As the social and economic impacts caused by COVID-19 multiply around the world, the urgency of the sustainable development agenda for the living conditions on the planet for future generations becomes even more evident. Almost five years after the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations General Assembly, the world is facing a dramatic situation with some of the main issues related to the established goals.
The conclusion is inevitable in the first objective, which concerns the eradication of poverty, with greater resilience of the most vulnerable populations by 2030. Amid efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Brazil, concerns turn to poor communities in large urban centers, where hundreds of thousands of lives are exposed to a risk of as yet incalculable dimensions.
At the heart of this vulnerability is the precariousness of water and sanitation services, which are essential for basic hygiene procedures and, consequently, for preventing diseases. Brazil has more than 100 million Brazilians without sewage collection and around 35 million people without access to piped water. The universalization of these services in the country by 2030, as proposed by the United Nations document, requires an amount equivalent to twice the current investments in the sector per year.
The Sustainable Development Goals take on an almost premonitory aspect when they propose goals for health and well-being. One of them seeks precisely to increase countries' capacity to reduce and manage national and global health risks. After decades of investments below what is necessary for universal access and governance problems, the Brazilian public health system, despite having its value recognized by the network of operations spread throughout the country, demonstrates dangerous fragility in the face of the challenges imposed by the pandemic.
In terms of the environment, it is still premature to establish a firm link between deforestation of biomes, the main cause of climate change, and the spread of emerging infectious diseases, the category that includes COVID-19. However, there is already scientific research recognized by the World Health Organization that advances the understanding that diseases are more likely to spill over from wildlife to humans in deforested habitats.
In the case of Brazil, the strategic role of biodiversity is unquestionable, to the point that its use for scientific purposes is regulated by means of a specific legal framework. Law 13.123 (Biodiversity Law), which came into force in 2015, establishes guidelines for the use of this precious genetic bank, a fundamental resource for the development of epidemiological research and for the study of disease transmission and discoveries about parasite cycles.
The reality imposed by COVID-19 clearly demonstrates that scientific discoveries, investments in essential basic services and more sustainable economic growth are necessary to prevent society from paying the high costs of unconsidered externalities, that is, all those real costs that make conventional economic accounts pure fiction.
The current situation points to a sense of urgency in changing the direction of business and the way we conduct our business. One source of encouragement in this regard has been the rapid response demonstrated by a significant portion of the business sector, both with internal measures to adapt their work routines and in the development of voluntary actions to contain the disease in the country.
It is possible to do more through an even more coordinated mobilization between companies, governments and civil society. Now is the time for unity.
Text originally published in Plural.
