In the 21st century, interconnected society, COVID-19, has managed to affect the world, even more than 2008 financial crisis and Great Depression in 1930s. Having that in mind, it is important to devote the attention to the SDGs and their achievement.
“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.”(Arundhati Roy: ‘The pandemic is a portal’, 2020)
Firstly, in order to ensure that after such occurrence, results would emerge, is vital. All stakeholders are required to take action that is ambitious and coordinated. The very foundations on which the SDGs were built, has altered. Before COVID-19, financing for the SDGs was extensively short, now that number goes higher and is an even bigger disadvantage. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way of life, in modern day societies and challenged to rethink ways of dealing with this situation. The current circumstances demand on addressing COVID-19’s immediate socio-economic effects. Nevertheless, it is important not to steer away from the commitments made in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Secondly, according to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a 7% increase in extreme poverty, with an additional 37 million people living below $1.90 a day, according to the new report, Goalkeepers. The widest-aiming catastrophe is the one that has spread to every country, regardless of the disease spread. The report states, the IMF predicts, by 2021, with US$18 trillion already spent on stimulation, US$12 trillion more will be lost.
Fight against pandemic
Since the whole world is fighting against the pandemic spread of COVID-19, the role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to enhance public awareness and prevention, surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and coordinate response for COVID-19 has become more significant. Thus, the ICT interventions can be treated as one of the most effective, widely used and popular modes around the world to fight against the pandemic spread of COVID-19.
The role of the ICTs is pivotal during this times. It helps to amplify the awareness and prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The ICT interventions have become the most effective tools in fighting the spread of COVID-19.
In the response to COVID-19, there have been multiple partnerships created, between IOs, governments and private sector. SDG 17- Partnerships for the Goals, is often regarded as the most vital goal as it facilitates progress for the organizations.
There are various ICT initiatives ongoing, such as dashboards with statistical update, digital interactive maps, hot-line numbers, drones to support the medical staff, online systems for testing etc.
Similarly, another example of ICT’S in action is WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub, formed out of a partnership between the UN Development Programme,WHO. It delivers guidance in order to help control the spread of the virus.
Further on, the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium, a collaboration between the public and private sector, the US Federal government, and academic and tech industry leaders, which gives resources to the researchers in order to hasten the development of vaccines.
There is also the UN’s COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan for the most vulnerable countries, implemented in cooperation between UN agencies, IOs and NGOs.
In search for ways to recuperate from the pandemic and learn to accept the new normal situation, it is important to remain focused on the goals set ‘yesterday’ in order for the world to welcome a better ‘tomorrow’.
References
Ft.com. 2020. Arundhati Roy: ‘The Pandemic Is A Portal’ | Free To Read. Available at: <https://www.ft.com/content/10d8f5e8-74eb-11ea-95fe-fcd274e920ca>.
Gatesfoundation.org. 2020. We Can End COVID-19. Together.. Available at: <https://www.gatesfoundation.org/goalkeepers/report/2020-report/#GlobalPerspective>.
Pan, S. and Zhang, S., 2020. From Fighting COVID-19 Pandemic To Tackling Sustainable Development Goals: An Opportunity For Responsible Information Systems Research. Available at: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7338030/>.
ReliefWeb. 2020. Using The Sdgs As A Platform In Pandemic Response – World. Available at: <https://reliefweb.int/report/world/using-sdgs-platform-pandemic-response>.
