We Must Take Urgent Action to Reduce Inequalities

In 2015, World Leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The 17 SDGs call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while maintaining peace, protecting the planet, the people and building partnerships. With only ten years remaining to achieve these goals, countries are accelerating steps towards ending poverty, fighting inequalities, tackling climate change and ensuring that no one is left behind.  Every month, the United Nations places one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the spotlight, highlighting its purpose, targets and criticality in advancing Agenda 2030. This month’s focus is SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening existing inequalities, hitting the poorest and most vulnerable communities the hardest.

It has put a spotlight on economic inequalities and fragile social safety nets that leave vulnerable communities to bear the brunt of the crisis.  At the same time, social, political and economic inequalities have amplified the impacts of the pandemic.

Inequality within and among countries is a cause for concern. Despite some positive signs towards reducing inequality in some dimensions such as reducing relative income inequality in some countries and preferential trade status benefiting lower-income countries, inequality persists and has now been worsened by the coronavirus disease global outbreak.

COVID-19 has disrupted billions of lives and endangered the global economy. We have entered a global recession of record dimensions.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced a global recession worse than in 2009. The International Labour Organization expects that the global workforce will be hit with the equivalent loss of more than 300 million jobs.

This is a human crisis. Globally, poverty could rise by 500 million people – the first increase in three decades.

Eswatini’s recent slow growth has manifested in high rates of poverty and inequality in the country. About 59% of the population live below the poverty line and about 29% live below the extreme poverty line. In 2019, inequality was very high with a Gini coefficient of 0.51 .

The vulnerable life cycle stages include children (0-9 years), adolescents (10-19 years), youth (20-24 years) as well as women. Vulnerability is further exacerbated among people with disabilities; people living with HIV/AIDS; people with albinism; people living with autism; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) persons; forcibly evicted persons; and persons in conflict with the law.

COVID-19 is not only challenging global health systems but testing our common humanity. The UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, has called for solidarity with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable who need urgent support in responding to the worst economic and social crisis in decades. “Now is the time to stand by our commitment to leave no one behind” the Secretary-General said.

Across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their gender. The 2018 female Gender Disparity Index value for Eswatini was 0.595 in contrast with 0.618 for males, resulting in a GDI value of 0.962.  In Eswatini, unemployment is 50 percent among young women compared to 44 percent in young men. Rural, less educated, poor girls and women are often left behind. Discrimination against women and girls has also resulted in consequential income inequality, with women more likely than men to live and earn below 50 percent of the median income. Income inequality increases the vulnerability of households, women and girls, leading to low standards of living and limited opportunities.

Discrimination is a key driver affecting vulnerabilities, especially for LGBTQI persons as well as persons living with disabilities, albinism, autism and HIV/AIDS.

In Eswatini, key issues affecting children include urban-rural disparities, nutrition, lack of early childhood development opportunities, HIV/AIDS and violence. Despite progress in the reduction of under-five mortality, neonatal mortality remains high at 20/1,000 live births. Up to 75% of under-five deaths occur during the first year of life. HIV/AIDS related mortality among children and adolescents is significantly high due to late and low access to antiretroviral treatment (ART). Up to 47% of children living with HIV aged 0 to 4 years, 35% aged 5 to 9 years and 27% aged 15 to 19 years are not receiving ART.

To ensure that people everywhere have access to essential services and social protection, the UN has called for an extraordinary scale-up of international support and political commitment, including funding through the UN COVID-19 Response and the Recovery Fund which aims to support low and middle-income countries and vulnerable groups, who disproportionately bear the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.  

This time of crisis must also be used as an opportunity to invest in policies and institutions that can turn the tide on inequality. Leveraging a moment when policies and social norms may be more flexible than during normal times, and bold steps that address the inequalities that this crisis has laid bare can steer the world back on track towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

The socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is potentially catastrophic for millions of children. More than 1.6 billion children and youth are out of school. Nearly 369 million children who rely on school meals must now look to other sources for daily nutrition. Children living in conflict situations are amongst the most vulnerable.

In Eswatini, the rural poor population is particularly vulnerable, with rural areas accounting for 70 percent of the poverty rate. Poverty is more prevalent amongst girls aged 15 to 17 years old, who are or have been pregnant. Education is a key indicator of whether a household will experience multidimensional poverty. For instance, more than two-thirds of children with a non-educated mother are multidimensionally poor.

The United Nations, Government of Eswatini and partners are working to protect our nation’s children and future through the implementation of development programmes throughout the country. The UN is supporting the Government and partners to develop strategies and plans for mitigating the impact of the pandemic on children in schools and in learning institutions while preparing for the re-opening of schools under safe environments.

COVID-19 is also intensifying the inequalities experienced by the world's one billion people with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are less likely to access education, healthcare and income opportunities or participate in the community: they are now among the hardest hit in this crisis in terms of fatalities. 80 percent of the persons with disabilities live in developing countries where they also face serious discrimination.

In Eswatini alone, with a population of 1.1 million people, approximately 150,000 people live with a disability, of whom 83.7 percent are economically inactive. The United Nations is supporting the Government to ensure that persons with disabilities are not left behind, especially during the global health crisis. The UN is supporting the production of COVID-19 information materials into braille formats for the blind and educational videos have been produced for the deaf while access to food parcels or case based transfers is being made for this vulnerable group.

Reducing inequalities requires urgent and transformative change. With only ten years left to achieve the SDGs, in this Decade of Action, urgent action is needed to eradicate poverty and hunger. Greater investments are needed in health, education, social protection and decent jobs for young people, migrants, those living with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. It is important to promote and empower inclusive social and economic growth, whilst eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices.

The humanitarian and socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 are vast with many that remain unforeseen. In response to the criticality  to address humanitarian needs in these times of the pandemic, Eswatini Government, the UN, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and humanitarian partners are working closely to deliver targeted programmes and services against the national humanitarian response plan, aimed at ensuring that nobody is left behind in the pandemic response and vulnerabilities as well as inequalities are not exacerbated, thereby putting at risk Eswatini’s hard-won gains made towards achieving  Agenda 2030.

“The well-being of each of us depends on the well-being of all of us”. Let us stand together, as one nation and one world to fight COVID-19 and reduce inequalities within and among countries.

Facts and Figures

• In 2016, over 64.4% of products exported by the least developed countries to world markets faced zero tariffs, an increase of 20% since 2010.
• Evidence from developing countries shows that children in the poorest 20 per cent of the populations are still up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than children in the richest quintiles.
• Social protection has been significantly extended globally, yet persons with disabilities are up to five times more likely than average to incur catastrophic health expenditures.
• Despite overall declines in maternal mortality in most developing countries, women in rural areas are still up to three times more likely to die while giving birth than women living in urban centres.
• Up to 30 per cent of income inequality is due to inequality within households, including between women and men. Women are also more likely than men to live below 50 per cent of the median income

Targets

• By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
• By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
• Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
• Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
• Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations
• Ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions
• Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies
• Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements
• Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes
• By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent.