A Pragmatic Path to Global Progress in 2025

Dec 21 , 2024
By Bjorn Lomborg

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As we close out the past year and look ahead to 2025, the holiday season is a time when we reflect on what we have achieved and how we can make next year better, reach our personal goals, give back to our communities, and contribute to the betterment of the world.

When we give, there is no shortage of noble causes, from alleviating poverty and improving education to protecting the environment and advancing healthcare. We should, in theory, all align around shared aspirations to make 2025 a year of progress for all.

But the hard truth is that global cooperation has struggled mightily over the past decade. In 2015, the UN developed a 169-point agenda to fix all humanity's problems by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were agreed upon by all the world's leaders with the best of intentions. Yet, with five years left, the world is wildly off-track on almost all the promises. The fight against poverty, disease, and hunger has lost momentum.

Why are we not making more headway?

This is largely because we try to do too much. Focusing on everything means we have prioritised nothing and achieved very little. A new year offers a fresh opportunity. Instead of trying to do it all—both as a society and as individuals with our own giving—we should focus first on the interventions that yield the most progress. That means those that provide the highest returns on investment for people, the planet, and future generations.

Here is the catch. The best investments do not necessarily grab headlines or attract celebrity endorsements. I have worked with more than 100 of the world's top economists and several Nobel Laureates to find which of the many global goals delivers the most return on investment. Across hundreds of pages of peer-reviewed, free analysis, we have identified the 12 smartest things we could do to make life better for the poorer half of the planet. These solutions seldom make headlines, but they are cheap and incredibly powerful.

When a pregnant mother lacks essential nutrients and vitamins, her child's growth and brain development will be slower. Her children will be condemned to do worse throughout their lives. A mere 2.31 dollars can ensure that an expectant mother receives an essential multivitamin supplement. Her children will grow healthier, smarter, and more productive. Every dollar spent on nutritional supplements for pregnant women can yield up to 38 dollars in economic benefits.

This is not a far-off utopia. It is an actionable and proven solution that could be scaled up immediately.

Another simple but powerful investment is improving learning. In the world's poorest countries, only one in ten 10-year-olds can read and write. We need to fix this, not only because it is the right thing to do but also to reduce future strife and reliance on aid and ensure countries can write their own success stories. Most schools group kids in classes by age, regardless of their ability. Some students struggle, while others are bored.

The solution should be simple but transformative: Teach children individually at the right level. Obviously, teachers cannot manage this for every child, but technology can. An hour a day spent in front of a tablet with educational software can teach reading, writing, and basic math. Countless studies show that even if the other seven hours of daily schooling remain traditional and ineffective, after one year, the student will have learned as much as normally takes three years.

The costs are modest—sharing a tablet costs about 31 dollars per student per year—but the return on investment is extraordinary. Children who learn more become more productive adults, resulting in a return of 65 dollars for every dollar spent. This is a great long-term investment in a more stable and self-sufficient world.

There is a compelling case to focus on tackling the diseases that have already been wiped out in rich countries, like malaria and tuberculosis, which have become diseases of poverty. The simple act of providing more anti-mosquito bed nets and expanded malaria treatment across Africa would save 200,000 lives every year, with benefits worth 48 dollars for every dollar spent. Healthy and productive individuals are more likely to innovate, work, and contribute to the world, ultimately benefiting everyone.

As we approach the new year, we need to stop chasing grand lists of unachievable goals and focus on what is working. Our resolution should be to direct whatever resources we have — our time, attention, money, or political will — toward the actions that bring about the greatest improvements in people's lives.

My hope for the world next year is that governments and institutions will finally stop dithering and focus on solutions that deliver the best returns. By concentrating on what works, we could achieve more in one year than we did in a decade of dithering. As individuals, we can do our own small part to make the coming year we resolve to get serious about progress for all.

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PUBLISHED ON Dec 21,2024 [ VOL 25 , NO 1286]

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