Leaders miss the chance of a lifetime

Political crises, scandals, and dysfunction continue to dominate the global news agenda. Unsurprisingly, therefore, many people missed the United Kingdom’s announcement last month that it will spend £600 million ($779 million) to provide 20 million more women and girls in the developing world with access to family planning.

The Prime Ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are meeting in Bergen, Norway, tomorrow to present a common approach on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unfortunately, the prime ministers have their priorities backward.

For the well-off in both rich and poor countries around the world, lives are enriched by plentiful access to energy that provides light, fresh food, and clean water, and that powers technology and allows the ability to control the temperature.