The world is facing a potential ‘lost decade’ of progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals , a new data has showed, stating that systemic change and real social progress is required, else the SDG fulfilment will be 62 years behind schedule.
The data, 2020 Social Progress Index, compiled by the Social Progress Imperative, a United States-based non-profit, and released on Thursday, revealed that the Coronavirus Disease had caused a lost decade towards achieving the SDGs.
SPI had ranked 163 countries’ social performance over the last 10 years, based on 50 separate criteria, and projected that the world would not achieve the SDGs until 2082 based on current trends.
It said COVID-19 and the accompanying economic crisis could delay progress by a further decade, pushing SDG fulfilment to 2092 – 62 years behind schedule.
The data further indicated that higher levels of social progress were associated with lower rates of COVID-19 infection, after accounting for Gross Domestic Product and regional differences.
This relationship, it said, is strongest for the ‘opportunity’ element of the index, including scores for ‘access to higher education’ and ‘equity and inclusion,’ suggesting that inclusive, tolerant and better-educated societies were better able to manage the pandemic.
Notwithstanding the COVID-19 effect, SPI’s data also showed that, the world’s progress improving from 60.63 points in 2011 to 64.24 in 2020, was still not enough to achieve the SDGs.
But worried that declines over the last decade in rights and inclusiveness track the rise of populist, authoritarian governments.
“The world scores worst on Environmental Quality (36.87) and Inclusiveness (39.25), both of which lag far behind other index components. Poor performance on environmental quality and a lack of any progress on this issue over the last decade represents a particular problem given climate change and ecological collapse,” it stated.
Commenting on the global results, CEO of Social Progress Imperative Michael Green, said, “COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities and flaws throughout our society. COVID-19 has been bred on poverty, racial injustice and gender inequity. These problems will worsen as a result of the pandemic, through its impact on education, healthcare, work and basic safety nets. In sum, the world faces a potential lost decade of progress towards the SDGs. This is a unique moment to use these challenges as an opportunity for systemic change and to make real social progress.”
Also, Deloitte Global Board Chair and Social Progress Imperative Board member, Sharon Thorne, said, “The Social Progress Index further exposes the growing inequalities within our society and the increasing threat of climate change. The pandemic has put an even greater demand on solving global challenges collectively by reinforcing the need for collaboration between businesses, governments and civil society. Now is the time to accelerate progress toward the SDGs, not retreat from them, by using the index as a guide towards rebuilding and reshaping a better normal.”
The SPI’s data showed the United States as the only G7 country to go backwards on social progress and one of only three countries that declined over the past decade, along with Brazil and Hungary.
Stating that some developing countries are also catching up, it shows that only 13 countries over-perform relative to national income, and that 35 countries are under-performers.
Kyrgyzstan and Ghana are among the countries that over-perform most significantly, while Saudi Arabia and Equatorial Guinea are among the biggest under-performers.
It added that the world improved dramatically on Access to Information and Communications.
