Seven years ago, the United Nations (UN) set a total of 17 Sustainable World Goals (SDG) for 2030, with the intent to promote overall improvement globally by the next few decades, while sustaining and protecting important resources. All members of the UN, including both developed and developing countries, partnered together in this global project. However, just around two years ago, COVID-19 struck and led officials to question the relevance of these goals and how these goals could be used as a guide solution to today’s pandemic.
Despite these goals being established before the pandemic, some had targets that have mitigated the negative effects of COVID-19 on various sectors. With that, here are five SDG goals that may help end the pandemic:
SDG Goal 1: No poverty
Poverty worldwide has definitely taken a toll since the rise of COVID-19. In a recently updated infographic on the UN’s website, we see that around 124 million people were pushed back into extreme poverty since the pandemic began. Those in poverty don’t have proper and clean homes, meaning that they are extremely prone to infection. They also don’t have enough money to pay for medications. If poverty and proper housing are addressed, millions would be much better off in our fight against COVID-19.
A statistic that would perfectly describe how many problems poverty adds to the already problematic pandemic would be comparing the number of deaths between well-off people and people in poverty. After the recent outbreak of the Omicron variant a few months ago, a report by Oxfam states that death tolls are four times higher in developing countries in comparison to developed countries. The same report includes that every minute, four children in low-income countries lose their caregivers and/or parents. The most common problem poverty brings to anyone would be having the lack of funds to pay for anything, including basic necessities. Thus, if every family in this world had the basic needs to survive, most families (if not all) would be able to pay for important medical expenses.
SDG Goal 3: Good health and well-being
Upon reading the details of this SDG, it’s convincing that it would benefit the pandemic response. Although some of its targets are not as relevant with regard to the pandemic, such as better childbirth, less substance abuse, and fewer road-traffic accidents, several are extremely crucial issues that are central in the COVID-19 response. These include access to safe and affordable medications and vaccines, support for the development of vaccines, and the strengthening of the capacity of health workers. Earlier this year, the UN Development Programme has even updated its website to make it focus more on goals central to the pandemic.
SDG Goal 6: Clean water and sanity
Water is one of the most essential resources on Earth. It keeps us alive and allows for proper sanitation and cleaning. Yet, while most of us view water as a universal resource, many parts of the world still lack water supply, with 785 million people lacking basic water services. Today’s pandemic has only heightened the importance of water. Without available water sources, infection risks skyrocket, as proper sanitation such as showering or hand washing is compromised.
SDG Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure
One of the biggest challenges in most countries during the peak of COVID-19 was the lack of space for infected patients in hospitals. Although this SDG goal focuses more on other infrastructures like factories and transportation, it is still worth mentioning that hospitals fall under this category. If larger hospitals could be built or renovated, more patients could be monitored at the same time. Work done on this SDG would lead to less crowded hospitals and medical facilities, thus lowering mortality rates.
SDG Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
The most important SDG goal is the final one on the list. The overall purpose of the UN is to bring all countries together to create a sustainable and developed Earth. Although we have our own “regions” to protect, we all live on the same planet. Just as the worldwide problem most people know as Global Warming couldn’t be resolved by one country alone, the global pandemic couldn’t be put to an end by a single country as well. This is why the UN also set a separate goal for it: SDG 13.
The same goes with COVID-19. The pandemic is, without a doubt, a worldwide problem. Some countries may have trouble economically because of the pandemic, and this goal promotes first-world countries to provide aid and support for developing or third-world countries when needed. To end such a large issue, all countries must cooperate with one another.
The pandemic was definitely a surprise, seeing how not all SDG goals are relevant to the current COVID-19 situation. However, we should still take a moment to appreciate all the goals brought by the UN. The initiative of the UN to bring countries together in unity with these goals in mind is of great importance. If the goals were never established, the world would not be as united as it is today in economic and social development. Although not all 17 SDG goals would directly help the ongoing pandemic, the idea of global partnership itself is what keeps the world’s nations accountable to addressing pressing issues, as seen throughout the pandemic.
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