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SDG 1 : NO POVERTY reduction goal for its final year in 2022, when a poverty
Pandemic pushed millions into poverty in the Philippines,
Government says.
About 2.3 million people in the Philippines were pushed into
poverty between 2018 and 2021, largely due to the
economic downturn caused by the pandemic. The number of
people living in poverty in 2021 rose to a total of almost 20
million or 18.1% of the population from 16.7% in 2018, the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, overshooting the
government’s target of 15.5%-17.5%.
According to Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio
Balisacan. Recently inaugurated President Ferdinand
Marcos Jr aims to slash the poverty rate to 9% by the end
of his single six-year term in 2028 - a target that remains
achievable despite soaring inflation.
He said the government’s strategy will focus on fully
reopening the economy, investing in human capital and
social protection, and transforming production sectors to
generate more and quality jobs and competitive products.
“We can reduce poverty incidence by 5 percentage points
at midterm, and another 4 percentage points by
2028," Balisacan told a media briefing.
The PSA - which defines poverty as including those
Filipinos whose per capita income cannot sufficiently
meet individual basic food and non-food needs - releases
these statistics every three years.
Balisacan said that before the pandemic, in 2018, the
country had achieved its goal of lifting 6 million Filipinos
out of poverty, four years ahead of a 2022 target. Reuters
(2022) Pandemic pushed millions into poverty in the
Philippines, Government says.
Pandemic pulls more Filipinos back to poverty in 2021
Ramon Royandoyan - Philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines — More Filipinos ended poor in 2021
compared to three years ago after the pandemic wiped
out gains in poverty reduction that took years to achieve.
A survey of 165,029 families nationwide showed there were
19.99 million Filipinos living below the poverty line last year,
up from 17.67 million recorded in the comparable period in
2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Monday.
Poverty is measured every 3 years.
This translated to a poverty rate among the country’s
population of 18.1% last year, higher than 16.6% rate
posted in 2018.
The latest data indicates that the Duterte administration
ended its six-year term missing its watered-down poverty
reading will not be conducted. Economic growth
rebounded to 5.7% year-on-year in 2021 from a historic
crash in 2020.
The previous administration originally hoped to cut the
poverty rate by 13-14% this year for the Philippines to
become an upper-middle income economy. There were
notable gains in 2018 when the proportion of poor Filipinos
was lowered from 22% in 2015, but those wins appeared to
have been lost when the pandemic struck. This prompted
the government at the time to temper that goal: to reduce
the poverty rate to 15-17.5% this year.
Meanwhile the Marcos Jr. administration wants to cut
poverty rate to 9% in its final year in 2028. To do this, the
government is targeting to slash the current poverty rate
by 5 percentage points by midterm of the nascent
government.
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including income
and employment losses, caused the poverty incidence to
rise,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio
Balisacan told a press conference.
“Restrictions on mobility and low earning capacity of poor
households due to limited access to regular and productive
jobs made the lives of Filipinos difficult,” he added.
Sought for comment, Sonny Africa, executive director of
nonprofit IBON Foundation, said that the latest outturn
should be no reason for complacent governance.
“The official poverty results may be taken as showing
trends among the extremely poor Filipinos but it is
oblivious to the continued distress of millions more
families made invisible by being above the low official
poverty line,” Africa said in a Viber message ahead of the
data release.
Inflation threat
Data broken down showed a softer pace of increase in
mean per capita income within a three-year basis. PSA data
showed incomes from 2018-2021 only grew 3.8% as
opposed to a 20.9% outturn in the previous releases.
For National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa, the drop in
per capita income was due in part to significant declines in
sources of household income. According to Mapa, the drop
came from entrepreneurial activities, which was reduced
P133 billion, and the reduction of cash remittances from
overseas Filipinos by P162 billion amid repatriations at the
height of the health crisis.
Likewise, inflation will worsen poverty incidence, as
Balisacan sees it. Inflation rose to 6.4% year-on-year in July,
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averaging 4.7%, on the back of expensive fuel prices and
a weak peso.
“The effects of inflation last year could have negative
effects on poverty yet what we saw in the data is that
income inequality actually declined,” he said.
For one, Balisacan said early on in the Duterte
administration, he did not anticipate the faster growth of
prices in consumer goods and services inundating the
economy today. But the NEDA chief is anticipating lower
poverty incidence this year despite inflation.
“It appears that opening up of the economy that started
last year (2021) particularly in the second half of 2021,
appeared to have favorably affected the low-income
groups. That’s quite interesting,” Balisacan added.
Aside from inflation, Nicholas Antonio Mapa, senior
economist of ING Bank in Manila, said piling on poverty
incidence was a slower growth momentum.
“Faster inflation and slowing growth momentum could
translate to increased poverty incidence in the near
term,” he said in a Viber message. Data also showed that
a family of five knee-deep in poverty would spend P8,379
on average for food in a month in 2021. This was higher
by 10.94% compared to 2018 figures.
“The scars of the pandemic continue to show despite the
recent string of positive growth highlighting the fact that
the economy is and was in need of support post covid 19
lockdowns,” ING Bank’s Mapa added.
By region, Metro Manila had the lowest poverty incidence
in the country at 2.2% last year, this was still higher than
1.4% recorded in 2018. Poverty in the Bangsamoro
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was the worst at
29.8% rate, but this was a significant decline than the
54.2% registered in 2018.
Despite the gloomy figures, the Marcos Jr. administration
is more than convinced it could reach its poverty
reduction target. The national government is banking on
the economic reopening earlier this year and better
employment opportunities, among other things, to uplift
the quality of lives.
To hit their goal, Balisacan said they want to trim the
poverty rate by five percentage points midway of the
Marcos Jr. administration, then cut it by four percentage
points in the remaining years of the term to hit their
target. But Domini Velasquez, chief economist of China
Banking Corp., noted their single-digit goal seems
unattainable for now.
“Although we fully support the government's target
in reducing poverty incidence to 9%, this still seems
unreachable without transformative reforms. A whole-of-
society approach, the government and the private sector,
in steering the economy to a high growth path should
increase the chances in lifting most Filipinos out of
poverty,” she said in a Viber message.
For Velasquez, the Marcos Jr. administration could focus
on other targets for the meantime. “Improving Filipinos’
lives and getting more people out of poverty should be
the number one priority of the Marcos administration.
Providing more jobs, mitigating the rise in inflation,
providing targeted subsidies to the poorest of the poor
should be the near-term game plan,” she added.
Sustainable Development Goals
• A well-known definition of sustainability, which
emphasizes its economic notion, comes from the
Bruntland Report (World Commission on Environment
and Development, 1987) prepared for the United Nations
in 1987.
• It says that ‘development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs’ deserves the label
of sustainability. In other words, it is about responsible
use of resources.
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
The decline of extreme poverty continues, but the pace has
slowed, and the world is not on track to achieving the target
of ending poverty by 2030. Extreme poverty today is
concentrated and overwhelmingly affects rural populations.
Increasingly, it is exacerbated by violent conflicts and climate
change. Tackling the remaining pockets of extreme poverty
will be challenging due to their persistence and complexity—
often involving the interplay of social, political and economic
factors. Effective social protection schemes and policies,
along with government spending on key services, can help
those left behind get back on their feet and find a way out of
poverty.
Progress against poverty continues but has slowed,
jeopardizing achievement of the Goal
The share of the world’s population living in extreme
poverty decreased to 10 per cent in 2015, from 16 per cent
in 2010 and 36 per cent in 1990. More than one billion
people have lifted themselves out of poverty over the past
25 years. Much of this progress was in Eastern Asia, where
the poverty rate fell from 52 per cent in 1990 to 10 per cent
in 2010 to less than 1 per cent in 2015. More recently,
Southern Asia has made impressive inroads against extreme
poverty, helping to reduce the global rate further.
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However, the pace of change is decelerating. The nowcast
shows the 2018 rate of extreme poverty at 8.6 per cent,
and baseline projections suggest that 6 per cent of the
world’s population will still be living in extreme poverty in
2030, if current trends continue. Extreme poverty
remains stubbornly high in low-income countries and
countries affected by conflict and political upheaval,
particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Among the 736 million people who lived on less than
$1.90 a day in 2015, 413 million were in sub-Saharan
Africa. This figure has been climbing in recent years and is
higher than the number of poor people in the rest of the
world combined.
Forecasts suggest that without significant shifts in policy,
extreme poverty will still be in the double digits in sub-
Saharan Africa by 2030. About 79 per cent of the world’s
poor live in rural areas. The poverty rate in rural areas is 17.2
per cent—more than three times higher than in urban areas
(5.3 per cent). Close to half (46 per cent) of extremely poor
people are children under 14 years of age.
Social protection systems fall short of reaching the
world’s most vulnerable people, including children
Social protection programmes reduce the brunt of poverty
and can also prevent people from falling into poverty in the
first place. By helping to prevent and ease poverty and
inequality at every stage of people’s lives, such programmes
make societies more inclusive and stable. However, only 45
per cent of the world’s population are effectively covered by
at least one social protection cash benefit. The remaining 55
per cent—as many as 4 billion people—have been left
behind. The extent of coverage depends on the type of
protection system and the region.
Globally, 68 per cent of people above retirement age receive
a pension, but the benefits in many countries are often not
enough to lift older people out of poverty. Data also show a
global deficit of social protection for other groups: only 22
per cent of the unemployed receive unemployment benefit
payments, 28 per cent of persons with severe disabilities
receive disability cash benefits, one third of children are
effectively covered by social protection, and only 41 per cent
of women giving birth receive maternity cash benefits.
Furthermore, coverage of social assistance cash benefits is
as low as 25 per cent for vulnerable groups—children,
people of working age and older persons not protected by
contributory schemes. The differences among regions are
stark: 92 per cent of children are covered by social
protection systems in Europe and Northern America, 56 per
cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, but only 13 per
cent in sub-Saharan Africa, and 14 per cent in Eastern and
South-Eastern Asia.
Poverty affects children disproportionately. One out of
five children live in extreme poverty, and the negative
effects of poverty and deprivation in the early years have
ramifications that can last a lifetime. Ensuring social
protection for all children and other vulnerable groups is
critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), particularly in regions with large coverage gaps
between children and other segments of the population
POVERTY DURING PANDEMIC
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has
put steady progress in poverty reduction over the past 25
years into reverse, with the number of people in extreme
poverty increasing for the first time in a generation. Now,
rising inflation and the impacts of the war in Ukraine may
derail progress further. The combined crises could lead to
an additional 75 million to 95 million people living in
extreme poverty in 2022, compared with pre-pandemic
projections. While almost all countries have introduced
new social protection measures in response to the crisis,
many were short-term in nature, and large numbers of
vulnerable people have not yet benefited from them. As
things stand, the world is not on track to end poverty by
2030, with poorer countries now needing unprecedented
levels of pro-poor growth to achieve this goal.
Over half of the unemployed in high-income countries
receive cash benefits, compared with 1 per cent in low-
income countries
Strong social protection systems are essential for
mitigating the immediate and long- term consequences
of the COVID-19 pandemic and preventing people from
falling into poverty. However, by 2020, only 46.9 per cent
of the global population were effectively covered by at
least one social protection cash benefit, leaving 4.1 billion
people unprotected. In response to the COVID-19 crisis,
almost 1,900 social protection measures were announced
by 211 countries and territories, although these were
mostly (92 per cent) short term in nature. Around 39 per
cent of the measures introduced were directed towards
vulnerable groups, while 26 per cent related to income
security and unemployment protection, showing the high
importance of social assistance and unemployment
benefits in responding to the crisis. Still, only 96 countries
have unemployment protection schemes in place and,
even where such schemes exist, effective coverage is
often limited, especially in countries with high levels of
informal employment.
Globally, in 2020, only 43.1 per cent of the labour force
were legally covered by unemployment benefit schemes,
and only 18.6 per cent of unemployed workers worldwide
actually received unemployment benefits. Similarly, only
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28.9 per cent of people considered vulnerable – all
children, along with older people and those of working
age not covered by social insurance – had access to social
assistance cash benefits in 2020, with coverage varying
widely across regions. Sixty-three per cent of those
considered vulnerable in high-income countries received
cash benefits compared with just 7.8 per cent in low-
income countries.
Disaster-related deaths rose sixfold in 2020, largely as a
result of the pandemic
Biological hazards such as COVID-19, along with other
disasters such as tropical cyclones and floods, can worsen
poverty and slow hunger alleviation. In 2020, based on
reporting from 80 countries under the Sendai Framework,
the disaster-related mortality rate was 5.74 persons per
100,000 population. This estimation takes into account
deaths resulting from disasters of all origins, including
COVID-19. At least 80 per cent of disaster-related mortality
that year was estimated to be due to the coronavirus. Even
without considering significant underreporting (the World
Health Organization (WHO) estimates global excess
deaths of 4.5 million in 2020), this figure is already in
stark contrast to the 2015-2019 period, when the
disaster-related mortality rate averaged 0.93 persons per
100,000 population.
As countries were coping with the economic fallout of the
pandemic, 33 countries reported $16.5 billion in direct
economic losses in 2020, due to other disasters. Of this
amount, 41 per cent ($6.8 billion) was in the agriculture
sector and 38 per cent ($6.2 billion) related to losses
resulting from damaged or destroyed critical
infrastructure.
Meanwhile, significant progress has been made towards
increasing the number of countries adopting national
disaster risk reduction strategies. By the end of 2021, 123
countries reported having such strategies in place, up
from just 55 in 2015.
SDG 2 : ZERO HUNGER
New Hope against Hunger: These “Super Beans”Early
signs of success in Africa
By Newser Editors and Wire Services|Posted Dec 3, 2017
3:10 PM CST
(NEWSER) – The so-called “super bean” a fast-maturing,
high-yield variety, is being promoted by Uganda’s
government and agriculture experts amid efforts to feed
hunger- prone parts of Africa, the AP reports. It’s also a
step toward the next goal: the “super, super bean” that
researchers hope can be created through genetic editing.
The beans are thrilling farmers in an impoverished part of
northern Uganda that also strains under the recent
arrival of more than 1 million refugees from its war-torn
neighbor, South Sudan. The International Center for
Tropical Agriculture says the beans have been bred by
conventional means to resist the drought conditions that
can lead to starvation as arable land disappears.
In Uganda, more than one million new refugees from South
Sudan have been arriving in recent times, escaping their
nation, overrun by war and horrors. With barely enough to
feed themselves in poorer parts of the country, farmers
have been struggling to feed their own people in
impoverished areas, and the country had been working to
solve the increased strain given the influx of immigrants.
These beans are “super beans” which mature and grow
quickly and yield a large amount of crop, with just 50 kg of
them creating a crop of 2,000 kg, and are one more step
towards researchers’ goals of creating an even higher level
of “super bean”. These small, seemingly simple beans are
being promoted throughout Uganda by both its government
and experts on agriculture as a way to help curb the
difficulties in hunger- prone areas of the country.
The beans are not made by high end technology, and are
not genetically modified, as one may expect. Instead,
they are created and harvested through genetic selection
of a traditional and conventional variety, according to the
International Center for Tropical Agriculture. They are
carefully bred in order to be resistant towards droughts
and are fighting starvation every day.
The group operates one of just two bean “gene banks” in
Africa, which is expected to be hit hardest by climate
change even though the continent produces less than 4%
of the world’s greenhouse gases, according to the UN
Development Program.
Beans kept at the two banks are sent to partners in 30
countries across the continent to be developed further so
they can cope with local conditions. The Uganda bank
stores around 4,000 types of beans, including some
sourced from neighboring Rwanda before its 1994
genocide killed around 800,000 people and wiped out
many of the country’s bean varieties. Aid workers hope
the beans will encourage the refugees to grow their own
food rather than rely on handouts, which in some cases
have been cut because of funding shortages.
There are only two so-called bean “gene banks” in the
entire continent of Africa, which the United Nation’s
Development Program predicts will face severe difficulties
as global climate continues to change – and this is in spite
of Africa only producing less than 4% of all the greenhouse
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gases released on earth. These gene banks are located in
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separate regions: one is in Malawi, in the south of Africa,
and one is just off the city of Kampala, which is where
Richard Opio’s beans were from. Over 30 countries in
Africa have partners to these banks, and receive beans
from them regularly in order to better develop and breed
them for their own countries’ personal climates and
conditions. The bean gene bank in Uganda houses
approximately 4,000 different kinds of beans, some of
which were found and sourced from Rwanda next-door
before 1994, when mass genocide hit the unfortunate
country, causing the loss of around 800,000 lives and, in
the process, killing many bean species in the country. The
National Agricultural Research Organization of Uganda
ensures that all beans they receive and handle go through
a multitude of rigorous tests so that they are certain to be
able to solve the issues that they were designed to help
address and fix, even in a wide variety of climates and
weathers.
More Filipinos Starving Amid The Pandemic
Anna Malindog-Uy | 25 October 2020
The COVID-19 crisis is the worst crisis that has plagued
the world since the Great Depression. It is continuously
devastating economies, people’s lives, jobs, and
businesses around the globe. One of the unsettling
impacts of the coronavirus pandemic is the disruption in
achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more particularly
that which pertains to SDG 2 - hunger.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which
has 17 Global Goals, basically calls on the global
community to place the world’s most vulnerable and
marginalized people, including children, at the top of the
agenda. It was adopted on the 25 September, 2015 by
world leaders at the conclusion of the post-2015
intergovernmental negotiations.
The 2030 SDG Agenda wants to build a better future for
all people, especially those who have been neglected and
deprived of the chance to live dignified lives to achieve
their full potential by ending poverty, reducing
inequalities, and saving the planet from ecological
degradation and climate change.
It is, in essence, the blueprint to a better future for the
planet and the human race. It holds everyone responsible
and accountable in ensuring that the journey is successful
and the gains are sustainable.
SDGs and the Philippines
In a global ranking before the pandemic, the Philippines
like most ASEAN countries had an index score of 65.0 out
of 100 points. Its regional average score was 64.1 and its
SDG global rank was 85 in implementing SDGs among the
list of countries. This is a bit above the ASEAN average of
63.3, where a score of 50 means that countries are
halfway through achieving the SDGs. At the time, this was
quite promising.
Based on the SDG Index before the pandemic, the
Philippines fared positively on SDG 1 (no poverty); SDG 4
(quality education); SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation);
SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production); and
SDG 13 (climate change). But then again, this may not be
the case anymore amid the pandemic.
However, the Philippines did not fare well on SDG 2 –
“zero hunger” before the pandemic, and this may have
even worsened at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.
Hunger Amid The Pandemic
According to the United Nations World Food Programme
(UNWFP), the impact of the pandemic on hunger has been
cruel for low-middle income countries and that includes
the Philippines. The pandemic may cause “a food security
and nutrition crisis of historic proportions.”
The UNWFP also warns that an additional 200 million
people around the world are expected to lose access to
basic food and nutrition as the pandemic drags-on on top
of the more than 800 million people who were already
food-insecure before COVID-19.
That means about one billion of the world population will
be facing hunger. In the Philippines, based on the 2019
fourth quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, 8.8
percent of households or roughly 2.1 million Filipino
families experienced involuntary hunger once in three
months, a slight improvement over the 9.1 percent or 2.3
million families logged in September 2019.
Moreover, based on the SWS survey in July 2020, the
hunger rate in the Philippines has deteriorated with at
least one out of every five Filipinos experiencing voluntary
hunger from May to July, 2020.
The hunger rate in the country based on the SWS survey
was recorded at 20.9 percent or 5.2 million Filipinos and
thus far is the highest hunger rate recorded since
September 2014 of around 22 percent. Whereas, the 17-
20 September, 2020 SWS National Mobile Phone Survey
revealed that around 22 percent or 24.1 million individuals
experienced hunger once or a few times, and around 8.7
percent or 9.5 million individuals experienced hunger
often or always.
Likewise, the 2019 Global Hunger Index, ranked the
Philippines at 70th out of 117 countries at a level classified
as serious.
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Zero hunger
The world is on the verge of a global food crisis, with a
rising number of people experiencing hunger and food
insecurity even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Global
food supply systems have been partially undermined by a
cascading combination ofgrowing conflicts, climate-
related shocks and widening inequalities. As a result, as
many as 828 million people may have suffered from
hunger in 2021. The outbreak of war in Ukraine poses an
additional threat to food insecurity, with the potential to
provoke a surge in levels of hunger and malnutrition,
especially among the poorest and most vulnerable. With
this global crisis looming, it is more urgent than ever to
address its root causes. The international community
must act now to avert a crippling food emergency and the
social, economic and political upheaval that could follow.
Conflict, COVID-19, climate change and growing inequalities
are converging to undermine food security worldwide
Climate variability and extremes, conflict, economic shocks
and growing inequalities are keeping the world off track in
achieving zero hunger by 2030. Since 2014, the number of
people going hungry and suffering from food insecurity has
been on the rise. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an
already deteriorating situation, with about 150 million more
people facing hunger in 2021 than in 2019. In other words,
an estimated 1 in 10 people worldwide are suffering from
hunger. In addition, nearly 1 in 3 (a staggering 2.3 billion
people) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021,
meaning they lacked regular access to adequate food. This
represents an increase of almost 350 million people since
the beginning of the pandemic. The most worrisome
increases were seen in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by
Central and Southern Asia, and Latin America and the
Caribbean. The unfolding crisis in Ukraine is yet another
threat to food security.
Ukraine and the Russian Federation are large producers
and exporters of key food commodities, fertilizer,
minerals and energy. Together they are considered the
world’s breadbasket, supplying 30 per cent and 20 per
cent of global wheat and maize exports, respectively, as
well as 80 per cent of global exports of sunflower seed
products. At least 50 countries import 30 per cent or
more of their wheat from these two countries, with many
African and LDCs importing more than 50 per cent.
Ukraine and the Russian
food shortages for the world’s poorest people and to
reduce the impact of the conflict, as well as lingering
consequences of the pandemic, on global food insecurity.
Already slow progress on child malnutrition has likely
been set back further by the pandemic and growing food
insecurity.
Good nutrition sets children on a path to survive and
thrive. The full impact of the pandemic on child nutrition
may take years to manifest. However, a likely scenario is
that COVID-19, together with soaring food prices, are
exacerbating all forms of malnutrition due to a loss of
household income, the lack of available and affordable
nutritious food, reduced physical activity and disruptions
in essential nutrition services.
In 2020, the latest year for which data are available, 22.0 per
cent of children under age 5 worldwide (149.2 million)
suffered from stunting (low height for age). This is a decline
from 24.4 per cent in 2015. Subsequent years have seen
continued constraints in accessing nutritious food and
essential nutrition services due to the pandemic. To achieve
the target of a 50 per cent reduction in the number of
stunted children by 2030, the annual rate of decline must
double (to 3.9 per cent per year) from its current annual
reduction rate of 2.1 per cent per year. Childhood wasting
and overweight are both forms of malnutrition and can
coexist in a population. In 2020, wasting (low weight for
height) and overweight were found in 6.7 per cent of
children under 5 (45.4 million) and 5.7 per cent of children
under 5 (38.9 million), respectively. Wasting is a condition
that can be brought on rapidly as a result of conflict,
pandemics and climate events. Related shocks in food, fuel
and fertilizer prices stemming from the war in Ukraine could
tip the balance even further, destroying access to healthy
diets. Childhood overweight may also be on the rise in some
countries where unhealthy food replaced fresh, nutritious
food, and movement restrictions curtailed opportunities for
physical activity for long periods of time. Such shocks, which
have been occurring since 2020, will reverse progress made
to date without additional interventions. An intensification
of efforts is urgently required to reduce malnutrition and
address the growing threats to nutrition security.

Federation are also leading exporters of fertilizers. The

conflict has caused a steep and sudden reduction in exports
of grain, sunflower seeds and fertilizers. As a result, import-
dependent countries are vulnerable to rising food costs and
supply chain disruptions. Joint, coordinated activities and
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policy solutions are urgently needed to avert

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The proportion of countries affected by high food prices
increased sharply in 2020
The share of countries affected by high food prices, which
had been relatively stable since 2016, has risen sharply,
climbing from 16 per cent in 2019 to 47 per cent in 2020.
This shift mainly reflects trends in international markets.
International prices of food items soared in the second
half of 2020, more than offsetting declines in the first five
months of the year. The price rises were partly due to an
increase in international demand for cereals, vegetable
oils, sugar and dairy products as restrictive COVID-19-
related measures eased. In domestic markets, increasing
freight and agricultural input costs, as well as logistical
bottlenecks and market uncertainties, put increased
pressure on food prices. Prior to the Ukraine crisis,
international food prices were already high, owing to
market conditions, high energy and fertilizer prices, and
other factors. In March 2022, global food prices were
almost 30 per cent higher than at the same time last year,
reaching an all-time high, though prices eased somewhat
in the subsequent two months. Soaring food prices
threaten to exacerbate global food insecurity.
SDG 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Problems Plaguing the Philippines’ Medical Care
By: MedHyve | August 15, 2021
It goes without saying the medical care in the country is far
from perfect. Compared to medically advanced countries
such as the US, and Singapore, the Philippines face a lot
more basic problems that prevent healthcare professionals
from giving the best care that they can. Here are some of
the problems plaguing the Philippines medical care:
1. Majority of Filipino people lack access to basic
healthcare.
Even before the pandemic started, 16.7% of Filipinos
lived under the poverty line as per Asian Development
Bank. Poverty has prevented millions of Filipinos from
getting the healthcare services they need. In short, a lot
of Filipinos are too poor to go to the hospital and get the
treatment they actually need.
2. There are not enough healthcare workers in the
country.
75% of cities and municipalities in the country have an
insufficient number of healthcare workers, according to
the government think tank Philippine Institute for
Development Studies (PIDS). A lot of healthcare
professionals have opted to move abroad for better
career opportunities. Those that do choose to stay in the
Philippines are more likely to work in areas where
earnings are potentially high and near communities
where they were trained.
3. The healthcare industry has not embraced
digitalization.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) said that 99% of healthcare
companies in the country still use paper data. The
Philippine healthcare system has yet to integrate tools of
digitalization such as the cloud and artificial intelligence
(AI) to streamline its processes.
Thus, procurement of supplies and the sharing of data
has been quite slow across the country.
4. Provincial hospitals have limited access to medical
supplies.
It can be challenging for hospitals in rural areas to acquire all
the medical equipment and supplies they need to give
patients the best care. Hospitals operate with a limited
budget, and it’s important for them to acquire excellent
quality products for patients. Unfortunately, quality checks
and logistics can prolong the procurement process.
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To add to this, hospitals in rural areas face logistical
challenges. It can be difficult for them to have products
shipped to their facilities. Given that the Philippines is an
archipelago, the process of shipping medical supplies can
be tedious.
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all
Since the creation of the Millennium Development Goals
there have been historic achievements in reducing child
mortality, improving maternal health and tackling
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases. In 15
years, the number of people newly infected by HIV each
year has dropped from 3.1 million to 2 million and over
6.2 million lives were saved from malaria. Since 1990,
maternal mortality fell by 45 percent, and worldwide
there has been an over 50 percent decline in preventable
child deaths globally.
Despite this incredible progress, AIDS is the leading cause
of death among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa, and 22
million people living with HIV are not accessing life-
saving antiretroviral therapy. New HIV infections continue
to rise in some locations and in populations that are
typically excluded or marginalized.
Chronic and catastrophic disease remains one of the main
factors that push households from poverty into deprivation.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) impose a large burden
on human health worldwide. Currently, 63% of all deaths
worldwide stem from NCDs – chiefly cardiovascular diseases,
cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. The
cumulative economic losses to low- and middle-income
countries from the four diseases are estimated to surpass
US$ 7 trillion by 2025. Additionally, there continues to be
underinvestment in the social circumstances and
environmental factors affecting health. The job on HIV and
health is far from done.
Recognizing the interdependence of health and
development, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
provide an ambitious, comprehensive plan of action for
people, planet and prosperity and for ending the injustices
that underpin poor health and development outcomes.
SDG 3 aspires to ensure health and well-being for all,
including a bold commitment to end the epidemics of
AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable
diseases by 2030. It also aims to achieve universal health
coverage, and provide access to safe and effective
medicines and vaccines for all. Supporting research and
development for vaccines is an essential part of this
process as well as expanding access to affordable
medicines.
Promoting health and well-being is one of 17 Global
Goals that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. An integrated approach is crucial for
progress across the multiple goals.
Facts and Figures
Child health
In 2018 an estimated 6.2 million children and adolescents
under the age of 15 years died, mostly from preventable
causes. Of these deaths, 5.3 million occurred in the first 5
years, with almost half of these in the first month of life.
Despite determined global progress, an increasing
proportion of child deaths are in Sub- Saharan Africa and
Southern Asia. Four out of every five deaths of children
under age five occur in these regions.
Children in sub-Saharan Africa are more than 15 times
more likely to die before the age of 5 than children in
high income countries.
Malnourished children, particularly those with severe
acute malnutrition, have a higher risk of death from
common childhood illness such as diarrhea, pneumonia,
and malaria. Nutrition-related factors contribute to about
45per cent of deaths in children under-5 years of age.
Maternal health
Over 40 per cent of all countries have fewer than 10
medical doctors per 10,000 people; over 55 per cent of
countries have fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery
personnel per 10,000 people.
In Eastern Asia, Northern Africa and Southern Asia,
maternal mortality has declined by around two-thirds.
Every day in 2017, approximately 810 women died from
preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
94per cent of all maternal deaths occur in low and lower
middle-income countries.
Young adolescents (ages 10-14) face a higher risk of
complications and death as a result of pregnancy than
other women.
But maternal mortality ratio – the proportion of mothers
that do not survive childbirth compared to those who do
– in developing regions is still 14 times higher than in the
developed regions.
HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
38 million people globally were living with HIV in 2019.
25.4 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy
8
in 2019.
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1.7 million people became newly infected with HIV in
2019.
690 000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2019.
75.7 million people have become infected with HIV since
the start of the epidemic.
32.7 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses
since the start of the epidemic.
Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death among
people living with HIV, accounting for around one in three
AIDS-related deaths.
Globally, adolescent girls and young women face gender-
based inequalities, exclusion, discrimination and violence,
which put them at increased risk of acquiring HIV.
HIV is the leading cause of death for women of
reproductive age worldwide.
AIDS is now the leading cause of death among
adolescents (aged 10–19) in Africa and the second most
common cause of death among adolescents globally.
Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted
between 2000 and 2015, primarily of children under five
years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. The global malaria
incidence rate has fallen by an estimated 37 per cent and
the mortality rates by 58 per cent.
Good Health and Well-Being
COVID-19 continues to pose challenges to people’s health
and wellbeing globally and is impeding progress in meeting
Goal 3 targets. Before the pandemic, gains were evident in
many areas of health, including reproductive, maternal and
child health, immunization coverage and treatment of
communicable diseases, though progress was marred by
huge regional disparities. As of mid-2022, COVID-19 had
infected more than 500 million people worldwide. The latest
estimates show that global “excess deaths” directly and
indirectly attributable to COVID-19 could have been as high
as 15 million by the end of 2021. The pandemic has severely
disrupted essential health services, triggered an increase in
the prevalence of anxiety and depression, lowered global life
expectancy, derailed progress towards ending HIV,
tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, and halted two decades of
work towards making health coverage universal. As a result,
immunization coverage dropped for the first time in 10
years, and deaths from TB and malaria increased. Urgent
and concerted action is needed to set the world back on a
trajectory towards achieving Goal 3.
COVID-19 directly and indirectly led to the deaths of
nearly 15 million people in the first two years of the
pandemic
COVID-19 is now a leading cause of death. The latest
estimates suggest that 14.9 million people died as a direct
result of COVID-19 or from the pandemic’s impact on
health systems and society in 2020 and 2021. This
estimate is nearly triple the 5.4 million officially reported
COVID-19 deaths in the same period. About 84 per cent
of these “excess deaths” are concentrated in South-East
Asia, Europe and the Americas (as defined by WHO), and
68 per cent are in just 10 countries. The pandemic has
severely disrupted health systems and essential health
services. Interruptions in essential health services were
reported in 92 per cent of 129 countries surveyed at the
end of 2021. These disruptions were found across all
major areas of health, including maternal and child
health, immunization, mental health programmes, and
treatment of diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, TB and
malaria. As a result, impressive strides in global life
expectancy came to a sudden halt. In many parts of the
world, life expectancy has fallen by one to two years.
To effectively curb the spread of COVID-19 and prevent tens
of thousands of additional deaths, it is critical to ensure
equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. WHO has
called for 70 per cent of people in all countries to receive
vaccinations by mid-2022. That said, global vaccine
distribution is far from equitable. As of May 2022, only
around 17 per cent of people in low-income countries had
received at least one dose of a vaccine, compared with more
than 80 per cent in high-income countries. For everyone’s
health, it is imperative that all countries and relevant
manufacturers suspend patents, prioritize vaccine supply to
COVAX, and create the conditions necessary for the local
production of tests, vaccines and treatments.
The health and economic impacts of COVID-19 have
likely worsened uneven progress towards universal
health coverage
Universal health coverage (UHC) is achieved when all
people can receive the good- quality health services they
need without facing financial hardship from having to pay
for them. Even before COVID-19, alarming trends in
universal coverage were evident. The UHC service
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coverage index improved from a global average of 45 out
SPCTOPPA | SHAHEEN FRIGILLANA

of 100 in 2000 to 64 in 2015 and 67 in 2019. However,

almost 1 billion people spent more than 10 per cent of
their household budget on out-of-pocket health expenses
in 2017, and more than half a billion were pushed into
extreme poverty due to these out-of-pocket payments.
Data are not yet available to provide a detailed and
comprehensive look at the impact of COVID-19 on
progress towards UHC. However, since the pandemic has
led to significant disruptions in essential health services,
the continuous progress made over the last two decades
has likely come to a halt. With the combined health and
economic impacts of COVID-19, people may be facing
greater financial constraints in accessing care. Among An estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627,000
those paying out of pocket for health services, financial deaths from malaria were reported worldwide in 2020.
hardship is likely to worsen further, particularly for those This means that 14 million more people contracted
already disadvantaged. malaria and 69,000 more people died from it than in
2019. About two thirds of the additional deaths were
Widespread disruptions have derailed progress against linked to disruptions in the provision of malaria services
HIV, tuberculosis and malaria during the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, global gains
against the disease were levelling off, and the world was
In 2020, an estimated 1.5 million people were newly
not on track to reach the targets set in WHO’s Global
diagnosed with HIV and 680,000 people died of AIDS-related
Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030. By 2020, the
causes. The incidence of HIV infections globally declined by
global malaria incidence rate was 59 cases per 1,000
39 per cent between 2010 and 2020, far less than the 75 per
people at risk against a target of 35. In other words,
cent target agreed to by the General Assembly in 2016.
progress against malaria was off track by 40 per cent.
Measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, along with the
added pressures on health systems, have disrupted HIV
services. In 2020, an estimated 10 million people worldwide
fell ill with TB. That year, the notification rate of new and
relapse cases in TB incidence fell to 59 per cent, down from
72 per cent in 2019. Disruptions associated with the
pandemic globally caused a noticeable rise in the number of
TB deaths, from 1.2 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2020
(excluding TB deaths in people with HIV). This is the first
year-on-year increase in TB deaths since 2005, and it took
the world back to the 2017 level. Progress in reducing TB
incidence also slowed in 2020 to less than 2 per cent per
year. This is much lower than the 4 to 5 per cent annual
Progress towards preventing, controlling and eradicating
decline required to achieve the End TB Strategy (i.e., an 80
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) continued in 2020,
per cent drop in new cases by 2030). Between 2018 and
despite significant disruptions to health services. The
2020, TB treatment reached 20 million people, only half of
number of people globally requiring NTD treatment and
the global target. Due to the pandemic, TB incidence and
care declined from 2.19 billion in 2010 to 1.73 billion in
mortality are expected to worsen, especially in 2021 and
2020. Notably, in LDCs, 48 per cent of the total
2022
population required treatment and care for NTDs in 2020,
down from 79 per cent in 2010. This progress was largely
due to the elimination of a number of NTDs. By the end
of 2020, at least one NTD had been eliminated in 42
countries. Important declines were observed in the
number of reported cases of diseases targeted for
elimination and eradication, including African
trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in humans and
dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease).
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SDG 4: QUALITY EDUCATION
Beyond the return to face-to-face classes
By Mai Sigue-Bisnar August 31, 2022
ONE of the sectors that took a beating at the height of the
Covid-19 pandemic was education. The UNICEF (United
Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), which
continues to advocate for the resumption of in-person
classes in various countries, has noted that while schools
globally were forced to suspend operations for an average of
79 days, those in the Philippines did not hold face-to-face
classes for over a year and opted instead to conduct classes
through online and distant learning modalities.
The indefinite suspension of classes and the subsequent
and abrupt shift to new learning modalities created
challenges such as unequal access to gadgets and online
resources, particularly for marginalized students. This was
another blow to the country, which prior to the pandemic
was already struggling to raise the quality of basic
education.
If there is a silver lining, the pandemic shone a light on a
not-so-glaring truth: the pivotal role that educational
institutions play in child-rearing and caretaking. Parents
struggled to fulfill their duties as employees and home
keepers while working from home. Before the pandemic,
those responsibilities did not pose any challenge as
parents had support from teachers in caring and
promoting the welfare of their children.
It is not hard to see the reason behind the fervent calls of
organizations for a return to face-to-face classes, considering
the reduced number of Covid-19 cases and the massive
rollout of vaccination efforts. The World Bank policy has said
that school closures can lead to learning loss as well as
adverse effects on students’ current and future welfare. The
UNICEF has echoed this stance, citing studies showing that
children’s classroom experiences are good
predictors of their “future social, emotional and
educational outcomes”
Seen from an economic standpoint, the World Bank has
estimated earnings losses totaling $10 trillion for today’s
generation of learners if governments fail to implement
the resumption of face-to-face classes. The Unesco
(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization) has also expressed fears that a prolonged
suspension of in-person classes will put a dent on the
earning capacities and work productivity of parents as
they are likely to miss work and stay at home, even when
required to work on-site, to attend to the needs of their
children who take online classes.
Quality Education
The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened a crisis in
education, with severe disruptions in education systems
worldwide. School closures have had worrisome
consequences for children’s learning and well-being,
particularly for girls and those who are disadvantaged,
including children with disabilities, rural dwellers and
ethnic minorities.
An estimated 147 million children missed more than half of
their in-person instruction over the past two years. As a
result, this generation of children could lose a combined
total of $17 trillion in lifetime earnings (in current value).
Governments need to implement ambitious programmes to
ensure that all children return to school, recover their
learning losses, and have their psychosocial needs met.
Prolonged school closures have heightened the risk that
children will not return to school
COVID-related school closures threaten to reverse years of
progress aimed at keeping children in school. Before the
pandemic, 17 per cent of children and youth globally were
out of primary and secondary school, compared to 26 per
cent in 2000. From March 2020 through February 2022,
schools worldwide were fully or partially closed for 41
weeks, on average. Latin America and the Caribbean
experienced the longest school closures – more than 60
weeks in the past two years. The longer children are out of
school, the less likely they are to return. According to a
2020 report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 24 million learners
from the pre-primary to university level are at risk of not
returning to school. Students from more disadvantaged
backgrounds are at higher risk due to socioeconomic
factors such as the need to generate income, increased
care responsibilities, and early and forced marriage. Those
who were unable to access distance learning during
confinement are also at higher risk of not returning to
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school.
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SPCTOPPA | SHAHEEN FRIGILLANA
COVID-19 has cast a shadow on an already dire picture
of learning outcomes
The COVID-19 pandemic came at a time when the world
was already struggling with a crisis in learning: too many
children lacked the fundamentals of reading and
numeracy. Based on pre-pandemic data from 2015 to
2019, the proportion of children meeting the minimum
required proficiency in reading at the end of lower-
secondary school was between 70 and 90 per cent in
most high-income countries. That proportion fell below
60 per cent in almost all middle- and low-income
countries, dropping to less than 10 per cent in some
countries. Learning losses due to COVID-related school
closures have been documented in 4 out of 5 of the 104
countries that have carried out such studies. School
closures are also likely to deepen disparities in learning:
many countries that had poor learning outcomes prior to
the pandemic also tended to have longer school closures.
Entrenched inequities in education have only worsened
during the pandemic
Over the years, education has become much more widely
accessible. That said, inequalities in access persist among
various socioeconomic groups. In 2020, for example, 3 out
of 4 children attended some form of organized learning one
year before the official primary school age. Yet,
participation was highly unequal: among countries with
available data, disparities in attendance were found
based on gender (39 per cent), urban or rural location (76
per cent) and household wealth (86 per cent). The data
showed that girls tend to score higher than boys in
reading proficiency at the end of primary school. They
also showed that children living in rural areas and in the
poorest households are consistently more disadvantaged
in term of educational participation and outcomes than
their urban, wealthier peers. School closures during the
COVID-19 pandemic have deepened inequality in
education, with marginalized populations most affected.
In the context of remote learning, for example, children
from poorer backgrounds are less likely to have the
devices and computer skills they need to get online, or a
home environment conducive to learning. Ensuring a safe
return to school and equity in education in the difficult
transition period ahead needs to be a priority.
Countries are improving schools as they reopen, but
psychosocial support for students is often overlooked
One key to encouraging school enrolment and retention is
ensuring adequate facilities and services. Yet, even basic
school infrastructure is far from universal. In 2019–2020,
about one quarter of primary schools worldwide lacked
access to electricity, drinking water and basic sanitation
facilities. Only half of primary schools had computers and
Internet access or facilities that were fully accessible,
including for children with disabilities. In all of these areas,
LDCs lag furthest behind. Recovering from the pandemic –
and building back better – will require a significant
investment in school infrastructure and services. According
to a recent survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF), about half of countries with data reported taking
“significant additional measures” (as opposed to a “small-
scale increase in measures”) in water, sanitation and
hygiene services in schools after their reopening. This
proportion remains similar across countries in various
income groups. However, only 20 per cent of countries
12
undertook significant measures to provide additional
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SPCTOPPA | SHAHEEN FRIGILLANA
mental health and psychosocial support for students. This
is disturbing considering the recent uptick in anxiety and
depression among learners.
SDG 5 : GENDER EQUALITY
The empowerment of women
Education is the key to empowering women and girls and
building equality in society
Father Shay Cullen |December 7, 2020
The empowerment of women and girls is a most urgent
need in today’s world where discrimination, violence and
exploitation of women and girls, especially in the
developing world, is tearing the heart out of society and
family life causing human suffering, exclusion, sickness
and death.
Education is the key to empowering women and girls and
building equality in society by defeating the superior and
dominant attitude of many men. Some wrongly believe they
are entitled to treat women as inferior and unworthy of
leadership roles in society, business and family.
At every level of social status, rich, middle class, poor,
besides formal education, there has to be additional
human rights training for boys and girls from the earliest
age in human dignity and equality.
Women have to be empowered economically by having
skilled training and small business opportunities and thus
take control over their lives.
The economic power of women is essential for changing
the inequality and the injustice in societies where women
are treated unfairly and regulated to some lower status
than males.
Money talks and in community-based Grameen-loaning
schemes, it is the women who are mostly given the loans.
They are considered stronger, more reliable to pay back
and wiser in using the loans and more caring of the needs
of the children.
Having money empowers the women and gives them
status and respect in the community and in their families.
The education of boys and men in values to respect girls
and women is vital. They must be taught that their own
value and dignity as a human being and role in family and
society is rooted in the respect for the dignity of females.
The powerful machismo male, self-image that looks on
females as objects of sexual gratification has to be
replaced with one of respect, self-discipline and equal
partnership, gender equality, and complementary roles.
Without empowered, self-reliant and resilient women
there is a greater danger of violence against women and
children.
The 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey
conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority says that
one in every four Filipino women and children age 15-49
has experienced physical, emotional or sexual violence by
their abusers or husband or partner.
Female victims of child sexual abuse left untreated leaves
the child traumatized, to grow up in fear of rape and
sexual abuse. They can get help and fight back but some
may be rendered fearful and submissive to the violence
of the abusive male in later life.
That is why intervention, protection, healing and
empowerment therapy is so important. The UN Declaration
on the Elimination of Violence against Women says it is “any
act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to
result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering
to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or
arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public
and private life. Gender- based violence is any violence
inflicted on women because of their sex.”
Domestic violence against women is predominantly linked to
failed intimate relationships. In many cases, these are
shallow and short-lived, most are based on sexual
encounters and most are loveless relationships. The woman
is treated, not as a loving friend and equal partner and
respected mother of the children, but as an object of sexual
gratification and a servant housekeeper and cook. The
dominated woman is dependent on the man as the provider
for her and the children. Many beaten women endure
physical abuse because of fear and dependency.
The children in a family are greatly affected by the violent
rages of the man against their mother. They, too, can grow
up with the notion that violence is a normal part of
13
relationships and be violent themselves. Children can
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SPCTOPPA | SHAHEEN FRIGILLANA

suffer violent sexual assault by the mother’s partner.
Sometimes the overpowered mother will allow the man
to do it as a way to sexually satisfy him and calm his
violent behavior against her.
About 80 percent or 32 million children suffer from
violence. Seven million of these children are between the
ages of 10 to 18 and are sexually abused every year.
Twenty percent or 1.4 million are under six years old.
Domestic violence is physical and sometimes
psychological. Arguments and verbal abuse break out
constantly, leading to a broken home and child abuse.
women aged 50 and older. Limited evidence from 2000-
2018 found that between 4 per cent and 7 per cent of
women in this age group experienced physical and/ or
sexual violence by an intimate partner in the last 12
months. Older women, however, may be vulnerable to
specific forms of violence not usually measured in surveys
on violence against women, such as economic
exploitation, or being ostracized or neglected.
Perpetrators of such violence, aside from intimate
partners, can include adult children and other relatives,
strangers, caregivers and neighbors.

Gender equality

The world is not on track to achieve gender equality by

2030, and the social and economic fallout from the
pandemic has made the situation even bleaker. Progress
in many areas, including time spent on unpaid care and
domestic work, decision-making regarding sexual and
reproductive health, and gender-responsive budgeting, is
falling behind. Women’s health services, already poorly
funded, have faced major disruptions. Violence against
women remains endemic. And despite women’s
leadership in responding to COVID-19, they still trail men
in securing the decision-making positions they deserve.
Commitment and bold action are needed to accelerate Child marriage and female genital mutilation are
progress, including through the promotion of laws, persistent human rights violations holding back progress
policies, budgets and institutions that advance gender for girls and women
equality. Greater investment in gender statistics is vital, In 2021, nearly one in five young women were married
since less than half of the data required to monitor Goal 5
are currently available. before the age of 18. The highest rates of child marriage
are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where
Awareness of violence against older women is growing, 35 per cent and 28 per cent of young women, respectively,
but data remain limited were married in childhood. Globally, the prevalence of
child marriage has declined by about 10 per cent in the
Violence against women and girls is found in all countries
past five years. However, the effects of the COVID-19
and affects women of all ages. Globally, 26 per cent of
pandemic have put more girls at risk, owing to economic
ever-partnered women aged 15 and older (641 million)
shocks, school closures and interruptions in social services.
have been subjected to physical and/ or sexual violence
By 2030, up to 10 million more girls are likely to become
by a husband or intimate partner at least once in their
child brides, in addition to the 100 million girls who were
lifetime. Limited evidence points to an intensification of
projected to be at risk before the pandemic.
violence against women during the pandemic.
Another persistent harmful practice and human rights
A 2021 rapid gender assessment survey in 13 countries,
violation is female genital mutilation (FGM). At least 200
undertaken by the United Nations Entity for Gender
million girls and women alive today have been subjected
Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women),
to FGM, mainly in the 31 countries where the practice is
found that 45 per cent of women reported that they or a
concentrated. In many countries, it remains as common
woman they know has experienced some form of
today as it was three decades ago. Even in countries where
violence since COVID-19. Global awareness of violence
the practice has become less prevalent, progress would
against older women specifically is growing, but data on
the subject are limited, and the nature, scale, severity and need to be at least 10 times faster to meet the global target
complexity of such violence may be underestimated. of eliminating FGM by 2030. Education is one key to its
elimination. Opposition to FGM is highest among girls and
Less than 10 per cent of eligible data on intimate partner women who are educated. Girls whose mothers have a
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violence capture the prevalence of such violence among

