If the pandemic has brought extraordinary challenges to the achievement of the SDGs, it also raised ‘new normal’ opportunities to realize the decade. 2020 marks the beginning of the Last Decade of Action for realization of SDGs (2020-30). In present times, COVID-19 is the source of menace and fear all over the world, here to stay for times unknown. According to worldometer tracker, corona virus cases have risen to 5,687,810 with global deaths amounting to nearly 352,265. Contemporary times have switched our focus on health and welfare taking an added significance i.e. SDGs Goal 3: ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’. “COVID-19 is a “tremendous setback” for sustainable development” said Elliott Harris, UN chief economist and assistant secretary-general for economic development.
Should we call for an SDG amendment?
Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations are probably the only global agenda that the 193 Member States of the UN agreed to and put at the centre stage of this global platform. The recent ‘2020 SDG Progress Report’ enumerates impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on groups of people and operations around the world, and how those effects are “imperiling progress” towards the SDGs and countries in humanitarian or fragile situations “stand to be hit hardest” due to fragile health systems, limited social protection coverage, limited financial and other resources, vulnerability to shocks, and dependence on international trade. “Our objective remains clear: to help countries navigate and accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fully respecting the principle of national ownership”, Secretary-General António Guterres said on the opening the first-ever virtual session of the Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) Operational Activities for Development Segment held recently. This is a golden opportunity to add the 6th ‘P’ of SDGs in addition to 5 Ps: People-Planet-Prosperity-Peace-Partnership. The need of the hour is we need SDG reforms to facilitate health, safety and resilience among people during and when the health crisis subsides and new normal resumes the way of living.
Citing today’s pandemic crisis, SDG 3 has a narrow agenda and scope which is bound to fail to a large extent. Some of the lessons from COVID will change our social behaviour, basic human nature and structures of governance is bound to change in coming years. International Labour Organization (ILO) predicted that 25 million jobs were threatened by the new coronavirus and UNESCO forecast that 1.5 billion students out of school. Credit rating agencies like CRISIL, Fitch and Barclays have cut down country’s economic growth forecasts due to pandemic and prolonged lockdowns. For instance, Fitch and CRISIL projected the Indian economy to contract 5 per cent, from their earlier estimates of the economic growth at 0.8 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively. Is the new way of living changing the relationship between socio-economic development, our everyday planning and life and the realization of SDGs?
Disaster management is an integral part of social and economic development, and is essential if development is to be sustainable. There are 25 targets related to disaster risk reduction in 10 of the 17 sustainable development goals, firmly establishing the role of disaster management as a core development strategy. The SDG 18 should revolve around recovery strategy that would ensure sustainability of healthcare services. Further, to address the pandemic, we will have to gain up-to-date knowledge of the current understanding of disaster pandemics and its correlation with humans along with its consequences. In these dire circumstances, actions must account for human centric rights that focus on life, health; water, food, culture and most importantly right to live in a healthy environment because everything is connected to everything else.
Getting back to pre-COVID life shall be an ardent task because we are at the tipping point of life. If we could define the ‘Pandemics’ and talk about the 18th SDG, it would be a monumental achievement for humankind. Nevertheless, the pressing questions are ‘Don’t we need SDG 18 for our survival? Isn’t the time right for an SDG 18 along a new normal life?
By Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation
