International Longevity Centre Global Alliance - Designing the Future of Ageing

24th July 2025

Voluntary national reviews (VNRs) were held at High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) from 14 to 24 July 2025, UN, New York. Each State shared Experiences and Lessons on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs implementation.

VNRs are presented at the HLPF meeting annually in July in New York. The purpose of these events is, based on “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” to encourage Member States “to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven.”

At the 2025 HLPF, 35 countries presented VNR:

Angola, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malta, Micronesia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sudan, Suriname, Thailand.

Throughout the VNRs meetings, each State shared their experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A Q&A session followed each presentation.

Focusing on SDG 5, “Gender Equality,” which was referenced by many States. The representative of Germany stated that “Germany’s feminist development policy, which is part of Germany’s sustainable development strategy, is one of the instruments that brings to life our engagement for the SDGs.” She emphasised that, in order to advance gender equality, Germany is pursuing an international policy based on the “3Rs”: equal rights, equal access to resources, and equal representation for women and girls. She further underscored that “sustainable development can only be achieved if all people are ensured equal participation in society.”  The representative of Kazakhstan affirmed that gender equality is one of the country’s focus goals, highlighting ongoing efforts to strengthen laws on women’s rights and children’s safety.

Several countries expressed concerns regarding the challenges associated with population ageing. The representative of Thailand identified the “demographic shift towards ageing” as one of their key challenges, noting that, based on 205 out of 248 indicators, the progress towards gender equality remains on track

The representative of Japan stressed that the national principle of “leave no one behind and everyone will make it happen everywhere,” emphasising that “multi-stakeholder engagements are essential to address Japan’s national challenges such as declining birthrates and ageing populations.” He further noted that additional efforts are required in the area of gender equality.

Author: Wako Kanenaga, student volunteer for the ILC Global Alliance, Ltd.