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Policy Briefs |
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures needed to contain its spread have had a devastating impact on the world of work. According to ILO’s latest estimates, the crisis resulted in an unprecedented global loss of 8.8 per cent of working hours, equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, in 2020 (ILO, 2021). While some workers joined the ranks of the unemployed and are still seeking work, many more have left the labour force altogether. Women, youth and workers in low-skilled jobs, often in the informal economy, have been hit harder than other groups. The longer the distress in labour markets persists, the more the affected workers, their families and their communities run the risk of being…
Policy Briefs |
Introduction
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have found themselves and their families on shaky economic ground. There are significant inequalities in the degree to which different people have faced exposure, vulnerabilities and the capacity to respond to COVID-19- related shocks, due in part to substantial differences in their experience of economic risk. Such preexisting inequalities have highlighted the extent to which large-scale crises have an uneven impact on the economic security of households and individuals.
Inequalities in education, health and employment result in some groups being more economically insecure than others. Evidence from the United States and Europe,…
Policy Briefs |
Measured by the usual metrics of cases and deaths, Africa’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic seems mild, but the social and economic impacts of the crisis have hit hard. Across the continent, an estimated equivalent of 60 million full-time jobs were lost in the second quarter of 2020 and up to an additional 40 million people were pushed into extreme poverty by the end of 2020.
“The United Nations, and I personally, stand in total solidarity with the people and governments of Africa, and with the African Union, in tackling COVID-19,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “Global solidarity with Africa is an imperative – now, and for recovering better.”
In its newly released policy…
Flagship Reports |
An urgent reconsideration of rural development is needed for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The current strategies and patterns of rural development are failing to meet either the socioeconomic or the environmental Goals of this Agenda. Four out of every five people who face extreme poverty around the world live in rural areas. Many rural areas are witnessing severe depletion and degradation of natural resources, contributing to climate change and the recurrence of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic, together with already persistent high levels of poverty and inequalities, are threatening to stall progress for the world’s rural populations.…
Policy Briefs |
COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of digital transformation: implications for social inclusion
Successive lockdowns and confinement measures put in place by governments to curb the spread of COVID-19 are accelerating the pace of digital transformation as information and communications technology (ICTs) are used to sustain daily lives and support business continuity. Recent forecasts expect the number of employees working remotely globally is set to double in 2021 (Chavez-Dreyfuss, 2020). Internet traffic has surged, as individuals are increasingly moving online to work, communicate, socialise, consume and seek entertainment (OECD, 2020). Companies and industries have also been adapting to…
UN General Assembly Reports on Social Development |
Flagship Reports |
Indigenous peoples’ relationship to their lands, territories and resources is at the heart of their identity, well-being and culture. Preservation of the environment, transmitted through traditional knowledge passed down through generations, is at the centre of their existence. As the world is increasingly recognizing the negative impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on health, food security and overall peace and security, the importance of indigenous knowledge and territorial rights is beginning to be more fully acknowledged by society at large.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers further opportunities to promote the rights of indigenous peoples to lands…
UN ECOSOC Reports on Social Development |
UN ECOSOC Reports on Social Development |