The global COVID-19 crisis threatens to end three decades of consecutive yearly gains in human development in areas including education, health and living standards, the UN Development Program (UNDP) said in a press release on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2020) The global COVID-19 crisis threatens to end three decades of consecutive yearly gains in human development in areas including education, health and living standards, the UN Development Program (UNDP) said in a press release on Wednesday.
"The world has seen many crises over the past 30 years, including the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-09. Each has hit human development hard but, overall, development gains accrued globally year-on-year," UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in the release. "COVID-19 - with its triple hit to health, education, and income - may change this trend."
Global per capita incomes are expected to drop 4 percent in 2020, the release said, affecting all countries both rich and poor.
Due to pandemic-induced school closures, 60 percent of children are not getting an education, levels not seen since the 1980s, the release said.
The UNDP urged nations to mitigate the pandemic's impact by expanding online access to underserved communities.
