SDG #8: Decent work and economic growth

COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on all 17 Goals and threatening the achievements already made in many areas. While the virus has impacted everyone, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are affected disproportionally by the pandemic.

This policy brief synthesizes recent research, showing that Bangladesh?s vital pharmaceutical industry would be threatened if the country had to adhere fully to WTO rules upon graduation from LDC status.

The short-term impact of the pandemic on employment should be differentiated from its longer-term consequences, involving inter-sectoral changes in labour demand and further acceleration of robotization and automation, necessitating active labour market policies.

Amidst deliberations on priority areas for rebuilding, much attention has been paid to the need to strengthen domestic health care, and such proposals will certainly be high on the agenda for many Governments. The crisis, however, has also shone a spotlight on the shortcomings of the global health system.

Risks of implementing more shockresponsive social protection include overwhelming demand, lack of coordination, poor targeting and negative public perception. These can be partially offset by ensuring universal access to programmes. A country?s available fiscal space and level of debt distress are key contextual factors that determine the feasibility of more shock-responsive social protection.

COVID-19?s ruthless sweep across the world demands a bold multilateral response. There are immense inequalities in the capacities of governments to respond both to the health emergency and to the social and economic fallout.

The third annual review of the VNRs by the CDP providing a systematic content analysis of the VNRs presented to the HLPF.

Economic growth has slowed down dramatically and poverty is on the rise everywhere. Questions therefore have arisen whether these setbacks will have a permanent effect, jeopardizing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On average, weighted by the size of economies, the world economy points to a steep disinflation. However, inflation rates are diverging among countries. In the majority of countries, the price level has increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.