Introductory Video – The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 UNStats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Cj-VqSPecfA 17 September 2021

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 uses the latest available data and estimates to track
the global progress of the 17 goals and reveal the devastating impacts of the crisis on the SDGs. The
report also highlights areas that require our urgent and coordinated action. This report has been
launched virtually by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Under-Secretary General
Mr. Liu Zhenmin on 6 July, the first day at the High-Level Political Forum.

13 sec – Introduction
The global community is at a critical moment in its pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. How
far have we come in realizing our commitments? What are the impacts of COVID-19?
• COVID-19 has halted or reversed years of progress on poverty, health and education. For
example, the Alimata family lives in Burkina Faso. The parents work for 103 hours a week to pay
for food. Their one-room house has no electricity or toilet.

45 sec – Goal 1 – No Poverty

COVID-19 has led to the first rise in extreme poverty in a generation. An additional 119-124 million
people were pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020.

➔ The United Nations Organization definition of ‘extreme poverty’ is "a condition characterized by
severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation
facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on
access to services"

1 min 03 sec – Goal 2 – Zero Hunger

The global pandemic is exacerbating world hunger. Worldwide, an additional 70-161 million people are
likely to have experienced hunger due to the pandemic in 2020. The number of undernourished people
in the world: 2014 – 607 million 2019 – 650 million 2020 – 720-811 million

➔ The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations defines hunger as Hunger is
an uncomfortable or painful physical sensation caused by insufficient consumption of dietary
energy. It becomes chronic when the person does not consume a sufficient number of calories
(dietary energy) on a regular basis to lead a normal, active and healthy life.

1 min 19 sec – Goal 3 – Good Health and Well-Being

The pandemic has halted or reversed progress in health. In fact 90% of countries are still reporting one
or more disruptions to essential health services. And the pandemic has shortened life expectancy.
➔ The World Health Organization (WHO) includes as ‘essential’ services for communicable
diseases, non-communicable diseases, mental health, reproductive health, maternal health,
child health, and nutrition services.

1 min 43 sec – Goal 4 – Quality Education

COVID-19 has wiped out 20 years of educational gains. An additional 101 million (9%) in grades 1
through 8 fell below minimum reading proficiency levels in 2020.
• Proficient – 45%
• Not Proficient – 55% - of which 9% fell below in 2020
 ➔ According to the UNO, proficient readers can understand the general meaning of what they are
reading, identify the main conclusions and the most relevant details in straightforward, clearly
written factual texts of different genres. These readers and listeners may require reformulation
or repetition of a word or phrase. These readers using spoken words can relay the main key
points contained in an oral or written communication. And these readers can write or draft
short texts in different genres on concrete matters, respond appropriately to other student
work, and use writing conventions.

2 min – Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth

COVID-19 has led to the loss of the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs, which is about 4 times the
number lost during the global financial crisis (2007-2009). The poor and vulnerable have been hit
hardest. Pictured is a ‘favela’ slum in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
➔ But even the slums are seeing living expenses going up faster than incomes, which is inflation

2 min 17 sec – Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities

COVID-19 is estimated to increase the average Gini for emerging market and developing countries by
6%.
➔ The GINI Index is a World Bank estimate that measures the extent to which the distribution of
income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within
an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution.
➔ In economics, the Gini coefficient (or index or ratio) is a measure of statistical dispersion
intended to represent the income inequality or the wealth inequality within a nation or a social
group. The Gini coefficient was developed by the Italian statistician and sociologist Corrado Gini.
➔ Britannica encyclopedia defines ‘income inequality’ as significant disparity in the distribution of
income between individuals, groups, populations, social classes, or countries. Income inequality
is a major dimension of social stratification and social class.
➔ According to the UNO, inequalities are not only driven and measured by income, but are determined
by other factors - gender, age, origin, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, class, and religion. These
factors determine Inequalities of Opportunity which continue to persist, within and between
countries. In some parts of the world, these divides are becoming more pronounced. Meanwhile,
gaps in newer areas, such as access to online and mobile technologies, are emerging. The result is a
complex mix of internal and external challenges that will continue to grow over the next twenty-five
years.

