Good Health and Well-Being

This work develops a set of regimes that link structures of economic growth with those of social reproduction. These regimes are then linked to groups of countries organized by economic structure and level of development to evaluate the macroeconomic consequences of a decline in gender inequality in the labour market. Social reproduction is defined in terms of the time and money it takes to produce, maintain and invest in the labour force, so it includes both paid and unpaid care work. The analytical emphasis is on how the distributions of production and reproduction among women, men, the state and capital determine investment and growth and how gender inequality is both cause and consequence of these relationships.

In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo, ushered in a paradigm shift that would reshape how governments formulate and implement population policies. While recognizing the advantages of population stabilization for sustainable development, the ICPD Programme of Action, adopted by 179 United Nations Member States, affirmed that national policies pertaining to population and development must have at their core a fundamental respect for human rights. The following year in 1995, at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 189 countries adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Within their broad scopes, the Cairo Programme of Action and the Beijing Platform for Action emphasized the importance of family planning for fulfilling the basic right of individuals and couples to decide the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to achieve the highest attainable standard of sexual and reproductive health. The two documents highlighted that ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including for family planning, information and education, is critical for protecting the rights and futures of girls and women. Within the broad picture of progress and stalls in sexual and reproductive health, this policy brief will examine in more depth the changes in adolescent birth rates and family planning in the context of global fertility decline over the last 30 years. It will highlight inequalities in those changes and discuss the challenges of living up to the commitments made at Cairo and Beijing moving forward.

COVID-19 threw Moldovan governance into chaotic domain (in Cynefin terms), where cause and effect are unclear, events are too confusing to wait for a knowledge-based response and Government has to act and sense before responding. The Republic of Moldova used thick data (micro-narratives) to unveil the hidden facets of COVID’s impact. Using thick data helped to provide a more nuanced response to challenges, for instance by better shaping communication strategy. Thick data should not be considered as contradicting big data, but rather as complimentary and enriching sensemaking. Empowering people to reflect on their assessed anecdotal evidence helps to enrich insights.

The COVID-19 crisis is evolving into a long-term development emergency, the scale of which is unprecedented in modern times. Among the root causes of the crisis is humanity’s breaching of the planet’s ecological boundaries. COVID-19 is likely a zoonotic disease, a disease passed from animals to humans. As pressures on natural ecosystems and wildlife intensify, channels of viral outbreak have accelerated in recent years, as also seen in outbreaks of other zoonotic diseases such as Ebola, SARS and MERS in recent years. More than ever, the ability to prevent outbreaks depends on our ability to maintain healthy ecosystems and avoid the blurring of ecological boundaries.

Over the next decades, most small island developing States (SIDS) are projected to experience a rapid increase in both the share and the number of people aged 65 years or over. In half of the SIDS, the size of the older population will double between now and 2055. All SIDS, even those with youthful populations today, should embrace forward-looking strategies to capitalize on the opportunities that population ageing will bring, while also addressing the context-specific challenges it may pose.

The book “When Juncture Meets Structure: Vignettes on Development and the COVID-19 Crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean” is based on the “Graph for Thought” series, and brings together 30 data-driven vignettes to tell the story of structural development challenges in the LAC region and how this is changing in the wake of the pandemic.

