(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Secretary-General of the United Nations: New Corona Virus may push back development achievements for years or even decades
China News Agency, United Nations, July 14th: At the ministerial meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held on the 14th, UN Secretary General Guterres warned that the new crown virus will bring huge financial problems to countries And growth challenges, humanity may regress for years or even decades in achieving sustainable development.
The forum was held from July 7 to July 16, to review the progress and challenges of the world in achieving 17 sustainable development goals by 2030, and to summarize lessons learned. The theme of this year's forum is "Accelerating Action and the Road to Transformation: A Decade of Action for Sustainable Development". The ministerial meeting starts on the 14th and lasts for three days.
Guterres said that the world has already faced many challenges in achieving sustainable development, such as extreme poverty, rapid climate change, persistent gender inequality, and huge funding gaps. The new corona virus poses a serious risk. He pointed out that mankind has failed to invest enough in the areas of universal medical security, quality education, social protection, safe drinking water and sanitation. Inequality is widespread within and among many countries, which has caused billions of people to face debt and poverty risks due to the crisis caused by the new crown virus.
Despite the difficulties, Guterres still believes that mankind has a chance to reverse the situation. He called on all countries to share experiences at this forum, find effective and reproducible successful methods, and firm up their determination to respond to the crisis in a multilateral way. He said that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a lasting and common vision for all mankind and a guiding framework for mankind to respond to the current crisis and gradually recover.
The chairman of the UN General Assembly Mohammed-Bandy said at the meeting that the new coronary pneumonia epidemic has exacerbated the existing systemic and structural inequalities in all countries. For people living in poor or fragile environments, the risks posed by the epidemic are higher. The international community must work together to focus on supporting vulnerable groups when responding to the epidemic, reduce the impact of the epidemic on people in developing countries, and provide support for better economic recovery.
In June 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development decided to establish the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to replace the Commission on Sustainable Development, which was launched in September 2013. Since 2016, a voluntary periodic review is held annually, that is, a voluntary country statement, which mainly reviews the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. This year, 47 countries and regions will make voluntary statements during the forum. (Finish)