on track or moving. (Source: UN SDG Report, 2026)
On screen: $4T a year is missing to pay for the goals. (Source: UN SDG Report, 2026)
On screen: Step 4 · Talk to someone who knows
Karim: Interview someone who knows: someone at an NGO, a diplomat, a town-twinning association.
April: Your mission — Model Summit. Run a mini summit where every group represents a country.
On screen: Do: Give each group a country with real data on wealth, emissions and needs.
On screen: Prove: Negotiate one shared deal and record who gave what.
On screen: Reflect: What made agreement hard — and what made it possible?
April: Take it to school.
On screen: Take it home: Ask your family which global problem they would most want solved.
On screen: Act where you live: Partner with a school abroad or support a group that links communities.
On screen: Real data. Real questions. Real change.
April: Run the summit with another class and compare the deals. Then take it home, and act where you live.
Karim: A true story. We are the first generation that can end poverty, and the last that can act on climate change. 17 goals, 13 languages, your move. eco-heroes.org

A real example

How the GAVI Alliance vaccinated a billion children

The GAVI Alliance — a public-private partnership between governments, pharma companies, the WHO and the Gates Foundation — has vaccinated over 1 billion children since 2000, preventing 17 million deaths. Partnerships save lives.

Quick check

Test yourself

Why do the SDGs need global partnerships?Show the answer

To have more meetings
Global challenges are too big for any one country or organisation
To spend more money
To write more reports

Answer: Global challenges are too big for any one country or organisation — SDGs require unprecedented cooperation — between countries, businesses, civil society and individuals — because no single actor can solve these challenges alone.

The 0.7% of GNI target for official development aid has been met by most wealthy countries.Show the answer

Answer: False — Only a handful of countries — including Norway, Sweden and Luxembourg — consistently meet the 0.7% target. Most wealthy nations fall far short.

What is Official Development Assistance (ODA)?Show the answer

A type of loan with high interest
Government grants and concessional loans to promote development in poorer countries
Military support
A trade agreement

Answer: Government grants and concessional loans to promote development in poorer countries — ODA is government-to-government financial aid — grants or low-interest loans — designed to promote economic development and welfare.

Go further

Lesson plan for this goal → The book in the library → An activity for this goal → Play the SDG trivia →

Seventeen goals, seventeen stories

Every SDG gets its own illustrated book, its own facts and its own activities. SDG 1 is free to try: its game chapter, trivia and video. The books and the other goals unlock with a family, school or hotel plan.

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