Sustainable Development Goals Can Guide Asia-Pacific to Build Back Better

By Armida Salsiah AlisjahbanaBANGKOK, Thailand, Mar 16 2021 (IPS) The COVID-19 crisis poses an unprecedented threat to development in the Asia-Pacific region that could reverse much of the hard-earned progress made in recent years. The good news is we know how to tackle this challenge. Recovery from the pandemic and our global efforts to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 must go hand-in-hand. The Goals provide a compass to navigate this crisis, faster and greener, everywhere and for everyone. Armida Salsiah AlisjahbanaResults from the 2021 edition of the Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report published today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) show that the region fell short of its 2020 milestones for the Goals, even before entering the global pandemic. The region must accelerate progress everywhere and urgently reverse its regressing trends on many of the Goals and targets to achieve the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the last decade, Asia and the Pacific has made extraordinary progress in good health and well-being (Goal 3), which may partly explain its relative success in reducing the health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its population. Yet despite these hard-won gains, the region faces many challenges, such as providing an adequate healthcare workforce, reducing premature deaths and improving mental health. As we find our way out of this pandemic...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific Climate Change Development & Aid Economy & Trade Education Environment Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Labour Poverty & SDGs Sustainability TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news