2020 was a year like no other, bringing a deadly pandemic, climate disasters and political turmoil. Most of us cannot wait to see the end of it. Some might even be tempted to forget it altogether. But for all the suffering it brought, we would not be wise to disregard the lessons it taught us. From harnessing science and technology in our fight against pandemic to assessing the social and economic devastation of COVID-19, the five Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA stories you¡¯ve read most often in 2020 tell a story of a troubled year. Revisit them here:
- Digital technologies critical in facing COVID-19 pandemic
Governments need to make full use of digital technologies to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and address a wide range of pandemic-related issues according to a new policy brief issued by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA.
The pandemic is compelling governments and societies to turn toward digital technologies to respond to the crisis and, increasingly, is requiring governments to adopt an open government approach and to use digi?tal communication channels to provide reliable infor?mation on global and national COVID-19 developments. Read more >>>
- Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ report finds COVID-19 is reversing decades of progress on poverty, healthcare and education
The 15-year global effort to improve the lives of people everywhere through the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 was already off track by the end of 2019. And now, in only a short period of time, the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed an unprecedented crisis, causing further disruption to SDG progress, with the world¡¯s poorest and most vulnerable affected the most, according to a new report by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA.
As presented in the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020, the world had been making progress¡ªalthough uneven and insufficient to meet the Goals ¡ª in areas such as improving maternal and child health, expanding access to electricity and increasing women¡¯s representation in government. Yet even these advances were offset elsewhere by growing food insecurity, deterioration of the natural environment, and persistent and pervasive inequalities. Read more >>>
- COVID-19 response demands better use of science and technology
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with around 2.5 million confirmed cases so far, requires a far more collaborative relationship between scientists and policymakers, and the fruits of scientific research, including potential vaccines, must be shared universally says Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA.
The Department¡¯s new policy brief finds that there is vast room for improvement in the way the world harnesses science and technology to resolve global challenges, such as the COVID?19 pandemic. The policy brief¡¯s recommendations address the pandemic recovery and contributions of science towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more >>>
- COVID-19 to slash global economic output by $8.5 trillion over next two years
The global economy is expected to lose nearly $8.5 trillion in output over the next two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wiping out nearly all gains of the previous four years. The sharp economic downturn, which marks the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression in the 1930s, comes on top of anaemic economic forecasts of only 2.1 percent at the start of the year. Read more >>>
- The state of our world
The world economy has barely had the time to recover from a string of shocks that began with the 2007 financial crisis, and we can already see another global slowdown looming large. At the same time, high economic and social inequalities are fuelling some of the mass protests around the world. As we start a new decade, two reports by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA offer a way out of this bleak situation.
The World Economic Situation and Prospects and the World Social Report offer a birds-eye view of the economic and social state of our world. Going beyond pulse-taking, the two publications study some of the root causes of the situation today and analyse its implications for sustainable development. Read more >>>
Photo credit: Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDP Iraq/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-deen
