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The United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina Mohammed recently commended “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/dsg/statement/2020-09-25/deputy-secretary-generals-remarks-the-high-level-event-beyond-covid-19-public-private-partnerships-for-the-sdgs-model-for-building-back-better-prepared-for-delivery" target="_blank" data-id="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/dsg/statement/2020-09-25/deputy-secretary-generals-remarks-the-high-level-event-beyond-covid-19-public-private-partnerships-for-the-sdgs-model-for-building-back-better-prepared-for-delivery" data-type="URL">Kenya’s exemplary role in its response to COVID-19 and in advancing Agenda 2030</a>”. 



On Monday, 28 September 2020, the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta hosted a national conference on COVID 19. I was invited to speak about Kenya’s response, and without equivocation I restate what I said&#8211;Kenya deserves an A + rating. 



Here’s why!



When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Asia, Europe and the US, experts began to worry about what it would do to poor countries, with predictions of thousands of deaths, serious infections as well as the near-total collapse of already ailing health systems. 



How would Africa, characterised by crowded living conditions, widespread poverty and a lack of basic hygienic facilities deal with such a devastating and largely unknown pathogen? 



Months later, such horror scenarios have not materialised and the question has changed to why most of Africa is seeing comparably less devastation. As explained by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the National Covid-19 Conference, “the reason why we have managed to flatten the curve is because Kenyans have exercised an impressive civic responsibility and duty.” 



A reality that tends to be lost in all the discussions about this novel coronavirus in Kenya is just how much pummelling the country’s social and economic structures have received lately. 2020 was a particularly difficult year for Kenya. A triple crisis, coming on the heels of a protracted period of droughts, a cholera epidemic and not to underestimate the spectre of cross-border terror attacks, which dented one of Kenya’s biggest foreign exchange earners-tourism.



Consider this. In 2017, nearly half of the counties of Kenya w<a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20171023130503-xo7f4/" data-type="URL" data-id="https://news.trust.org/item/20171023130503-xo7f4/">as reeling from the effects of probably the worst drought in the last 20 years</a>. With nearly 3.4 million people food insecure, Kenya’s food security prognosis looked gloomy, with climate change and natural resource depletion set to pose even greater risks in the long term. 



Often unnoticed is the insidious effect on the country&#8217;s economy, with experts estimating that there have been, &#8220;12 serious droughts since 1990&#8221;. The average annual costs of the damage caused estimated at around KHS 125 billion ($1.25 billion) &#8212; with each drought reducing the country&#8217;s <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/kenya/insuring-against-climate-risk-kenya" data-type="URL" data-id="https://reliefweb.int/report/kenya/insuring-against-climate-risk-kenya">Gross Domestic Product by an average of 3.3 percent</a>. 



The two consecutive national elections in 2017 also took a massive financial toll. 



Given the dire financial situation, it is quite remarkable, the resilience, tenacity and optimism, Kenya has displayed in the face of such adversity, and done so with their head held high, with stoicism and compassion in its fight against the triple threat. 



Since the beginning of the year, Kenya has gone through a series of unprecedented crises, where within six months it has experienced the worst desert locust invasion in 70 years, heavy unusual flooding that has left scores of people dead and thousands displaced, and the pandemic that is taking a toll on health services and the economy. 



Aware of the technological and financial handicaps facing the health sector, the government has responded commendably in leading the fight against COVID-19, from mandating physical distancing to wearing of masks, promoting hand and respiratory hygiene, promptly dealing with rumours, to specialised facilities in hospitals, to working with industry to deliver local equipment such as PPEs, to delivering economic relief to impacted families. And above all not allowing politics to hijack the wisdom of science.



In about six months after the first case was reported, Kenya increased the number of infectious diseases isolation beds from eight to just over 7,000 across the country, thus keeping the casualty rates low. This was a remarkable feat achieved through unity of purpose between the national and county governments. 



The government rolled out moderate stimulus packages to help families ride out the economic turbulence and cushion companies from financial shocks. The Treasury instituted tax relief for low-income earners and reduced VAT rates as well as corporate sales tax for businesses. In a country already facing slow GDP growth, these were commendable actions of national self-sacrifice and coming together in times of crises. 



