COVID-19 is exposing and deepening the inequalities, discrimination and ageism that older persons and persons with disabilities experience every day.

We need inclusive programmes and policies that address the rights of people of all ages to ensure we leave no one behind.

This official side event to the 2020 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development will look at the COVID 19 experience to identify learnings and opportunities to build a more age and disability inclusive world, and accelerate action to achieve the SDGs for all.

The Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) of UN DESA organized an online webinar on “Income Insecurity, Poverty Dynamics and COVID-19” on 16 June from 11:30am to 12:30pm (EDT). The event featured ongoing research by Dr. Anirudh Krishna, Duke University, on income dynamics and career ladders. He shared findings from surveys in four developing countries on household movements into and out of poverty and discussed the possible poverty-inducing impact of COVID-19 within the countries surveyed.

The Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) of the UN Department of Economic and Social affairs (UN DESA) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on “Families in Development” to be held online 16-18 June 2020. The EGM is to address the following issues:

In April 2020, the United Nations Voluntary Funds on Disability provided grants on catalytic and innovative activities that support the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2019 call for proposals, 125 applications were received from 41 countries. After a rigorous selection process, UNDESA, within the mandate of the General Assembly in its resolution 63/150, awarded grants to the following projects in Argentina, Lesotho and Uganda.

The UN General Assembly designated 15 June as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (res. A/RES/66/127).  According to WHO estimates, 1 in 6 people aged over 60 suffers from abuse. That means nearly 141 million people globally. This number might be much higher as elder abuse is one of the most hidden and underreported violations.

The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2020 will be held from Tuesday, 7 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This will include the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday, 14 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020. 

The Stakeholder Group on Ageing (SGA) Africa, in collaboration with UN DESA and other partners, held a regional webinar on the impact of COVID-19 in the context of the rights of older persons, on 5 June 2020. The purpose of the webinar was to signal to government leaders and policy makers, the needs of vulnerable older persons in this crisis, and to identify ways in which attention to human rights of older people can better focus recovery efforts on achieving equitable and inclusive development.

Removing barriers, making society inclusive and accessible: impact of the COVID-19 crisis on persons with disabilities and “building back better” toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable world.

Save the date for this virtual discussion on an issue at the core of the Protection of Civilians agenda on 28 May 2020, 09.00-10.30 (NY time).

This virtual side event, which coincides with the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians, will focus on the disproportionate challenges facing persons with disabilities in humanitarian, conflict and post-conflict settings.