Achieving SDG Goals

From the imminent climate catastrophe to runaway inflation to supply chain disruption, the world is beset with so many seemingly intractable problems. And it is developing countries, especially the least developed countries (LDCs), including Nepal, that are bearing the brunt. Recognising that immutable fact, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Narayan Khadka, in a message to the 78th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Monday stressed the need for global commitment, solidarity and urgent actions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Though Nepal has fared pretty well in fulfilling most pledges made towards the goals, meeting all of them within stipulated time frame has proven to be an uphill battle.  

Minister Khadka rightly attributed that challenge to a host of factors: climate change, soaring commodity and fuel prices and trade protectionism, among others. The world, trying to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, was already in the throes of crisis brought about by the pandemic – skyrocketing fuel prices, clog in supply chain to name only a few – when the war in Ukraine further dimmed the prospects of recovery.

In an increasingly globalised world, everything is connected with everything else. Foods and goods produced in one corner reaches another across the ocean travelling by ships for days and nights. This web of interdependence is so deeply entangled that a slight disruption at one point ripples across the world, leaving no corner untouched. That is exactly what happened when the Russia-Ukraine war sent the prices of edible oil, fuel and other staples soaring. Rich and developed countries with robust monetary muscle have been able to insulate themselves from the onslaught. But what about the poor and developing countries with little or no resource to navigate the crisis? The situation is dire, of course.

Against the background of one disruption after another what has become clear is that the problems facing the world need concerted efforts on a global scale to solve. But as long as we are unable to keep the inflation in check, as long as hunger continues to gnaw the vulnerable and as long as just living a decent life is prohibitively expensive, the SDGs remain out of reach. When the war upended the supply of wheat from Russia and Ukraine, India was expected to fill the void. But March heatwaves significantly reduced the harvest of the heat-sensitive crops there, which resulted in India banning the export of wheat. That was done to keep the skyrocketing price of wheat in the domestic market from escalating. 

Similarly, Indonesia, one of the biggest exporter of palm oil (an edible oil consumed as staple in many countries) proscribed its export for the same reason. Such protectionism has emerged as a new threat. These issues must be addressed before we embark on the journey to meeting the goals. Unless solidarity on a global scale is made, the goals will continue to remain elusive. No matter how far-fetched it may seem, without joint effort we won’t be able to cushion ourselves from the shock event if it strikes us from another part of the world.