لقد شهدت العلاقة بين الهجرة والتنمية اهتماما متزايدا في السنوات الأخيرة، على الصعيدين العالمي والإقليمي، مما يعكس الأثر العميق لتنقّل السكان على بلدان المنشأ وبلدان المقصد داخل المنطقة وخارجها. وتتناول طبعة عام 2024 من تقرير حالة الهجرة الدولية في المنطقة العربية العلاقة الهامة بين الهجرة والتنمية في منطقة تمر بتحولات ديموغرافية واقتصادية واجتماعية وتكنولوجية تحويلية. ويقدم التقرير تحليلا لاتجاهات الهجرة والتحديات والفرص، مع التركيز على الدور المزدوج للهجرة بوصفها محركا ونتاجا للتنمية. وتسلط الرؤى الرئيسية الضوء على إمكانات الهجرة للمساهمة بشكل إيجابي في المجتمعات المضيفة وبلدان المنشأ. فالمهاجرون يجلبون مهارات ومعارف وتنوّعات ثقافية قيّمة، بينما تدعم التحويلات المالية الأسر وتقلل من الفقر وتحفّز النمو الاقتصادي. لكنّ تحقيق هذه النتائج يتطلب سياسات تحمي حقوق المهاجرين وتعظّم مساهماتهم في التنمية. هذا وإنّ التعاون الإقليمي ضروري أيضا، حيث إن الطبيعة المترابطة للبلدان العربية تعني أن سياسات الهجرة في بلد من البلدان قد تؤثر بشكل كبير على جيرانه. ويقدم هذا التقرير خارطة طريق لتسخير إمكانات الهجرة، مع التصدي للتحديات التي تواجهها. فمن خلال اعتماد نهج شامل واستشرافي، يمكن للمنطقة العربية أن تنصّب الهجرة كمصدر للقوة والقدرة على الصمود والازدهار المشترك.

The present third edition of the Social Impact of COVID-19 Household Survey is articulated across and covers eight key dimensions: 1) Impact on physical and mental health of people, 2) Access to Services, 3) Economic situation, 4) Household coping strategies to meet basic needs in crisis, 5) Education and transition to online learning, 6) Relationships and well-being, 7) Public perception of the response to the crisis, and 8) Internet usage, e-commerce and digital services. The Survey is people-centred, and it is focused throughout on people’s wellbeing. As such, it detects the emerging vulnerabilities, strengths and coping mechanisms of people. It also captures the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on social interactions and records changes in gender relations due to shifting power dynamics within households. Data in this Survey show that the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are still felt and are compounded by the recent rise in food and energy prices. Data strongly suggest that these combined and cumulative effects are sending strong shockwaves across Bosnia and Herzegovina, causing increased poverty and food deprivation and worsening inequalities. Furthermore, mental health of the population continues to be severely affected. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected both the economic and social situation across all age groups. Data show a continued and drastic impact of the crisis on those who are either already disadvantaged, at risk or more vulnerable, such as people living below the poverty line, families with children, single parents, Roma, internally displaced people, minority returnees and LGBTI community. The crisis also negatively and disproportionately affected people with disabilities and the elderly, who are, as a result, increasingly struggling in conducting their routine activities. The severity of the impact leads to feelings of inequality, including gender inequality, discrimination, and isolation. Data show that the pandemic also triggered major shifts in the way people think, socialize, communicate and live. Of particular concern are the effects of the crisis on basic social services such as health, including mental health, and access to quality education.

UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and HIV and Health Strategy 2022-2025 view open and inclusive civic spaces as central to achieving broader structural changes to build resilient societies able to respond to conflicts and crises and ensuring that no one is left behind. The meaningful engagement of civil society is critical for successful responses to end AIDS and promote health and well-being for all. Shrinking civic space at the national, regional and international level blocks opportunities for civil society to advocate for health and human rights, monitor access to services, claim redress for rights violations or reach those left behind with health and legal support services. The 2030 Agenda, UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025, 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, Global AIDS Strategy 2022-2026 and other international frameworks and commitments can be leveraged to create significant opportunities for the protection and promotion of civic space. This discussion paper describes the current state of civic space and provides recommendations to strengthen it and civil society engagement in the HIV response.

To continue monitoring the consequences of the COVID‑19 pandemic on household welfare in LAC, the World Bank and UNDP joined forces to implement the second phase of High-Frequency Phone Surveys (HFPS) in LAC in 2021.4 The first wave of data in this phase was collected between May 2021 and July 2021, while the second wave was collected between October 2021 and January 2022. This note focuses on education outcomes to unravel the effects of COVID‑19 on human capital accumulation in the region.