Welcome to the United Nations
The General Assembly in resolution 75/290 B defined the theme of the 2023 HLPF under the auspices of ECOSOC to be “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”.
While presented with great challenges, the global statistical systems have shown strength and resilience, despite the unprecedented demand for timely and disaggregated data and statistics. The Statistical Commission provides strategic guidance to national and global statistical and data systems.
In 2022, ECOSOC adopted the updated terms of reference of the Statistical Commission (E/RES/2022/3). The updated terms of reference, the result of an open, participatory-based, and transparent process, address the changing data ecosystem and how the Statistical Commission can be responsive and reflect the current and futuristic statistical and data needs faced by Member States. The broadening of the scope from statistics to statistics and data highlights how complex the data ecosystem is, and that the Statistical Commission is well positioned to meet these demands.
In this context, the Statistical Commission thanks the President of ECOSOC and provides herewith our most salient contributions to the 2030 Agenda, following the template suggested.
(a) Progress, experience, lessons learned, challenges and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17 from the vantage point of your intergovernmental body, bearing in mind the three dimensions of sustainable development and the interlinkages across the SDGs and targets, including policy implications of their synergies and trade-offs,
The world is facing cascading and interlinked global crises and conflicts that put the aspirations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in grave jeopardy. Specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on almost every aspect of our lives and across all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with its effects still far from over. Yet, all of these crises – and ways to prevent and navigate them – are addressed holistically in the SDGs.
Regarding the SDGs under review at the 2023 HLPF, the COVID-19 pandemic has left an undeniable impact on progress across these SDGs. <SDG 6> For example, as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, it is abundantly clear that safely managed drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services are vital to human health. But unless progress picks up speed – dramatically – billions of people will still lack these essential services in 2030. In addition, water is fundamental to many other aspects of sustainable development and is under threat due to rising demand from rapid population growth, urbanization and increasing pressure from agriculture, industry and the energy sector. Decades of misuse, poor management and the over-extraction and contamination of freshwater and groundwater supplies have exacerbated water stress and deteriorated water-related ecosystems. This, in turn, affects human health, economic activities, and food and energy supplies. To ensure a sustainable and equitable distribution of water to meet all needs, the average global implementation rate of improved water resources management needs to double.
