The 8th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) opened today with a resounding call for countries to build resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency – the twin crises that threaten our future the most.
More than 1000 delegates representing governments, civil society, businesses, and international organizations are gathered online at the Forum this week from 23 to 26 March to discuss sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The COVID-19 pandemic has erased years of social-economic progress in Asia and the Pacific. ESCAP estimates that 89 million more people in the region have been pushed back into extreme poverty at the $1.90 per day threshold, erasing years of development gains. The economic and educational shutdowns are likely to have severely harmed human capital formation and productivity, exacerbating poverty and inequality.
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