When you look at some of the most developed countries in the world, buckling to the microscopic and highly virulent coronavirus and their national responses are properly examined, Kenya does score an ‘A+’ in how quickly and decisively the government acted in the COVID-19 crisis. Measures such as travel restrictions, curfews and school closures were implemented early in the country, before the number of infections rose. 



As testament to the spirit of coming together to confront a common adversary, there was broad support from the public for these measures. In social media and elsewhere, citizens were quick to express responsible outrage where they felt those responsible for the response at various levels were not keeping to the expected standards. 



This grit and determination to rise to the occasion even where resources are hard to come by was key in getting on board international donor agencies and private sector to mobilise funding to support the national response. The UN in Kenya repurposed $45 million from the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) towards the COVID response, and deployed over 150 staff and volunteers to the government response structures. 



In partnership with the Government of Kenya, the UN launched a Flash Appeal to mobilize $267.5 million to support more than 10 million vulnerable people affected by the pandemic, of which nearly US$ 60 million was raised. An additional US$ 10 million dollars was allocated by the UN Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, to construct a new specialized 100 bed COVID 19 hospital in Nairobi, which will remain as additional capacity even after the pandemic is over. 



The UN in Kenya has prepared a COVID-19 socioeconomic response and recovery plan to address the health care system, social protection, employment opportunities and social cohesion. The recovery plan will be implemented in the next two years and will cost $155 million to focus on recovering better from the pandemic for the Sustainable Development Goals.



The country is still in the maelstrom of the pandemic. The devastating consequences of the pandemic have not fully played out and important challenges remain, some wrought by the pandemic but many that continued long before, such as high health care costs for millions of Kenyans, gender inequalities, widespread poverty, youth unemployment, environmental degradation, corruption and terrorism. 



The country must converge at every level to address these threats today or suffer the consequences tomorrow. Recovery will be made much tougher by the economic toll of COVID-19 as well as an exhausted and depleted health system. 



Still, the pandemic has shown that Kenya can overcome partisanship, think anew and work on short and longer-term sustainable development priorities towards ‘building back better’, with more resilience to future shocks. 



As the<a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/dsg/statement/2020-09-25/deputy-secretary-generals-remarks-the-high-level-event-beyond-covid-19-public-private-partnerships-for-the-sdgs-model-for-building-back-better-prepared-for-delivery" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/dsg/statement/2020-09-25/deputy-secretary-generals-remarks-the-high-level-event-beyond-covid-19-public-private-partnerships-for-the-sdgs-model-for-building-back-better-prepared-for-delivery"> UN Deputy Secretary General, Ms Mohammed</a> said, “I am convinced that Kenya will continue demonstrating that results and transformation are possible and I call upon all of you to double your efforts to invest at scale in those critical interventions that will unlock benefits across all the goals, to make bold choices, to take decisive action and to leave no one behind in your pursuit of a better future&#8221;. 



Kenyans can be fully assured of the commitment of the United Nations to overcome every adversity, leapfrog socio-economic recovery and progress to realise Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.



Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya. He has served in various parts of the world with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, UN Peacekeeping and the Red Cross Movement. A decorated Special Forces veteran, he is an alumnus of Princeton University. Follow him on twitter-<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/sidchat1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">@sidchat1</a>

Triple Threat

The Triple Humanitarian Crisis and Why Kenya Deserves An A + in its Response

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Women-UN-Peacekeeping-Mission.2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-46609" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Women-UN-Peacekeeping-Mission.2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Women-UN-Peacekeeping-Mission.2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Women-UN-Peacekeeping-Mission.2-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Women-UN-Peacekeeping-Mission.2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Women-UN-Peacekeeping-Mission.2.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Female peacekeepers are great assets to the UN. A Rwandan police officer is greeted warmly by women and children while on patrol in Gao, Mali.Photo: UN Photo/Marco Dormino</figcaption></figure>



“The vision and promise of the United Nations is that food, healthcare, water and sanitation, education, decent work and social security are not commodities for sale to those who can afford them, but basic human rights to which we are all entitled.” Those were the poignant words of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2020-07-18/secretary-generals-nelson-mandela-lecture-%E2%80%9Ctackling-the-inequality-pandemic-new-social-contract-for-new-era%E2%80%9D-delivered">in a hard hitting speech on 18 July 2020 to mark Mandela Day</a>.



