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This is the fourth time that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has examined the status of the UN’s global goals for sustainable development. The three previous reports have been marked by success. The year 2020 will be overshadowed by the corona outbreak and chain reactions to the pandemic.
According to the Goalkeeper report, the proportion of extremely poor people has increased significantly, with almost 37 million people. Gross domestic product is falling and this has major consequences for developing countries that lack reserves and cannot borrow to cover the acute crisis.
The degree of vaccination among the world’s children. it has returned to the levels of the nineties. This means acute risks of, for example, measles outbreaks.
– It’s a big setback, says Bill Gates in a conference call with DN and other media from different parts of the world.
One wonders if it is even sustainable to continue talking about the sustainability goals for the year 2030.
– With some of the goals listed, you may need to go back and say that some are unrealistic as it will take two to three years before it returns to normal. But the importance of these goals has been reinforced, if anything, by the pandemic, says Bill Gates.
In a DN interview in July Melinda Gates warned that the pandemic is a serious setback for the fight for gender equality: Even if more men die from the covid-19 disease, women are at risk of being more affected by the social and economic consequences.
The porters’ report confirms it. The corona outbreak has exacerbated inequalities around the world, with disproportionate effects on women and ethnic minorities, and on people living in extreme poverty.
“We see that blacks and people of Latino origin are affected to a much greater degree than others,” says Bill Gates.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invests considerable resources in the fight against coronavirus and helps develop a safe vaccine that can be distributed fairly around the world. Basically, Bill Gates is hopeful.
– Access to vaccines is essential to stop the pandemic. There’s a lot going on and I’m pretty sure many of these efforts will be successful, and that we will have multiple vaccines early next year, he says.
Read more: Epidemiology: more deaths from the consequences of pandemics than from covid-19
Rather, the question is whether rich countries will share, something that the report estimates can dramatically affect the number of deaths in the world. The foundation is involved in building a broad alliance with companies, researchers, governments, and international organizations to ensure that the vaccine benefits everyone.
– The solution to the problem is to make sure you have the highest capacity possible. Together with our partners, we are trying to achieve something that has never been done before, that is, that a vaccine created by one company is manufactured in parallel, not only in that company’s factories, but also in other companies, says Bill Gates.
It claims that rich countries you have a lot to gain by collaborating on the distribution, even for purely selfish reasons. She notes that countries with very few cases of Covid-19 have had to take very strict measures to keep the spread of the infection low. So investments in vaccine manufacturing and distribution will be a relatively cheap endeavor.
“Trillions are lost to the economy, while it takes a few billion to raise the vaccination rate to a level where the spread of the disease globally can be stopped,” he says.
Read more: Researchers warn of a sharp increase in malaria cases
When a Swedish journalist ask Bill Gates what a country like Sweden can do in the face of rising inequality, a hymn to Swedish development aid.
– Swedish citizens should be very proud of that generosity, he says.
The UN global goals for sustainable development were adopted by all member states of the UN General Assembly in September 2015. They are part of the 2030 Agenda. The goal is to achieve socially, environmentally and economically sustainable development in all the world.
The goals include eradicating poverty and hunger and achieving a secure food supply, ensuring good health and a good education. In addition, to achieve gender equality, guarantee sustainable access to water and energy and work for sustainable economic growth with good infrastructure, more equality within and between countries, better cities. Taking action against climate change and protecting biodiversity and the marine environment are also part of the objectives.
Read more: Sofia Nerbrand: Melinda Gates’ Women’s Struggle Should Inspire More Billionaires