SPCTOPPA | SHAHEEN FRIGILLANA
primary education are 40 per cent less likely to be cut
than those whose mothers have no education.
Progress in women’s access to leadership positions, in
both political and economic spheres, remains sluggish
During the pandemic, women leaders have acted
decisively and effectively to implement and manage
response and recovery efforts, prioritizing measures that
address the most vulnerable groups. Despite this widely
acknowledged success, the pace of progress on women’s
representation in decision-making positions is
discouraging. As of 1 January 2022, the global share of
women in lower and single houses of national
parliaments reached 26.2 per cent, up from 22.4 per cent
in 2015. Women’s share is slightly over one third in local
governments. At this pace, it would take
another 40 years for women and men to be represented
equally in national parliaments. Working women,
including those in managerial positions, have been
disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many have had their hours reduced or left the workforce
altogether due to increased unpaid care work at home. In
2019, before the pandemic, women accounted for 39.4
per cent of total employment. In 2020, women
represented nearly 45 per cent of global employment
losses. The share of women in managerial positions
worldwide saw only slight improvement from 2015 to
2019, increasing from 27.2 to 28.3 per cent. That share
remained unchanged from 2019 to 2020, which is the first
year without an increase since 2013.
In many countries, women still lack the legal right to
autonomy over their own bodies
Only 57 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 who are married
or in a union make their own informed decisions regarding
sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health
care, according to data from 64 countries for the period
2007–2021. Critical to this decision-making ability is the
extent to which laws prevent or enable access to relevant
health care and information. Among 115
countries with data, countries had in place an average of
76 per cent of the laws and regulations needed to
guarantee full and equal access to sexual and
reproductive health and rights. The effects of the COVID-
19 pandemic are likely having a significant impact on
women’s ability to exercise their bodily autonomy. In the
first year of the pandemic, an estimated 1.4 million
additional unintended pregnancies occurred in lower- and
middle-income countries. This could be due to several
factors. Women may have experienced financial
hardships that prevented them from making their own
decisions to seek health care and contraception.
During lockdown periods, women may have found it
harder to say no to sex due to increased tensions in the
home related to health, finance and social isolation.
Finally, disruption or suspension of sexual and
reproductive health care may have made these essential
services inaccessible to women.
Protection of women’s land and property rights still has a
long way to go
Owning rights to land, specifically agricultural land,
reduces women’s reliance on male partners and relatives.
Yet, in 30 countries, less than half of women had
ownership and/or secure tenure rights over agricultural
land, according to 2009–2020 data from 36 countries. In 18
of these countries, the share of men having ownership was
twice that of women. Gender-responsive policy and legal
frameworks are essential to advancing women’s rights to
land. However, only 15 out of 52 reporting countries
included sufficient provisions in their legal frameworks to
offer women good protection in this regard. The most
prominent areas in which positive results have been
achieved are in succession rights and in protection from
being disposed in land transactions.
Accelerated progress is needed to align public financing
with gender equality objectives
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Building back better from COVID-19 means doing so in a way
that advances gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Fundamental to this goal is ensuring that the allocation and
spending of public financing takes gender equality into
account. According to data reported by 105 countries and
areas for the period 2018–2021, only 26 per cent of
countries have comprehensive systems in place to track
public allocations for gender equality, 59 per cent have some
features of such a system, and 15 per cent do not have the
minimum elements of such a system. Accelerated action is
needed to expand comprehensive implementation of
gender-responsive budgeting and strengthen its monitoring
and evaluation.
SDG 6: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
The members of the United Nations (UN) adopted the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. These 17
goals are designed to unite nations in the common cause
of ensuring the general welfare of all humans by the year
2030. These goals include a focus on ending poverty,
tackling climate change, and maintaining high standards
of resources.
SDG 6 focuses on ensuring a clean and stable water
supply and effective water sanitation for all people by the
year 2030. The goal is a reaction to the fact that many
people throughout the world lack these basic services.
About 40 percent of the world’s population is affected by
a lack of water. As global temperatures rise, that total is
expected to increase. Already, some of the poorest
countries in the world are affected by drought, resulting
in famine and malnutrition. Throughout the world, about
1.7 billion people live in a watershed where water is used
faster than the watershed can be replenished. According
to some estimates, if such trends continue, one in four
people, or more, might experience water shortages on a
regular basis by the year 2050.
Compounding the problem of water scarcity is the lack of
reliable sanitation throughout the world. More than two
billion people worldwide lack basic sanitation services,
such as simple latrines or toilets. More than 890 million of
those people live in regions where “open defecation”
occurs. This means that human waste is left in the open.
Adding to the issue is the fact that 80 percent of
wastewater throughout the planet is emptied into the
ocean or rivers without proper waste removal.
Alarmed by these problems, the UN established SDG 6 in
an effort to make adequate sanitation and water services
available to all people by the year 2030. As many as 800
million people, or more, would require the construction
of facilities to provide consistent clean water and waste
removal. To succeed in their vision, the UN
developed a series of targets. These targets include
restoring and protecting river ecosystems throughout the
world, eliminating sources of water pollution, and
increasing international cooperation to bring services
throughout the world.
In an effort to reach the targets outlined by SDG 6, some
water companies have installed smart meters in places
where water scarcity is a concern. These meters track and
charge for every drop of water used in a household,
which has led to higher water conservation in countries
like The Gambia and Tanzania. The CEO of one such
company, eWATERpay, claims that these meters have
reduced water waste by 99 percent.
Such efforts take time and require many countries to
work together. While some strides have been made,
based on information from a 2017 UN study, not enough
has been done to ensure that this goal will be met by
2030. Managing these targets properly is the only way to
make certain all people will benefit from clean water and
effective sanitation in the years ahead.
Clean water and sanitation
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, it becomes
increasingly clear that safely managed drinking water,
sanitation and hygiene services are vital to human health.
But unless progress picks up speed – dramatically – billions
of people will still lack these essential services in 2030.
Water is fundamental to many other aspects of sustainable
development and is under threat. Demand for water is
rising due to rapid population growth, urbanization and
increasing pressure from agriculture, industry and the
energy sector. Decades of misuse, poor management and
the over-extraction and contamination of freshwater and
groundwater supplies have exacerbated water stress and
deteriorated water-related ecosystems. This, in turn,
affects human health, economic activities, and food and
energy supplies. Urgent action is needed to shift the
current trend. To ensure a sustainable and equitable
distribution of water to meet all needs, the average global
implementation rate of improved water resources
management needs to double. Additional efforts are
needed to increase investment in water and sanitation and
to further cooperation among countries sharing
transboundary waters.
Meeting drinking water, sanitation and hygiene targets by
2030 will require a fourfold increase in the pace of
progress
The proportion of the global population using safely
managed drinking water services increased from 70 per
cent in 2015 to 74 per cent in 2020. Still, 2 billion people
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were without such services that year, including 1.2 billion
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people lacking even a basic level of service. Eight out of 10
people who lack even basic drinking water service live in
rural areas, and about half of them live in LDCs. At the
current rate of progress, the world will reach 81 per cent
coverage by 2030, missing the target and leaving 1.6 billion
people without safely managed drinking water supplies.
From 2015 to 2020, the world population using safely
managed sanitation services increased from 47 per cent
to 54 per cent. If historical rates of progress continue, the
world will reach 67 per cent coverage by 2030, leaving 2.8
billion people without access. Over the same period, the
population practising open defecation decreased by a
third, from 739 million people to 494 million. The world is
on track to eliminate open defecation by 2030.
Frequent and proper hand hygiene is essential to
containing COVID-19 and controlling other infectious
diseases. Yet, over 1 in 4 people still lack access to
handwashing facilities with soap and water at home.
Coverage increased from 67 per cent to 71 per cent from
2015 to 2020.
Universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene
is critical to global health. To reach universal coverage by
2030, current rates of progress would need to increase
fourfold. Achieving these targets would save 829,000 lives
annually. This is the number of people who currently die
each year from diseases directly attributable to unsafe
water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene practices.
The world’s wetlands are being lost at an alarming rate;
it’s time to protect and restore them on a massive scale
Wetlands are considered the most biologically diverse of all
ecosystems and are breeding grounds for 40 per cent of the
world’s plant and animal species. Unsustainable use and
inappropriate management of wetlands not only result in
the loss of ecosystem services but can also pose direct risks,
including disease. Moreover, the degradation of wetlands
releases stored carbon, fuelling climate change. Over the
past 300 years, over 85 per cent of the planet’s wetlands
have been lost, mainly through drainage and land
conversion, with many remaining wetland areas degraded.
Since 1970, 81 per cent of species dependent on inland
wetlands have declined faster than those relying on
other biomes, and an increasing number are facing
extinction.
Other water-related ecosystems across the planet – such
as lakes, rivers and reservoirs – are also changing rapidly.
One in five river basins have experienced high (i.e., above
natural) fluctuations in surface water over the past five
years. Population growth, changes to land cover and land
use, and climate change are key drivers of these changes.
Urgent efforts are needed to protect them and to prevent
further degradation of these precious biological habitats.
Early remediation of water pollution will require active
monitoring, which is sorely lacking in the poorest
countries
Improving water quality is essential to protecting human
and ecosystem health. Assessments in 2020 of rivers,
lakes and aquifers in 97 countries showed that 60 per
cent of water was of good ambient quality. However, of
the 76,000 water bodies assessed, only 1 per cent were in
the poorest countries. For at least 3 billion people, the
quality of the water they rely upon is unknown due to the
lack of monitoring. Data are also lacking on groundwater,
which often represents the largest share of freshwater in
a country. Out of all reporting countries, only around 60
per cent included information about groundwater.
Agricultural and untreated wastewater pose two of the
gravest threats to environmental water quality globally
since they release excess nutrients into rivers, lakes and
aquifers, damaging ecosystem function. Accelerated
progress is needed to enhance farming management
practices and improve wastewater treatment rates to
protect freshwater quality, especially in regions with high
population growth, such as Africa. With a well- developed
monitoring system, water-quality issues could be
identified at an early stage, allowing mitigation measures
to be introduced before severe deterioration occurs.
Stress on water resources in Northern Africa and
Western Asia is already at dangerous levels
Water stress occurs when the ratio of freshwater
withdrawn to total renewable freshwater resources is
above the 25 per cent threshold. High water stress can
have devastating consequences for the environment. It can
also curtail or even reverse economic and social
development, increasing competition and potential
conflict among users. Globally, water stress reached a level
of 18.6 per cent in 2019. Although it remained at a safe
level (below 25 per cent), this average masks substantial
regional variations. Northern Africa and Western Asia had
a critical level of water stress that year, at 84.1 per cent, an
increase of 13 per cent since 2015. More than 733 million
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people – 10 per cent of the global population – live in
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countries with high and critical levels of water stress

(above 75 per cent).

Promoting and improving water-use efficiency relieve

water stress. Water-use efficiency improved by 12 per cent
from 2015 to 2019 – from $17.4 to $19.4 per cubic metre.
But in agriculture, the largest water-use sector, it was only
$0.63 per cubic metre in 2019. Increasing the productivity
of agricultural water is key to improving water-use
efficiency, particularly in arid countries reliant on
agriculture.

Most countries still lack cooperation agreements on

shared water resources, a potential source of conflict

Transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers are shared by 153

countries around the world. Ensuring that these waters are
managed equitably, sustainably and peacefully,
particularly in the context of climate change, requires
countries to put in place operational arrangements for
water cooperation. According to data collected from 129
countries, 32 countries reported that 90 per cent or more
of their transboundary water was covered by operational
arrangements in 2020, an increase from 22 countries in
2017. In Europe and Northern America, 24 out of 42
countries have such levels of coverage, compared to 5 out
of 42 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and a total of 3
countries across the rest of the world. Accelerating
progress will require that countries address data gaps
(especially in relation to transboundary aquifers), scale up
capacity development and financing, capitalize on global
water conventions and the draft articles on the law of
transboundary aquifers, and mobilize political will.
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