‘Deeply negative impact’ of COVID pandemic, reverses SDG progress

 fter eight “solid days” of deliberations at the High-Level Political Forum connected Sustainable Development (HLPF), Amina Mohammed attributed the COVID pandemic to “a reversal of SDG advancement successful immoderate areas, and delayed enactment connected galore of the large transitions required to conscionable our 2030 goals”. 

She said the pandemic has had a “deeply antagonistic impact” on wellness and well-being; employment, businesses, incomes, education; and human rights, with “a peculiarly damaging effect connected women and girls”. 

Building connected emergency actions 

Throughout the Forum, during which nine Global Goals and 47 Voluntary National Review outcomes were examined successful depth, many participants observed that immoderate of the measures put successful place during the pandemic could provide a instauration for SDG progress. 

Ms. Mohammed gave the examples of digital learning, which could assistance to transform education much broadly, on with gathering connected critical fiscal support galore countries had provided to their economy, jobs and people.   

“Governments should present see whether immoderate of these measures tin beryllium integrated into broad societal extortion systems”, said the UN official. 

Recover, restart 

Recovery efforts tin beryllium designed some to restart economies and accelerate SDG implementation.  

Ms. Mohammed said that stimulus packages and Special Drawing Rights for foreign speech reserves, can beryllium leveraged to beforehand sex equality, boost concern successful education, wellness and societal protection. They could besides beryllium utilized to accelerate clime change mitigation and make decent jobs.   

But there can beryllium no pandemic recovery without “international solidarity and cooperation”, including done clime concern and financing for development, she added.   

Pandemic ‘still raging’ 

For galore developing nations, “the pandemic is inactive raging, radical are inactive dying astatine unacceptably precocious levels and economies are successful dire straits”, Ms. Mohammed said. 

“We indispensable enactment these countries successful their effect to the COVID-19 pandemic and successful recovering amended to accelerate SDG implementation”, she underscored.   

While this applies “first and foremost” to ensuring cosmopolitan entree to lifesaving vaccines, she stressed that it also extends to delivering “a fiscal lifeline” for those States faced with large indebtedness pressures as good as for mobilizing resources, technology, know-how and partnerships to “facilitate economical transformation”. 

UN support 

The UN improvement strategy is committed to “fully supporting this endeavor”, she said. Under the enactment of empowered and autarkic Resident Coordinators (RCs), UN state teams person responded good to the needs of Governments passim the pandemic, she told ministers. 

Moreover, following 3 years of reforms, they are “primed to present the transformative support” that Governments request to accelerate SDG implementation. 

‘Unity of purpose’  

With “political leadership, solidarity and unity of purpose”, the lawman UN chief asserted that we tin extremity the pandemic, unafraid improvements successful people’s lives betwixt present and 2030, and “keep the promise” of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

“We indispensable not driblet our corporate ambition erstwhile the needs person ne'er been greater”, she concluded.