For every staff of the United Nations family the Mandela speech by Mr. Guterres was powerful and inspirational. Speaking about the scourge of inequality, he said, “while we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts while others are clinging to the drifting debris.”



For me, the United Nations (UN) is personal. Coming from a family rendered refugees due to the partition of India in 1947, as a child I benefited from its immunization programmes- <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/qa-we-need-a-decisive-win-against-polio/">I actually survived polio</a>. The UN’s work with the Government of India helped to eradicate smallpox and polio in my home country, where these diseases used to take a huge toll on lives and livelihoods.



Although forged in the crucible of wars and crippling ideological rivalries between East and West, the United Nations has since managed to convince the world of the need to compromise and to take each other&#8217;s views into account and to listen to others while facing humanity’s enduring challenges. That this has been achieved in just 75 years is remarkable.&nbsp;



In the narrative of the period when humanity made great social, cultural, and economic advances, the UN takes centre stage.&nbsp; For more than two decades during my service in the UN system, I have been part of this story and am convinced that the UN still matters, perhaps now more than ever.



While the calamitous cost of two World Wars and subsequent ideological fault-lines convinced humankind of the need for a body like the UN, the challenges facing us today remain just as formidable.&nbsp; As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, it does not take much to upend not only individual lives, but entire societies and economies. There are numerous reasons for people to feel insecure in today’s world.&nbsp;



Among these are strong indications of resurgent nationalism and warning signs of ethnic and religious isolationism that not only threaten states, communities and individuals. Combined with humanitarian and climate disasters, these challenges have been articulated and framed for action as the Sustainable Development Goals that the UN is spearheading everywhere in the world.



Just as diplomacy was the basis for the establishment of the UN, <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20161101105441-eli9d/">my experience in the frontlines of combat operations</a> when I served in the Indian Army convinced me that there is a better way to solve conflicts.&nbsp; My early career in the UN was spent in countries almost defined by war and instability, such as Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Somalia.&nbsp; The images of men, women, and children driven from their homes by murder, rape, and the burning down of schools and homes is seared in my mind.



I am proud to have been part of the United Nations response to complex humanitarian challenges.  In Indonesia, for example, an innovation by the UN called a “school-in-a-box” helped children return to their regular school routine as quickly as possible during the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2946600.stm">conflict in Aceh when schools were being burned down</a>. We helped maintain immunization, reproductive health services, education as well as nutrition services, working in difficult and life-threatening situations in Darfur, Somalia, and Iraq. We <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j964XqRWfNI">demobilized child soldiers in the midst of a conflict in South Sudan</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="605" height="334" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Child-soldiers.png" alt="" class="wp-image-46614" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Child-soldiers.png 605w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Child-soldiers-300x166.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Child-soldiers-600x331.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /><figcaption>Child soldiers of the Sudan People&#8217;s Liberation Army march away after surrendering their weapons during a demobilization ceremony at the army barracks in Malou, South Sudan, in Feb. 25, 2001. Under an agreement with UNICEF, the SPLA demobilized 3551 child soldiers aged between eight and 18. UNICEF airlifted them away from combat zones to safe havens in Rumbek, South Sudan. Photo- UNICEF/OLS</figcaption></figure>



With the Coronavirus pandemic raging, <a href="https://unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/9-ways-un-teams-around-world-are-fighting-covid-19">UN country teams all over the world</a> are working tirelessly with their respective host governments to flatten the curve.



In various countries today, internecine conflicts, hunger, and disease continue to take a tragic toll, especially among the world&#8217;s children. The malignant neglect of our global environment threatens all of us.&nbsp; The UN retains unprecedented respect, acceptance, and mobilizing capacity to rally member states to act together to solve these problems.



