Goal 3 - SDGs for All

Photo: Collage of images of ESCAP Executive Secretary, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana; UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau's Director, Kanni Wignaraja; and ADB Vice-President Bambang Susantono.

ESCAP, UNDP and ADB Determined to Achieve SDGs in 2030 Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana (ESCAP), Kanni Wignaraja (UNDP) and Bambang Susantono (ADB)*

BANGKOK (IDN) – As lockdowns ease in countries across Asia and the Pacific in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is clear—a return to business as usual is unimaginable in a region that was already off track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The virtual High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development recently convened governments and stakeholders across the globe to focus on the imperative to build back better while keeping an eye on the Global Goals.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 26 July 2020

Photo: Many of the huge numbers of people not covered by social insurance programmes are informal workers, low-waged, women and young people, refugees and migrants, and people with disabilities – and they are the ones hardest hit by this crisis. Photo: UNDP Bangladesh/Fahad Kaizer

UNDP Favours Temporary Basic Income to Protect the World's Poorest from The Impact of COVID-19

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – A new report by the United Nations is pleading for the immediate introduction of a Temporary Basic Income for the world’s poorest people, arguing that this could slow the current surge in COVID-19 pandemic cases by enabling nearly three billion people to stay at home.

A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report estimates that it would cost from $199 billion per month to provide a time-bound, guaranteed basic income to the 2.7 billion people living below or just above the poverty line in 132 developing countries. JAPANESE

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 1; 23 July 2020

Photo: In Argentina, UNDP has developed a social media campaign promoting inclusive finance. #PlataSinBanco ("money without bank") explains current alternatives to withdraw money from a local ATM, even without a debit card or bank account. Credit: UNDP Argentina

Poverty and Inequality Get Worse in Latin America as COVID-19 Infections Surge

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) —Latin America is scrambling to contain surging COVID-19 infections while confronting near-certain recession and related impacts. But polices that prioritize poor and vulnerable people can help mitigate the region’s already extreme poverty and inequality, says a new study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Before the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected only 1.6 percent economic growth for the region in 2020, with recessions in several countries. In April, it projected a contraction of 5.2 percent, with almost every country in recession. However, tourism-dependent Caribbean nations could see GDP plunge between 5 and 10 percent—worsening the region's chronic poverty, inequality, and insecurity.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 1; 16 July 2020

Photo (top): Pastoralist with herd, Horn of Africa. Credit: Katherine Bundra Roux, IFRC

Africa’s Livestock Sector is Key to its Covid-19 Response & Recovery

Viewpoint by Rhoda Peace Tumusiime

The writer is a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel and former AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission (AUC).

ENTEBBE, Uganda (IDN) – Livestock have long been the insurance policy of Africa’s poorest, with even a single goat or a chicken providing a buffer against economic hardship and hunger.

But as Covid-19 forces many to fall back on these safety nets, the need for more long-term support of the continent’s livestock sector is laid bare.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 15 July 2020

The Path Forward for Higher Education After COVID-19

UN Academic Impact Talks to Students from Several Countries

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – COVID-19 pandemic has forced more than 1.5 billion students in 165 countries out of school, enforcing the global academic community to explore new ways of teaching and learning, including distance and online education, according to UNESCO estimates.

This has proven challenging for both students and educators, who have to deal with the emotional, physical and economic difficulties posed by the illness while doing their part to help curb the spread of the virus, notes United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI). (P11) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE

: Ramesh Jaura; Project Articles; 10 July 2020

Photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Source: EU

What the EU's Corona Fundraising Tells us about Global Solidarity

Viewpoint by Inge Kaul

The writer, Dr Inge Kaul, is Senior Fellow, Hertie School, Berlin and Non-resident Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, Washington, DC.

BERLIN (IDN) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen organized two spectacular fund-raising events, one on May 4 and the other on June 27, 2020. The first drive collected €9.8 billion and the second €6.15 billion, including €4.9 billion announced together by the EU and the European Investment Bank.

According to official pronouncements, the funds will be used to make coronavirus vaccines, testing and treatments available worldwide, notably in low and middle-income countries.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 02 July 2020

Photo: Mass graves – such as these in northern Rio de Janeiro – have been needed to bury the dead during the pandemic. Credit: EPA-EFE

COVID-19: How Brazil Became the World's 2nd Worst Hit Country

Viewpoint by Alfredo Saad Filho*

LONDON (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic has stress-tested countries, economies and political systems like never before. Nowhere has the outcome been more devastating than in Brazil, arguably the country with the worst pandemic response in the world.

Brazil’s vulnerabilities are visible in the mass graves in São Paulo and Manaus. The country is competing with the USA for the largest number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases (more than one million) and the highest number of fatalities (above 50,000 – but likely to be a vast undercount). Disturbingly, there is no sign that Brazil’s cases or deaths have peaked yet.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 01 July 2020

Image: Small Island States at the forefront. Credit: Simon Sees at Flickr.

Sustainable Tourism and Fisheries Key to Growth in Post-COVID Pacific

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

The writer, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) – Developing countries of Asia and the Pacific are experiencing unbalanced tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grim milestones in infections and deaths have left countlessly devastated. Yet, we must look at the economic and social impacts in small island developing States (SIDS), where setbacks are likely to undo years of development gains and push many people back into poverty.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 30 June 2020

The Middle East Reeling Under COVID-19 Impact on Livelihoods and Food Security

By Bernhard Schell

AMMAN (IDN) – Highlighting the increasingly dire situation in countries across the Middle East, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that "deep humanitarian needs will worsen and new ones will emerge if the international community doesn't factor socio-economic aftershocks into our response and protect livelihoods and food security".

The ICRC is, therefore, calling for social protection programs to be maintained or increased, including the most vulnerable, such as low-income workers, households headed by women, farmers and people with disabilities. Existing humanitarian activities focused on food security and nutrition must also be reinforced.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 2; 28 June 2020

Photo: United Nations Secretary-General Mr António Guterres and Deputy Secretary-General Ms Amina Mohammed have been emphasizing the role of media in achieving SDGs. Credit: UN Photo

The Media Can Stimulate Sustainable Development in Africa

Viewpoint by Siddharth Chatterjee

The writer is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya. Follow Siddharth Chatterjee on twitter- @sidchat1.

NAIROBI (IDN) – When 17-year-old high school student Darnella Fraizer filmed the last minutes of George Floyd’s life under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin, she could not have imagined that her footage would reignite the explosive global question of racial inequality and the subsequent clamour for reforms in policing. (P09) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWAHILI | TAGALOG