COVID-19 Crisis and Future of Sustainable Development Goals

COVID-19 badly damaged health systems globally and even destroyed them completely in many countries. Besides being a health crisis, it is also an economic crisis, a social crisis, and a humanitarian crisis worldwide. The long-lasting impact of this pandemic will change the world completely and it will take time to fully recover.  

After more than two months of a global lockdown, the economic crisis is likely to dictate the new world order. All developed countries along with big multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and IMF have also focused on these new global challenges. It is estimated that about 15 trillion dollars will be lost during this crisis. Nonetheless, it is still too early to assess the economic impact of COVID-19. The pandemic is also estimated to have brought the growth rate down from 2-5% in different countries, in which the rural communities are the most severely affected.

In the year 2000, 183 countries adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reach a development agenda in 2015. In 2015, UN members gathered and adopted an agenda for 2030, enlisted as 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These 17 SDGs are to end poverty and hunger, improve health and education, reduce inequality, improve economic growth, tackle climate change, and preserve the oceans and forests.

The Sustainable Development Goals were playing an effective role before the pandemic, and nuclear techniques were also playing their role efficiently in achieving these goals. Just before the COVID-19 crisis, many cities had also shown their local progress. New York City published its progress in the UN Voluntary Local Review (VLR), the impact of which was reversed after the outbreak.  

The UN Secretary General already pointed out that the 2030 agenda will be the only rescue when the world focuses on recovery. Some targets of the SDGs seem to be difficult to achieve at this point. At the same time, in the aftermath of COVID-19, it is only the SDGs that give the best chance of recovery and to build back what we have lost, but we have to revise some of the targets and vision, both globally and according to national needs. Many states have already made commitments at the national level towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.  We will be discussing only those SDGs that are badly affected by the COVID-19 crisis and need to be aggressively pursued.

Goal 1 was reversed after 1990, undercutting a decade of hard work. In 2020, it will be the first time in this century that the number of poor people will increase.  After COVID-19 It is estimated that there will be a 20% contraction in the economy, poverty will increase and about 690 million people will become poorer. The pandemic could push 50 million people into extreme poverty in the developing countries in 2020; about 23 million will be in Sub-Saharan Africa, 16 million in South Asia, and about 10 million in conflict territories. Urban areas are going to be hit harder than rural areas. How to accommodate this goal in digital space to stop poverty and achievement in this direction is a big question.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) has warned that the number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double this year, to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19. The WFP has mentioned the need to act quickly to protect livelihoods and lives, especially of vulnerable groups. The UN has shown its commitment by saying that “Now it is the time that we have to act for long term food security programs and to invest in technology to improve productivity”.    

The United Nations has already started to fight the COVID-19 after effects. The approach towards the third goal is to keep up with good health and well-being and to achieve the required targets by 2030. The UN Secretary General said that we need a strong health system in the future that can deliver essential health care services. We have to test every suspected case, isolate and care for every confirmed case, and trace out and quarantine every close contact for years to come. Every nation has to strengthen the capacity nationally of early warning, risk management.

COVID-19 affected the education system as well. The United Nations recently reported that 185 countries closed schools and universities to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The United Nations Scientific and Culture Organization (UNESCO) estimated that about 1.54 billion learners have been affected by COVID-19, representing 89% of the enrolled population. Higher education will be badly affected as it depends on the mobility of students which is marked by quarantine. The UK and Australia alone estimate a loss of about 2.6 billion pounds each in fees. UN supporting this goal by increasing distance learning, scientific cooperation, and infrastructure support.

Goal 5 is achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls by 2030. Before the COVID-19 crisis, it was increasingly successful, having achieved a target of about 1.0 million students every year and 0.8 million jobs for women. After COVID-19,  school closures in 185 countries meant there are 743 million girls out of school. In the current crisis, women are working day and night, holding societies together, working in health care, mental care, elderly care, online teaching, child care, in pharmacies, in grocery stores, and as social workers. The countries have to uphold the rights of women and girls to emerge stronger after the pandemic.

To control and slow down the transmission of COVID-19 hand washing and sanitizing is the most important factor. However, the problem is that about 3 billion people in the world do not have handwashing facilities at home. The UN is trying to increase its efforts to expand the implementation of this goal. In particular, developing countries have to increase their efforts for clean, accessible water. On March 31, 2020, the UN Secretary General announced the establishment of the COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund of US $ 1 billion to safeguard the SDGs program after the COVID-19 crisis. It will unify the countries to deliver fast results.

The most significant, impact of the pandemic has been felt on the energy system. Oil demand has fallen to 10 million barrels per day. Electricity demand has also fallen due to lockdowns. Countries are pulling out of fossil fuels and trying to add a higher fraction of renewable energies to their grid. After COVID-19, most of the countries are looking more towards continuous, indigenous, reliable, and green energy sources.

The pandemic has created an enormous social crisis, weak economic growth, and absence of work. Initially, it was estimated by the International Labour Organization (ILO) that about 30 million people will lose their jobs worldwide. The UN labour Agency gave new figures of 195 million people who will lose jobs worldwide. The UN proposes that countries should guarantee at least basic social security to all. It should progressively ensure an adequate level of protection. Besides that, UNICEF has estimated an increase of 116 million children globally, 29 million in Southeast Asia, and about 5 million in Pakistan. We have to restructure and rebuild the system urgently in the developing countries.

Displaced people were severely affected by the current crisis. The most important task was to prevent COVID-19 from reaching refugee camps or settlements.  The UN commissioner of refugees expressed his concern over the measures adopted by some countries to block asylum seekers.  He requested them to increase screening arrangements and quarantine facilities at the border to manage their arrivals and save their lives.

This goal is to give people peaceful societies with justice. After the COVID-19 crisis, the UN Secretary General appealed for an immediate global ceasefire and called for a united international order to combat the pandemic. At a virtual conference, he said: “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.  It is the time to put arms and conflicts on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.”

In the pandemic, we have learned that cooperation between countries is very important. It has also shown the importance of partnership in fighting against the pandemic, and the way to achieve all the sustainable development goals. It is also true that making all the goals a reality that will require the participation of everyone, including Governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, and people around the world. The COVID-19 crisis has shown that the world is not so strong and the UN lacks global leadership.

Pakistan was seriously trying to reach 169 targets of Agenda 2030 set by the UNCSD before the COVID-19 crisis. After the crisis we should keep it up by developing a small team of experts with diversity to handle and, prioritize goals, laying more emphasis on SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7,8, 10, 16, and 17 and handling the remaining as per agenda. Globally we should look into SDGs with new approaches. The global community has to unite, cooperate, and revise the existing framework. The UNDP should work out solutions and must invest in the capacity building to sustain Agenda 2030 from the impact of COVID-19. The UN already called on for a fund of 2.5 trillion for developing countries. It seems to be a good start but still, a lot more has to be done by the International organizations and rich countries to achieve all SDGs by 2030.