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COVID-19 is threatening to plunge millions of people into poverty and worsen global hunger, undermining the long-running push for sustainable development, warns a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The report, COVID-19, the Environment and Food Systems, calls on states to use their response to the coronavirus to build more sustainable, resilient food systems and monitor their recovery efforts against sustainable development targets.

“There is a real concern that focusing resources on mitigating the acute impacts of COVID-19 could reduce resources for sustainable development programmes in general, crowding out important initiatives in 2021 and beyond,” says the UNEP’s Salman Hussain, who coordinated the report. “The world needs consistency and coherence between emergency relief and long-term objectives for sustainability, resilience and equity.”

The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015, contain 17 targets designed to combat poverty, bolster healthcare and improve education while safeguarding the environment.  The pandemic is threatening to reverse decades of progress towards those goals. Up to 100 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty this year because of COVID-19, which would mark the first rise in penury since 1998, said the report. proposes several ways to curb the virus and promote economic recovery while supporting sustainable development and bolstering food systems.

1. Align pandemic responses with global agreements

Wherever possible, emergency fiscal measures to prevent a global recession must align with the overarching Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate change agreement.

2. Ensure food security

Measures to mitigate the pandemic and promote economic recovery will only be successful when food security is guaranteed. Producing food nearer to where it is consumed and improving transportation networks can help minimize food loss and waste, a pressing global problem.  

3. Facilitate the movement of farmworkers

This would help ensure demand for their services can be better satisfied. This must take place in parallel with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among farm workers and food processors by improving working conditions.

4. Promote a green recovery

Measure the environmental impacts of COVID-19 recovery policies and take opportunities to leapfrog to green investments. Promote nature-based solutions to bolster the biodiversity that underpins sustainable food systems.