Welcome to the United Nations
Policy Briefs
UN DESA experts are working to help decision makers around the world navigate tough choices and to find ways to recover better from the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for complex and compounded risks in today's interconnected world.
Watch this space for the latest research, analysis and policy advice from UN DESA, an effort to support and complement the United Nations Secretary-General’s initiatives in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and call by the Member States to advance Our Common Agenda.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #87: Integrated national financing frameworks—a framework to build back better
Financing has emerged as a key challenge in SDG implementation. Yet, a recent study found that 79 out of 107 national sustainable development plans are not costed. Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) can help countries to close this gap.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #86: The long-term impact of COVID-19 on poverty
As developing countries currently face the prospect
of costly debt crises with far-reaching consequences,
global action is urgently needed. The window to mitigate
the disastrous long-term consequences of COVID-19 on
poverty is closing rapidly.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #85: Impact of COVID-19: perspective from Voluntary National Reviews
Multilateralism and global solidarity are essential to build back better by responding to COVID-19 in a way that supports the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs, bolsters results and addresses gaps in sustainable development.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #84: Achieving SDGs in the wake of COVID-19: Scenarios for policymakers
Establishment of robust universal healthcare and social protection systems should be taken as immediate goals, and efforts should be made to build upon the emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis so as to reach these goals.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #81: Impact of COVID-19 on SDG progress: a statistical perspective
COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on all 17 Goals and threatening the achievements already made in
many areas. While the virus has impacted everyone, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are affected
disproportionally by the pandemic.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #83: Recovering from COVID-19: the importance of investing in global public goods for health
Amidst deliberations on priority areas for rebuilding, much attention has been paid to the need to strengthen domestic health care, and such proposals will certainly be high on the agenda for many Governments. The crisis, however, has also shone a spotlight on the shortcomings of the global health system.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #82: COVID-19 and a primer on shock-responsive social protection systems
Risks of implementing more shockresponsive social protection include overwhelming demand, lack of coordination, poor targeting and negative public perception. These can be partially offset by ensuring universal access to programmes. A country’s available fiscal space and level of debt distress are key contextual factors that determine the feasibility of more shock-responsive social protection.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #80: Forests at the heart of a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
This brief highlights how forests and the forestry sector provide essential services and products to support health and livelihoods during times of crisis, how investing in sustainable forest management and forestry jobs offer opportunities for a green recovery, and how healthy forests build resilience against future pandemics. In this context, it proposes policy recommendations to ensure that forest-based solutions be considered for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and building back better.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #79: The role of public service and public servants during the COVID-19 pandemic
If not contained, the pandemic will jeopardize meeting the 2030 deadline, by diverting resources from development efforts to crisis response. The public servant sits at the heart of ensuring effective response to the crisis, whether as a frontline worker in healthcare, or in devising strategies and plans to mitigate its impact.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #78: Achieving the SDGs through the COVID-19 response and recovery
The impact of COVID-19 on SDG achievement will only be known with certainty in the months to come, but assessments for 2020 are bleak. If responses are ad hoc, underfunded and without a view to long-term goals, decades of progress stand to be reversed. However, as countries begin to move towards recovery, coherent and comprehensive actions can place the world on a robust trajectory towards achieving sustainable development.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #77: How can investors move from greenwashing to SDG-enabling?
Companies must adapt their business model to reflect growing risks and uncertainties, and help build a sustainable world; doing so is necessary to preserve their financial performance in the long run
UN/DESA Policy Brief #76: COVID-19 poses grievous economic challenge to landlocked developing countries
The Covid-19 pandemic is increasing the risks of a balance of payments crisis, a food crisis and a debt crisis in landlocked developing countries
UN/DESA Policy Brief #75: COVID-19: Reaffirming State-People Governance Relationships
This policy brief discusses the role of effective governance, and in particular the role of the relationship between the state and people, in building countries’ resiliency and in responding to and managing nation-wide crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #74: Resilient institutions in times of crisis: transparency, accountability and participation at the national level key to effective response to COVID-19
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents a risk to key dimensions of national institutions highlighted in Sustainable Development Goal 16 (in terms of limiting transparency and access to information, eroding safeguards to accountability including integrity violations, fraud and corruption, and restricting participation and engagement).
UN/DESA Policy Brief #73: The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social development
This policy brief highlights the challenges COVID-19 has posed to both the sporting world and to physical activity and well-being, including for marginalized or vulnerable groups. It further provides recommendations for Governments and other stakeholders, as well as for the UN system, to support the safe reopening of sporting events, as well as to support physical activity during the pandemic and beyond.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #72: COVID-19 and sovereign debt
Without aggressive policy action, the COVID-19 pandemic could turn into a protracted debt crisis for many developing countries. High debt servicing hamstrings developing countries’ immediate response to COVID-19 and rule out needed investment in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A debt crisis would dramatically set back sustainable development.
政策简报 72: 关于COVID-19社会经济影响的政策简报： 2019冠状病毒病与主权债务
该简评提出了一些具体的建议，以期扩大对20国集团的双边债务禁令，并促进对复苏和可持续发展目标的投资，建议包括对要求暂停的高负债中等收入国家的偿债，以及引入其他债权人。
UN/DESA Policy Brief #71: COVID-19 pandemic deals a huge blow to the manufacturing exports from LDCs
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant economic challenge to LDCs that rely heavily on exporting manufactured goods, particularly clothing and apparel, amid global demand and supply-side shocks.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #70: The Impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples
COVID-19 presents a new threat to the health and survival of indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples often experience widespread stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings such as stereotyping and a lack of quality in the care provided, thus compromising standards of care and discouraging them from accessing health care.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #69: Leaving no one behind: the COVID-19 crisis through the disability and gender lens
This policy brief highlights the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls with disabilities and provides policy guidance for governments and other stakeholders to adopt inclusive and accessible measures to not only mitigate the adverse impacts of the crisis but build resilient societies.