Achieving the SDGs in Extraordinary Times

By Armida Alisjahbana, Woochong Um and Kanni WignarajaBANGKOK, Thailand, Jul 15 2022 (IPS) The start of the “Decade of Action” to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has also marked the start of an unprecedented period of overlapping crises. The Covid-19 pandemic and crises of conflict, hunger, climate change and environmental degradation are mutually compounding, pushing millions into acute poverty, health, and food insecurity. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has further disrupted supply chains and brought spikes in food and fuel prices. Armida Salsiah AlisjahbanaA region at risk The devastation caused by efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 across the Asia-Pacific region is now well documented. At least 90 million people have likely fallen into extreme poverty, and more than 150 million and 170 million people are under the poverty lines of US$3.20 and $5.50 a day, respectively. The pandemic drove home the consequences of uneven progress on the SDGs and exposed glaring gaps in social protection and health-care systems. The dynamics of recovery in Asia and the Pacific have been shaped by access to vaccination and diagnostics, as well as by the structure and efficacy of national economies and public health systems. Yet for all the economic contraction, greenhouse gas emissions in the Asia-Pacific region continued largely unabated, and the long-burning climate crisis continues to rage. The positive effects of producing less waste and ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Armed Conflicts Asia-Pacific Climate Action Climate Change COVID-19 Development & Aid Economy & Trade Energy Environment Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Poverty & SDGs Sustainability IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news