The nature of today’s challenges compels us towards integration and collaboration. Humankind must find new ways to work together more effectively in pursuit of our collective interests and to think anew about how our institutions of international cooperation can be strengthened.



The UN has enabled many member states to embark on transformational journeys; life expectancy is rising, jobs being created, and people lifted out of poverty. Yet in many others, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, progress is fragile and unequal. The UN constantly seeking new models that are inclusive and sustainable, and is opening up new opportunities to harness big data, technology and innovation to <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/01/kenya-leapfrogging-4-sdgs-building-bridges-silicon-savannah-silicon-valley/">leapfrog development, through ground breaking partnerships with the private sector</a>.&nbsp;



Many factors have sometimes stymied the United Nations’ work. These range from reliability of funding to the difficulties of achieving consensus between diverse member states on complex topics. Such factors have sometimes made us slow and limited our impact.



Antonio Guterres has said that “worldwide consultation process around the 75th anniversary of the United Nations has made clear that people want a global governance system that delivers for them”.&nbsp; Therefore the bold reforms underway, led by Mr Guterres, will make the organization more nimble, better equipped and prepared to deal with contemporary challenges.



<a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/01/united-nations-reforms-ideas-actions/">UN country teams are adapting to new realities in their programmes</a>, reflecting the shifts (such as peacekeeping to peace-building) through social and economic development support and humanitarian relief.



In Kenya, the country’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta is spearheading the charge to eradicate female genital mutilation supported by the United Nations. I have seen firsthand the reduction in maternal and infant mortality due to complications at childbirth, universal access to primary education and better a collective push to achieve universal health coverage.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1140" height="582" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FGM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-46613" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FGM.jpg 1140w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FGM-300x153.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FGM-600x306.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FGM-1024x523.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/FGM-768x392.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px" /><figcaption>Aisha Hussein and her team pose for a picture during the youth caravan in Isiolo as part of a joint UNFPA-UNICEF initiative to eradicate FGM. UNICEF Kenya</figcaption></figure>



I continue to see the promise of peace and prosperity for the most vulnerable &nbsp;marginalized that comes with the UN’s work, such as the Kenya Uganda cross border initiative to promote peace and development in the Karamoja area, mired in rivalry over scant resources and experiencing the debilitating impact of climate change. <a href="https://medium.com/@amina_mohammed/finding-common-ground-to-fight-climate-change-baa911e5ee1c">Amina Mohammed the UN Deputy Secretary General said</a>, “It’s exciting to see the new ways in which governments, communities and partners are coming together with UN teams to mobilize across borders especially when it comes to taking climate action”.



COVID-19 has confirmed that the era of national problems is receding fast, by revealing national and global fragilities to an invisible virus. The pandemic is a stark reminder of the need for cooperation across borders, sectors and generations.



Today we can see that most challenges are global and interconnected, and can only be tackled through global action coordinated through global institutions.



At the signing of the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/sections/history-united-nations-charter/1945-san-francisco-conference/index.html">United Nations Charter, in San Francisco in 1945</a>, the President of the United States of America, Harry Truman said, “If we fail to use it, we shall betray all those who have died so that we might meet here in freedom and safety to create it. If we seek to use it selfishly &#8211; for the advantage of any one nation or any small group of nations — we shall be equally guilty of that betrayal”.



Those farsighted leaders who founded the United Nations 75 years ago gave us the momentum to propel humanity to greater security and prosperity. Today, the UN continues to be a sound investment, a real beacon of hope.



Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya. He has served in various parts of the world with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, UN Peacekeeping and the Red Cross Movement. A decorated Special Forces veteran, he is an alumnus of Princeton University. Follow him on twitter-<a href="https://twitter.com/sidchat1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@sidchat1</a>

The United Nations At 75 Remains The World’s Moral Compass

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SDG-Media-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-46381" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SDG-Media-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SDG-Media-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SDG-Media-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SDG-Media-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SDG-Media-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SDG-Media.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>In 2018, the United Nations Secretary-General Mr António Guterres, launched an SDG Media Compact to leverage their resources to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. By disseminating facts, human stories and solutions, the Compact is a powerful driver for advocacy, action and accountability on the Sustainable Development Goals. Photo- UN</figcaption></figure>



When 17-year-old high school student Darnella Fraizer filmed the last minutes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvW6PLIDsbI">George Floyd’s</a> life under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin, she could not have imagined that her footage would reignite the explosive global question of racial inequality and the subsequent clamour for reforms in policing.



