What is a moonshot?
A moonshot refers to a big, audacious goal that seems impossible until it is done. The term comes from President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to the United States to send a man to the moon by the end of that decade. The U.S. government agency NASA rose to the occasion and successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon ahead of schedule, in 1969.
Now, we need our U.S. public institutions to deliver again to ensure we achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and climate targets by 2030.
In August 2022, Unlock Aid, in partnership with the Day One Project, held an SDGs Moonshot Accelerator in Mexico City. Over 70 of the world's leading change agents from more than 25 countries convened to explore new ways of solving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Participants shared ways to solve global issues, ranging from climate change, access to clean water, reproductive health, and eliminating global poverty. We asked innovators, “If you had $500 million, how would you spend it?”
What follows is a compilation of "moonshots" – big ideas on how to solve the SDGs within the decade and interviews with the innovators who imagined them.
Each of these 14 moonshots shed light on the ways in which businesses and organizations – in partnership with the world’s largest public institutions – can rapidly accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs and climate targets by 2030.
The innovators and their moonshots have inspired us. We hope they inspire you.
Ensure Access to Menstrual Products for All
Expand Health Access for All Through Digitized Pharmacies
Build Safe Communities Through Youth Rehabilitation
Map the Plant Genome to Solve Food Insecurity
Build a World Where Every Malnourished Child Can Get Treatment
Increase Access to Medical Oxygen for All
Transition from Aid to Trade in Africa
Expand Clean Water Access Through Rainwater Harvesting
Make Health Products Affordable for All
Solve Unemployment by Equipping Young People for the Green Economy
Increase Crop Yields Through Digital Innovation
Digitize Community Health Systems to Achieve Universal Health Coverage
Provide Sustainable & Safe Housing for All
Reverse Biodiversity Loss in Latin America