In recent weeks, the UN released The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 the immediate day following the 2021 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). Some of the highlights from the report have brought alarm to people around the world. It shows the tragic impact that the COVID-19 global pandemic has had on millions of people who have gone back into poverty despite the efforts of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
What are the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?
In 2015, all members of the United Nations Member States came together and adopted a plan to make significant changes around the world. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a plan to provide 17 SDGs for both developed and developing countries that are in urgent need of care and for leaders to take action. Goals include creating an inclusive world for people with disabilities, eliminating poverty and hunger, affordable and clean energy, and several others that focus on creating an equal, sustainable, and peaceful world.
The Impact of COVID-19 on SDGs
The best efforts of the SDGs have dramatically slid backward over the last year. The pandemic contributed to almost four million deaths worldwide, specifically from the coronavirus itself. But the impacts of COVID-19 went beyond, leaving almost 124 million people around the world to be sent back into poverty and chronic hunger. The global hunger rate, according to the UN Under-Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin, rose for the first time since 1998. “The pandemic has halted, or reversed years, or even decades of development progress,” said General Liu Zhenmin.
Despite it being well over a year since the first cases of the coronavirus impacted our world, 90% of countries globally are reporting significant disruptions in basic and essential health care services. Life expectancy has also seen an overall decrease.
Value Proposition for Sustainable Development
Value proposition is simple. It’s about the benefit of others. It’s about how a company promises to deliver to its customers. However, value proposition is not limited to businesses. This includes any and all organizations and committees with a mission.
Value is not only meant in determining a quantifiable economic structure but is also about effective cross collaborations to achieve real sustainability that lasts. The issue is that when defined by their value proposition, these organizations can fall short of their ethical responsibilities.
The question on many of our minds is whether or not the UN collaborates in order to make up for the extreme and tragic losses the world has experienced, not only economically but in all other facets that have suffered, such as education and healthcare?
The UN understands that in order to maintain its desired outcomes by 2030, there will have to be a significant collaboration between countries worldwide to make up for the major losses that have transpired. But not all hope is lost. When it comes to sustainable development, China and the United States are leading an economic recovery plan involving many other countries. Their hope is to improve the economy and return it to pre-pandemic levels before 2023, pushing an aggressive goal of 2022.
General Liu Zhenmin stated that while the report “paints a worrying picture regarding the state of the SDGs,” it also showcases multiple stories of countries, businesses, communities, and individuals being resourceful, resilient, and adaptable in the face of extreme crisis.
The UN appears to be extremely hopeful as they continue the efforts of the 17 SDGs. The calendar of upcoming assemblies and related meetings along with their agendas can be found on the calendar on their website to stay up to date with the latest information coming from the UN directly.
The post COVID-19’s Impact on the UN’s 17 SDGs, But There Is Still Hope appeared first on Financial Market Brief.