This act of filming validates the force of the media globally, we need a similar drive for urgent action in Africa. We need the continent’s media to help ensure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved and the life of every African afforded the opportunity they deserve.



“Around the world, success in achieving the SDGs will ease global anxieties, provide a better life for women and men and build a firm foundation for stability and peace in all societies, everywhere,” said the UN Deputy Secretary General, <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/02/552372-sustainable-development-goals-critical-better-future-all-deputy-un-chief-amina">Amina Mohammed</a>.&nbsp;



Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a wave of demonstrations from Lebanon to Chile, from Iran to Liberia, was sweeping across countries. This was a clear sign that, for all our progress, something in our globalized society is broken.



The COVID-19 pandemic has struck the world like a bolt of lightning exposing the contours of deep inequalities. Media reports have helped reveal the interwoven threads of inequality and health, with poorer people suffering a strikingly disproportionate share of the fallout from the virus, either through infection or loss of livelihoods.



The global sweep of protests due to years of disenfranchisement and racism has made it clear that the world must change to offer equal treatment to all people. &nbsp;



Media can do the same for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving the SDGs, and so improving the lives of millions of Africans, depends heavily on increasing public awareness, and on the focused action and funding that such awareness ignites.



One major shortcoming of development progress is the lack of widespread knowledge about the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. We must look to the media to push the SDG discourse; what is reported and how it is reported helps shape policy and has implications for the millions of people whose lives are affected. Knowledge is power and if citizens are aware of the issues, they are empowered to help determine the national response.



Traditionally, development experts have failed to explain the relatively new concept of sustainable development to influencers such as educators, politicians, and the media. Doing so is key, so that easily understood narratives are developed to raise public support.



We are already a third of the way towards the 2030 Agenda deadline which 193 UN member states committed to. But at the current pace of change – notwithstanding the global pandemic &#8211; Africa is likely to miss out on the time-bound targets in key sectors &#8211; including health, education, employment, energy, infrastructure, and the environment.&nbsp;



Improved public awareness of the SDGs themselves, and of the actions needed and the bodies responsible for such actions is essential. By stepping up to address and explain the global quest for social justice and equality which the SDGs represent, the media can help galvanise civil society, business, international bodies, regional organizations, and individuals.



Pressure from an informed public, pushes policymakers into action, offering hope to millions of poor people.



Development is never far from the media agenda in Africa, so the opportunity to build understanding of sustainability is there. Sustainable development experts must explain why the SDGs are important, and why ‘business as usual’ in development is no longer viable in the face of increasing populations and climate change. Then, news outlets, who would then be able to develop compelling narratives to make the concept understandable by all can help raise the SDG profile, thereby raising public support.



We must “flip the orthodoxy”.



What is reported, how it is reported, and on what channels helps in shaping policy and has implications for the millions of people whose lives are affected.



To this end, the media must be brought into the conversation and be made to understand the role they can play towards the greater good.



The SDGs pledge that “<a href="http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Sustainable%20Development/2030%20Agenda/Discussion_Paper_LNOB_EN_lres.pdf">no one will be left behind</a>” and to “endeavour to reach the furthest behind first.” In practice, this means taking explicit action to end extreme poverty, curb inequalities, confront discrimination and fast-track progress for the furthest behind.



The media can shine a spotlight on those left behind, for example by using COVID-19 to examine the wider issue of universal health coverage, the subject of SDG 3.



It also plays a critical role in holding governments to account for their Agenda 2030 commitments. Though these commitments demand that countries have clear reporting and accountability mechanisms, most nations still have no reliable data on their progress towards specific goals. This matters because countries can only unlock financing for the SDGs by disaggregating data to understand where resources are required. In Africa, where national commitments are rarely backed by adequate investment, this is particularly important.



