Queen Rania of Jordan is in New York alongside her husband, King Abdullah II, who is attending the 78th United Nations General Assembly.
While in the Big Apple, the Queen attended the UNICEF’s Champions for Children: Child Rights at the Heart of the SDGs reception alongside Queen Mathilde of Belgium and US First Lady Jill Biden.
The reception, hosted by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The First Lady was the keynote speaker at the event that “aims to place children at the heart of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on their empowerment and the need to invest in their future,” according to Her Majesty’s Office.
The event was specifically organised around the release of a new UNICEF report that addresses progress on child-specific indicators in SDGs, which highlighted the chance to influence children’s futures.
Unfortunately, two-thirds of child-related indicators aren’t on pace with the SDG target of 2030.
Sadly, “as of today, only 6% of the world’s child population living in just 11 countries have reached 50% of child-related targets met. If this trajectory continues, it is expected that only 60 countries – home to just 25% of the world’s children – will have met their targets by 2030, leaving around 1.9 billion children in 140 countries behind.”
The event focused on ways to help children in areas like health, education, climate, and peace-building.
Other attendees at the reception included UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors and youth advocates.
Queen Rania has also been named a global co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA).
The Queen spoke at the GAEA meeting and focused on the climate and global warming.
“My region is warming at twice the global average, and experts predict that extreme heat will make large areas literally unlivable before the century is through. … That’s why I am proud to be joining GAEA as a Global Co-Chair. Because we have a collective responsibility – and the collective ability – to meet our climate ambitions.”
The Queen of Jordan was chosen for her leadership and her ability to be instrumental in the drive for “impactful climate action with partners.’’
