UN chief calls for 'global rescue plan' to meet SDGs

At an SDG Media Zone discussion Monday morning, Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman, who is also an activist, said she saw an underinvestment in girls and women.

She said that there is an ingrained cultural bias against women and girls that leads to the inequalities and injustices the world really needs to combat.

"I think investing in girls, in girls education, in girls' and women's safety, and girls and women's economic and social empowerment … investing more in it will, of course, accelerate the drive toward parity," said Portman, who starred as the young protégée of a hitman in the action film Léon: The Professional.

Mayada Adil, one of the 17 Young Leaders for the SDGs, told world leaders that if only 15 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals are met, that is failure.

"What have you done to make the international system more inclusive and responsive?" Adil said via a video link.

Taking Sudan, her country, as an example, Adil said the global humanitarian financial system has focused its aid toward the global north, leaving the global south facing hunger, droughts, climate issues and increased conflicts and wars.

"Sudan is left out of your spot. I wonder why?" she said.

Adil also called special attention to the situation of today's young generation, which she said is 1.9 billion strong, but millions are being left behind.

"As we speak, 1 in every 5 young people worldwide is not in education, employment, or training; 68 million young people are looking for a job, while 123 million are currently working yet living in poverty," she said.