Rapid mobile penetration in Africa offers unparalleled opportunities for content sharing on digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Though lack of affordable internet connections and poor connectivity remain a challenge, mobile technology is a powerful enabler across many sectors.



One in every six people on Earth lives in Africa; its problems are the world’s problems and solving them is the world’s responsibility. If Africa fails to achieve Agenda 2030, the implications will be felt across the planet through conflict, migration, population growth and climate catastrophe.



The media in Africa is a stakeholder in the achievements of the SDGs. Let us support the media and enlist their help in the quest for economic, environmental, and social justice across the world.



Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya.&nbsp;He has served in various parts of the world with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, UN Peacekeeping and the Red Cross Movement. A decorated Special Forces veteran, he is an alumnus of Princeton University. Follow him on twitter-<a href="https://twitter.com/sidchat1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@sidchat1</a>



The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.​​​​​

Sustainable Development In Africa Can Be Amplified By The Media

<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UN-Avenue-1024x460.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45196" width="902" height="404" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UN-Avenue-1024x460.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UN-Avenue-300x135.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UN-Avenue-600x270.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UN-Avenue-768x345.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UN-Avenue.jpg 1179w" sizes="(max-width: 902px) 100vw, 902px" /><figcaption>UN Kenya/Newton Kanhema The usually busy UN Avenue in Nairobi, Kenya where traffic is bumper to bumper on the best of days, is almost empty as people stay at home to avoid spreading the coronavirus. March 2020</figcaption></figure></div>



We live in a different world to the one we inhabited six short months ago.



With more than 4 million people infected and over 290,000 dead globally by mid May 2020, Covid-19 has ruthlessly exposed the vulnerability of a globalised world to pandemic disease. People are slowly coming to terms with the frightening and heartbreaking death toll, and we are still not out of danger.



The Greek philosopher Herophilus said, “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless and intelligence cannot be applied.”&nbsp;



The bio-threat has already upended our notions of community interaction, with face masks, latex gloves and physical distancing becoming the new normal. Science has been challenged and experts in various fields struggle to understand the short and long-term consequences of the pandemic.



Lack of robust global public health systems has proven to be a chink in the world’s armour. It has also revealed a truth that we ignore at our peril: healthcare systems around the world have been sorely tested in managing this outbreak, and without substantial reprioritisation of investment in health and research globally, we will be no better equipped when the next pandemic strikes.



Describing&nbsp;<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/05/1063022">COVID 19 as a threat multiplier</a>, the UN Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina Mohammed said, “We have a health emergency, a humanitarian emergency and now a development emergency. These emergencies are compounding existing inequalities”.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AJM.Tedros-1024x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45200" width="672" height="302" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AJM.Tedros-1024x461.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AJM.Tedros-300x135.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AJM.Tedros-600x270.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AJM.Tedros-768x346.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AJM.Tedros.jpg 1178w" sizes="(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px" /><figcaption>UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Leading UN reforms &amp; ensuring the UN is fit for purpose in the countries they serve, the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (centre), at the first-ever high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (left), Director- General of World Health Organization (WHO) and María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés(right), President of the 73rd&nbsp;Session of the UN General Assembly. September 2018, New York, USA</figcaption></figure>



While no country has been spared, the impact upon families and individuals has varied around the world, exposing huge global and local inequalities.&nbsp;



The consequences of high uninsured rates and high out-of-pocket health costs are being revealed. Even before the Covid-19 outbreak,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/health_financing/topics/financial-protection/key-policy-messages/en/">more than 100 million people per year risked being plunged into poverty by a ‘shock’</a>&nbsp;in terms of unanticipated expenditure on medical treatment.



World Food Programme analysis shows that, due to the Coronavirus, an additional 265 million people are marching towards the brink of starvation by the year end because of the virus’s effects on jobs and family finances.



