On September 10, we are unveiling the 2020 Social Progress Index that we did, our most detailed analysis so far of the actual state of the world. In the ongoing index this year, the discussions of the current pace of social progress in the world, if the United Nations were to adopt the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) or if the giants of the 19th century continue with business as usual, are already very useful.
The New Statesman comments that the 2020 Social Progress Index projections state that the pandemic can push back the development globally one decade and it can even make the UN Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved only in 2082 if there are no fast actions. “The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, specifically poverty eradication, better education, and climate change action, are the main issues that no humanity will live without it, in the future, but only until 2092 after the consequences of the pandemic are considered.”
Two of the many harassed areas are Environmental Quality (36.87) and Inclusiveness (39.25) which receive no expected favorable response that confirms the future of environmental sustainability, with the demography being one of the major reasons for that. In connection with the continued planet heating, through this century and the next centuries, it is ever more crucial to be informed.
“There’s virtually zero headway on environmental quality, and a retreat in personal rights in much of the world”Michael Green, the CEO of SPI, told Ryan Heath and Catherine Boudreau of Politico.
Out of 163 countries assessed by the Social Progress Index, the ones demonstrating the most progress in the period from 2011 have been underdeveloped and lower-middle countries, such as the Gambia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Eswatini, and Sierra Leone, in contrast to richer countries that have been improving slowly.
In his New York Times article on the index, Nicholas Kristof exposes that the economic wealth of a region does not automatically guarantee the best quality of life; the United States, one of the wealthier nations in the world, is only 28th in the 2020 Social Progress Index, falling down the ladder below countries like Greece, Cyprus, and Estonia which have lower wealth levels. Also, that the United States is the forth country in the world that has retreated in the last decade, together with Brazil and Hungary.
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox of Forbes put it this way: three mentioned bonkers leaders, all males, are the reason three countries have become screamers, “the top four countries with the highest score in the new 2020 Social Progress Index, on 50 different dimensions of wellbeing, are all held by women.” Indeed, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand are the top earners of the overall ranking, and are manifested especially well in terms of the Foundations of Wellbeing dimension; nevertheless, the three dimensions are still areas of improvement.
The Philanthropy News Digest remarks that now, more than ever, it is important to measure what really matters Philanthropy News Digest accounts for the reason that a “Social Progress Index-Ipsos poll carried from July to September found that majorities of citizens in the worst-affected countries by COVID-19 actually considered the social” health and well-being (72 percent) of their countries as the most important thing that should be prioritized over the economic growth (28 percent). The good news is that young people, who are less likely to get infected with the virus, are at higher risk of its economic impact.