COVID-19 as a global challenge: towards an inclusive and sustainable future

Helen Lambert,Jaideep Gupte,Helen Fletcher,Laura Hammond,Nicola Lowe,Mark Pelling,Neelam Raina,Tahrat Shahid,Kelsey Shanks

doi:10.1016/s2542-5196(20)30168-6

Abstract

COVID-19 is a global challenge that demands researchers, policy makers, and governments address multiple dimensions which go far beyond the implications of this pandemic for health and wellbeing. Just as the UN Sustainable Development Goals call for focus on the connections between development policy sectors, the pandemic has exposed the complex global interdependencies that underpin economies and highlighted fault lines in societal structures that perpetuate ethnic, economic, social, and gender inequalities.Here,wehighlightthepandemic’semerging potential consequences for achieving sustainable development with respect to the six global challenge areas we collectively address at the UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund:1 food systems; education; cities and sustainable infrastructure; security, protracted conflict, refugee crises, and forced displacement; environmental resilience; and global health. As the immediate health consequences of the pandemic unfold and begin to be superseded by the impact of public health containment measures, we call for a refocusing of research and action not only to mitigate these impacts but to build sustainability and strengthened resilience into future recovery.

Highlights

COVID-19 is a global challenge that demands researchers, policy makers, and governments address multiple dimensions which go far beyond the implications of this pandemic for health and wellbeing
In 2018, 820 million people worldwide were expe riencing chronic hunger; by 2019, those living with acute, crisis-level food insecurity had increased from 113 million to 135 million
On top of the pandemic, agricultural and natural disasters such as extreme weather events, plagues of locusts, and armyworms sweeping across continents are hurting food production and creating further stress on local, national, and regional food systems across the world

Summary

Introduction

COVID-19 is a global challenge that demands researchers, policy makers, and governments address multiple dimensions which go far beyond the implications of this pandemic for health and wellbeing. We highlight the pandemic’s emerging potential consequences for achieving sustainable development with respect to the six global challenge areas we collectively address at the UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund:[1] food systems; education; cities and sustainable infrastructure; security, protracted conflict, refugee crises, and forced displacement; environmental resilience; and global health.

Results

Conclusion