The social and economic upheaval we face today has changed the world and will go on changing it for many years. Behind the headlines of an economic decline that might rival the&nbsp;<a href="https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/the-great-lockdown-worst-economic-downturn-since-the-great-depression/">Great Depression of the 1930s</a>&nbsp;are families separated by closed international borders, some mourning relatives they never managed to see and comfort and millions who no longer have jobs.



What must we do to prevent the next pandemic striking the world.



Like rain that exposes a leaking roof, the coronavirus crisis has revealed unanticipated problems inherent in our dependence on global supply chains and amplified longstanding structural deficiencies in health systems around the world. We can see now that under-investment in public health in one country is a threat to global health security everywhere. Responses to health emergencies cannot succeed if any part of the world is left behind.&nbsp;



The central importance of universal health coverage and&nbsp;ensuring healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages, as manifested in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/sdg/targets/en/">Sustainable Development Goal 3</a>,(SDG3) by 2030, is clear.



With Africa&#8217;s population expected to grow to 2.3 billion by 2050, for Africa to reap a <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20170810142204-j0nwd/">demographic dividend,</a> as well as prevent disease outbreaks, Governments should:



<ol type="1"><li>Reassess policy priorities and direct greater funding to health.</li><li>Invest more in disease prevention.</li><li>Improve working conditions for medical staff.</li><li>Offer fit-for-purpose health insurance to their people.</li><li>Harness big data, technology, and innovation to <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20180209112650-s1njv/">leapfrog universal health coverage.</a></li><li>Forge public private partnerships to <a href="http://daghammarskjold.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UNDG-CountryStudy-Kenya.pdf">address the gaps to attain SDG 3.</a></li><li>Create an army of community health workers.&nbsp;</li></ol>



The WHO Chief, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a public health champion, who as Minster of Health in Ethiopia, a country once notorious for the highest maternal and child mortality in Africa, ensured the country achieved the health related&nbsp;<a href="https://www.afro.who.int/news/making-ethiopian-people-healthier-through-mdgs">Millennium Development Goals</a>,&nbsp;by unleashing the full potential of community health workers. He said that, “By fully harnessing the potential of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/hrh/community/guideline-health-support-optimize-hw-programmes/en/">community health workers</a>, including by dramatically improving their working and living conditions, we can make progress together towards universal health coverage and achieving the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.”



Doctors, nurses, carers and paramedics around the world are facing unprecedented workload in overstretched health facilities. The heroism, dedication and selflessness of medical staff allow the rest of us a degree of reassurance. In fact health workers are the frontline soldiers battling the pandemic.&nbsp;They deserve the same recognition and respect as women and men from the Armed Forces who are sent into battle in service of their country.



Additionally, the creation of robust health surveillance infrastructure in low-income countries will benefit the whole world in terms of early warning of disease outbreaks, and the ability to focus resources where and when they are needed.



To achieve this,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/coronavirus/2020/04/17/multilateralism-through-public-private-partnerships-are-key-to-flattening-the-covid-19-curve/">new models of multilateral and public private partnerships&nbsp;must develop</a>, as well reform, invest and give greater power to the&nbsp;World Health Organisation to protect the world from disease.



As citizens of the world we depend on one another. We are linked by trade and migration and the fact of our humanity as much as we are sometimes divided by politics and faith.



Consider this. Maria Branyas is a 113 year old <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/spains-oldest-woman-113-year-old-maria-branyas-beats-coronavirus-sbjtjc6z3">COVID 19 survivor from Spain.</a> It means she has lived through the flu pandemic of 1918-19, the two World Wars, the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War and now the coronavirus. When asked what was the secret of her long life, she said, “good health”.



In a post-Covid-19 world, global health must be seen as a key component of national and global security as well as of the global economy.



SDG 3 must become pivotal in our post COVID 19 response or we may be sitting ducks,&nbsp;when another pandemic&nbsp;strikes, whose velocity and virulence could surpass what we are witnessing now.



Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations resident coordinator to Kenya. He has served in various parts of the world with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, UN Peacekeeping and the Red Cross Movement. A decorated Special Forces veteran, he is an alumnus of Princeton University. Follow him on twitter-<a href="https://twitter.com/sidchat1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@sidchat1</a>



The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.​​​​​

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