UN chief calls current levels of poverty 'moral indictment'; puts forth recovery strategy

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described the present poverty levels as “a moral indictment of our times”, noting that the COVID outbreak had caused havoc on the economy and community throughout the globe, including 120 million additional people slipping into poverty in the year 2020. As per a UN report, the UN chief said in a statement which was issued on Friday that extreme poverty was now rising for the first time in two decades. 

Guterres stated that a lopsided recovery is increasing disparities and inequalities between the north and south side of the world. He added that solidarity is lacking in reality, which is presently needed the most. He also revealed that COVID strains have evolved to such an extent that it is exposing the globe to millions of fatalities and extending an economic downturn that may cost billions of dollars. He urges that injustice must be put to an end and must address debt hardship, as well as to assure recovering investment in the most vulnerable nations.  

UN Chief addresses global recovery strategy to combat poverty

UN Chief Guterres presented a three-pronged global recovery strategy called ‘Building Forward Better,' which starts with increased political will and alliances in order to deliver universal social protection by the year 2030. He said that people all around the globe must engage in employment re-skilling for the rising green economy in order to achieve a transformational recovery and remove the chronic systemic disadvantages and inequalities that sustained poverty even before the outbreak. 

The UN report further states that Guterres went on to say that rehabilitation must be inclusive in order to avoid leaving so many people behind. He revealed that the vulnerabilities are rising in already marginalised populations and putting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scenario out of the picture. He added that the number of women living in severe poverty significantly outnumbers men. “Even before the pandemic, the 22 richest men in the world had more wealth than all the women in Africa – and that gap has only grown”, Un chief explained. 

The Secretary-General said that women entrepreneurs must be targeted, the informal economy must be formalised, education, social welfare, universal childcare, universal healthcare, as well as decent employment must be prioritised, and the digital gap, especially its profound gender component, must be bridged. The final argument made by the UN chief was that the recovery must be sustained in order to achieve a resilient, decarbonized, and net-zero world. 

(Image: AP/ Representative Image)