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High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs

Accelerating Social Progress to Boost SDG Implementation: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue

 

On 21 July 2025, UN DESA organized a Global Policy Dialogue on the sidelines of , exploring how the the principles of the World Social Report 2025 can guide integrated policy solutions to advance several of the SDGs under review at this year¡¯s Forum: SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Drawing on the insights of members of the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs (HLAB) and other prominent thinkers, the event featured two high-level panel discussions, interactive polls and audience Q&A, generating actionable recommendations for governments and stakeholders to help restore trust, expand opportunity and accelerate SDG implementation through inclusive, people-centered policy innovation. This dialogue was made possible by the . , or .

 

 

1 July 2025

By Violet Eudine Barriteau, former Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Emerita of the University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Member of the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs (HLAB) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Countries worldwide confront intersecting, often contradictory conditions in overcoming gender inequalities and achieving sustainable development. No country argues women and girls are irrelevant to its social, cultural, political and economic well-being. However, they differ on what qualifies as acceptable circumstances for half of humanity, resulting in girls and women continuing to suffer wide-ranging discriminations. In deploying culture as a gateway to introducing improvements in the lives of women and girls, States should emphasize the widespread social and economic benefits of recognising women as equal citizens and advancing achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. .

 

 

Debt relief, concessional finance can help countries meet their development goals

 

8 July 2025 - For years, blended finance ¡ªutilizing public development funds to attract private investment in developing countries ¡ªhas been touted as a powerful means to bridge the financing gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, with this gap currently standing at US$4 trillion, according to data from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), blended finance is not living up to its potential. ¡°Blended finance can unlock private capital for sustainable development,¡± said UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua in opening remarks on Wednesday at a standing-room-only UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue on ¡°Reimagining Blended Finance: Aligning Capital with the SDGs,¡± held at the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Sevilla, Spain.  However, he noted that ¡°current models fall short of the scale, speed, and impact required. Too often, investments are concentrated in a few markets and sectors, leaving behind the countries and communities most in need.¡± He called upon members of the UN High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs (HLAB) present in Sevilla to offer ways to correct this. This dialogue was made possible by the . Read the full story here and 

 

 

Converging crises, shared solutions: Applying lessons from Asia and the Pacific to global challenges

 

On 23 May 2025, the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs (HLAB)¡ªcomprising thought leaders and practitioners from across regions and disciplines¡ªconvened in Bangkok, Thailand, to explore emerging global socioeconomic trends, risks, and opportunities. This convergence of globally engaged experts in a dynamic regional setting presented a unique opportunity to foster a two-way exchange: how Asia-Pacific¡¯s experiences and innovations can inform global strategies, and how the broader international agenda can be grounded in regional context. To bring the highlights of this high-level conversation to a wider, global public, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) hosted a Global Policy Dialogue on ¡°Converging crises, shared solutions: Applying socioeconomic lessons from Asia-Pacific to global challenges¡± on the margins of the HLAB meeting. This dialogue was held in partnership with the and was made possible by the .  

 

About the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs

The United Nations High-level Advisory Board (HLAB) on Economic and Social Affairs was established  in the context of United Nations development system reform, as a key part of efforts to enhance support to Member States of the United Nations in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is made possible through the United Nations Íæż½ã½ã and Development Trust Fund. 

The Board, convened by Li Junhua, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, has provided advice to the United Nations on broad economic and social issues, including near-term prospects and risks for the world economy, frontier technologies, inequality, migration, issues associated with countries in special situations.

In addition, the HLAB has provided guidance to the research and policy analysis work of UN DESA, and Board members have played an active role in strengthening the linkage between UN DESA and the global economic and social policy research community, and have promoted UN DESA publications and reports at national and global levels. The HLAB members also participate in the Department's Global Policy Dialogue Series, sharing their expertise with a wide online audience.

Since it was launched in 2018, the HLAB deliberations on many contemporary and cross-cutting issues and challenges have expanded our understanding of complex economic and social issues and inspired the United Nations to break new ground in policy research. In July 2020, the first HLAB produced the compilation "Recover Better"  with early reflections on leveraging the recovery from COVID-19 into a transformative period for attaining sustainable development.

In May 2022, the second HLAB launched the "Six Big Questions for the global economic recovery: The UN High-level Advisory Board Q&A Compendium", which draws on the Board¡¯s key messages and policy recommendations to recover from the crises and make progress towards sustainable development.

 

 

The third term (2025-2027)

Building on the accomplishments of the first and second HLAB, the third term of the Board (HLAB-III) will continue to strengthen, for the next two years, the United Nations thought leadership on sustainable development and to reinforce its impact at the forefront of sustainable development policy at global, regional and local levels.

HLAB-III aims to provide strategic and focused guidance and recommendations to accelerate action towards sustainable development for all. Consisting of 22 globally renowned experts in the economic and social policy fields, including former Heads of State, a Nobel Laureate, former Senior Government Officials and intellectual leaders, the Board harnesses its collective insight to provide strategic guidance to the United Nations development system on urgent economic and social issues.

 

Board members 

The following experts have been appointed to serve on the third term of the UN High-level Advisory Board (HLAB-III) on Economic and Social Affairs (2025-2027) in their personal capacity:

  •     Eudine Barriteau, Former Cave Hill Campus Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Emerita, University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus
  •     Ibrahim Elbadawi, Managing Director, Economic Research Forum, Egypt
  •     Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue, Professor of Global Development and Brooks School of Policy, Cornell University
  •     Alex Ezeh, Professor at Drexel University, Dornsife School of Public Health; Former Director of African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
  •     Xiaolan Fu, Professor of Technology and International Development, University of Oxford
  •     Anastasia Gage, Professor at the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University
  •     Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
  •     Stephany Griffith-Jones, Vice-Governor of the Central Bank of Chile; Professor Emeritus at Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
  •     Fadhel Kaboub, President, Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity; Associate Professor of Economics, Denison University
  •     Martin Kimani, CEO of the Africa Center, New York
  •     Nyovani Madise, President of the Union for the African Population Studies
  •     Ibrahim Mayaki, African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems; former Prime Minister of Niger
  •     Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL) and Founder/Director of UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  •     Raya Muttarak, Professor of Demography, University of Bologna
  •     Jos¨¦ Antonio Ocampo, Professor, Columbia University
  •     ?sa Persson, Research Director and Deputy Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute
  •     Elisabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)
  •     David Christopher Smith, Director, Centre for Environmental Management, The University of the West Indies; Coordinator, Institute for Sustainable Development, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
  •     Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of New Economics Foundation, former Chief Executive of Oxfam, former Secretary General and CEO of CIVICUS
  •     Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, University Professor, Columbia University
  •     Izabella M?nica Vieira Teixeira, Former Minister of Environment, Brazil
  •     Kori Udovi?ki, Head of Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES)

Click here for short bios of HLAB-III members.

 

Emeritus Board members (2018-2024)

Click here for short bios of Emeritus Board members.

 

 

 

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