2 min 40 sec – Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities

The pandemic has worsened the plight of slum dwellers. The majority of the more than 1 billion slum
dwellers reside in three regions in 2018:
• 370 million – Eastern and South-Eastern Asia
• 238 million – Sub-Saharan Africa
• 226 million – Central and Southern Asia
➔ UN Habitat defines a ‘slum household’ as one which lacks one or more of the following: durable
housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions; sufficient living
space which means not more than three people sharing the same room; easy access to safe
water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price; access to adequate sanitation in the form of a
private or public toilet shared by a reasonable number of people; security of tenure that
prevents forced evictions.
➔ Over 80% of the ‘slum households’ of Sub-Saharan Africa lack at least two of the items listed.
 ➔ About 20% of all ‘slum households’ in the world lack more than three basic shelter needs. The
lack of sanitation and water is compounded by insufficient living space and inadequate,
makeshift housing.

2 min 59 sec – Goal 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The pandemic is intensifying children’s risk of exploitation including …
• Child Trafficking – in 2018, 1 in 3 trafficking victims was a child
• Child Labor – in 2020, child labor rose to 160 million, the first increase in two decades

3 min 14 sec – Goal 5 – Gender Equality

Violence against women persists at unacceptably high levels and is intensified by the pandemic. One in
three women (736 million) have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their
lifetime since the age of 15. (Data from 2000-2018.)

3 min 29 sec – Transition

The climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis and the pollution crisis persist, despite the pandemic.

3 min 42 sec – Goal 13 – Climate Action

Greenhouse gas concentrations reached new highs in 2020. Rising greenhouse gas emissions require
shifting economies toward carbon neutrality.
➔ The UN Environment Program defines ‘carbon neutrality’ as having a net zero carbon footprint,
which refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon
released into the atmosphere with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset.
➔ Companies such as Microsoft have achieved carbon neutrality by maintaining forests which
reduce carbon in the atmosphere by the same amount or less that the Microsoft business
operations and manufacturing contribute to the atmosphere.

3 min 55 sec – Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production

Can you believe…
• 1 million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute
• 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are thrown away each year

4 min 17 sec – Goal 14 – Life Below Water

The sustainability of our oceans is under severe threat from: plastic/marine pollution; ocean warming;
eutrophication; acidification; and fishery collapse. And over 3 billion people rely on oceans for their
livelihoods.
• Eutrophication is when excessive nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to
runoff from the land, causes a dense growth of plant life and the death of animal life from lack
of oxygen
• Acidification in the oceans refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended time,
caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Oceans absorb about
30% of the CO2 that is released into the atmosphere by industry or nature so as levels of
atmospheric CO2 increase, so do the levels in the ocean. Carbonate ions are less abundant in
acidic seawater, which impacts organisms such as oysters, clams, sea urchins, corrals, and
plankton. When these organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be at risk. Many
economies are dependent upon fish and shellfish, and people worldwide rely on food from the
ocean as their primary source of protein.
4 min 42 sec – Goal 15 – Life on Land
More than a quarter of species assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) red list are threatened with extinction. The proportion of species threatened with extinction are:
41% of amphibians; 34% of conifers; 33% of reef-building corals; 26% of mammals; and 14% of birds.

4 min 59 sec – Goal 17 – Partnerships for the Goals

Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) reached a record high of $161 billion in 2020, but that
represents only 0.32% of donors’ Gross National Income (GNI), which is still short of the UN target of
0.7% of donors’ GNI.
➔ ODA is government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and
welfare of developing countries. This concept is widely used as an indicator of international aid.
➔ Gross National Income is an alternative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GNI is the total
amount of money earned by a nation’s people and businesses. Basically, the GNI includes the
nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plus the income the nation receives from overseas
sources.
➔ For example, Walmart has production facilities, distribution facilities, and retail stores in many
nations including 333 in Canada; 2088 in Mexico; 622 in Central America; 512 in Brazil; 316 in
Chile; 88 in Argentina; 347 in Africa (with different names); 541 in the United Kingdom; 370 in
China; 419 in Japan; and 15 in India. There are 10,130 Walmart Stores worldwide, and all the
profits from those stores goes to US-based Walmart, and so those profits are included in the GNI
of the United States.
➔ The ODA as measured by the United Nations does NOT include the additional billions that
Americans contribute through charities, churches, non-governmental organizations, and non-
profits. I could not find a single number, but the United States tax system allows these groups to
avoid paying taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the US, which means that the US
Government actually contributes billions more in foreign aid and domestic aid to people in need
– but these efforts are organized by dedicated individuals on their own, instead of only as part
of a government program.
63% of low-income and lower-middle-income countries are in need of additional financing for data and
statistics to face the challenges posed by the pandemic.

For more information on Sustainable Development Goals progress go to:

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/