Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has published their report, where they carry out an annual review of the progress of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 193 UN member states. The report was carried out with the combination of data and analysis produced by international organizations, civil society organizations and research centers. It includes considerations, considering the impact of Covid-19 on the fulfillment of the SDGs in the coming years.
The world is facing a public health crisis that has taken thousands of lives, the scientific efforts to move forward with a vaccine are extraordinary due to the urgency of the situation. As the world’s hospitals continue to collapse, the outlook for the virus’s behavior is still uncertain. This health emergency has required immediate and extreme measures, such as quarantines, lockdowns, social isolation, and reduction or paralysis of daily life activities, which directly impacted the economic sector, especially those that depend on social interaction. With thousands of companies closing, unemployment and poverty rates are growing. A great economic crisis is being generated, and it is estimated that it will impact especially the most vulnerable groups and the poorest countries.
But not everything is negative: the confinement and the reduction of productive activities have immediately reduced the environmental impacts. This shows the urgency of implementing new production patterns and sustainable forms of consumption.
The global pandemic is leaving us with multiple lessons and learnings that need to be taken into account on the road to recovery. As it is necessary that all countries have a strong and prepared health system, efforts must be directed in a collaborative way to prevent and face possible future epidemics.
Another lesson that is manifested as a result of the pandemic is the importance and urgency of international cooperation and solidarity, as well as understanding that globalization has interconnected societies in stronger and more direct ways. The most feasible and beneficial path is to think and work together with a more globalist approach that seeks to build a fairer and more resilient world to crises.
Finally, the need to implement greater statistical and data measurement capabilities in administrations with the help of technology is now more evident. Working together with the private sector and civil society, allows the scientific community to improve governance, action capacities and accelerate the identification of solutions.
Regarding the sustainable development report, the index and the SDG tables of the member states are presented, framing the implementation of the SDGs in terms of six broad transformations. The first one is education, gender and inequity. The second one, health, well-being and demography. The third, energy decarbonization and sustainable industry. The fourth, sustainable food, land, water and oceans. The fifth one is sustainable cities and communities. And finally, the sixth one is about leveraging the digital revolution for sustainable development. These indices did not consider the impact of Covid-19 due to the lack of current data and reports on the subject.
Among the results obtained, Sweden was in first place with 85 points, which indicates that the country is on average 85% of the way to the best possible result in the entire 17 SDGs. The report also shows us that the Asian continent in the eastern and southern countries have improved jointly and progressively since 2015. Argentina is in 51st place, with a score of 73.17, showing that despite having a long way to go, it is on track to meet its objectives.
This exhaustive work where multiple variables intersect is of utmost importance. Data is constructed and presented in multiple ways: by years, countries, regions, SDGs, etc., considering the limitations in the measurements, in order to have clear notions of how the situation worldwide develops and the work that remains to be done.
To access the full report, visit: https://sdgindex.org/reports/sustainable-development-report-2020/