Fragilities Exposed by COVID-19 Require Creative, Urgent Multi-Stakeholder Action, Deputy Secretary-General Tells Sustainable Development Forum
Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message at the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development, held today:
I thank Yonsei University, the Ban Ki-Moon Foundation for a Better Future and the Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens for inviting me to address this Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development.
As we meet, the depth and breadth of the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to be fully revealed. The pandemic, and the varied responses to address it, have exposed and exacerbated deep-seated fragilities and inequalities in all countries. Many hard-won development gains of recent decades are at risk.
The pandemic has also contributed to further polarization and divisions. In places where trust in Governments was already low before the pandemic, the social contract has been further undermined. Hate speech and violence against women have increased.
To ensure that societies rebuild in a sustainable and resilient manner and are put on the right track for a peaceful and prosperous future, our collective response and recovery efforts must be rooted in the 2030 Agenda [for Sustainable Development] and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
We need comprehensive responses to tackle the devastating socioeconomic consequences that are being felt around the world. We must act multilaterally to ease debt burdens; mobilize more development assistance and socially conscious investment; and enhance our social protection systems, including through universal health coverage.
Additionally, we need more targeted assistance for the furthest behind who are most vulnerable and have the least resilience. Countries with limited capacity to weather the impacts of the pandemic and the related socioeconomic crisis will need our collective support, not least with access to vaccines.
It is unacceptable that only five donor [countries] met the official development assistance (ODA) target of 0.15 to 0.2 per cent of gross national income for least developed countries in 2019.
Over the past months, the United Nations response to the pandemic has focused on supporting Governments and people on the ground, together with extensive global advocacy and policy efforts. United Nations country teams have mobilized procurement and logistics operations to deliver medical equipment to 172 countries, provided nutrition programmes to 20 million people and reached 15 million girls and women with sanitation supplies.
To truly make a difference, however, we need the partnership and support of all key stakeholders, including the private sector, local and regional governments, the scientific and technological community, civil society and others.
I am pleased to note that the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development places particular focus on many areas where multi‑stakeholder partnerships can help drive transformative changes. These include monitoring and evaluation, creative solutions for social development — including through higher education — and science, technology and innovation.
In examining these areas, attention to the empowerment of women and girls will be crucial. The disproportional impact of current crises on the personal and socioeconomic well-being of women and girls cannot be overstated.
Monitoring and reviewing the post-pandemic recovery efforts and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at all levels will also be paramount. Governments and non-State stakeholders need to collaborate closely to strengthen the evidence base and accessibility of information so we can learn what has worked and what has not in comparable country or stakeholder contexts.
We also need creative solutions and social innovation that promote more inclusive and healthy societies. A whole spectrum of options for social innovation, including in the area of public health and other post-pandemic measures, should be carefully examined and debated through inclusive, multi‑stakeholder consultative processes with broad engagement by the general public.
In this connection, higher education institutions and universities can play a strategic role in driving and shaping research agendas, disseminating knowledge and engaging relevant multi-stakeholder partners. The advancement of science, technology and innovation has been accelerating, with deep impacts on the global economy, job markets, livelihoods and relationships.
But there are a number of equity and ethical concerns that could undermine existing social norms and basic human rights. Multi-stakeholder partnerships can help bring all actors and the public together to elaborate more agile, integrated regulatory frameworks, to make science, technology and innovation work for all.
The United Nations Economic and Social Council is organizing two meetings on these issues this year: the Partnership Forum on 3 May and the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals on 4 May.
We welcome your active engagement in both these events. We need all actors and partners engaged in building a more sustainable, just and peaceful future for all. I wish you a productive discussion.