2022 ECOSOC Coordination Segment Panel "Recovery from the pandemic through the lens of SDGs 4, 5, 14, 15 and 17"
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
04/02/2022
2022 ECOSOC COORDINATION SEGMENT:
LEVERAGING ECOSOC FOR AN INCLUSIVE AND RESILIENT RECOVERY GUIDED
BY THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Panel:
Human well-being and capabilities: Building back more resilient, healthy, equitable and sustainable societies:
Recovery from the pandemic through the lens of SDGs 4, 5, 14, 15 and 17
Opening Remarks
By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
As prepared
4 February 2022
His Excellency the Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council,
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Colleagues,
1. The pandemic has further highlighted our collective vulnerabilities.
2. Our most pressing challenge is rebuilding more resilient, healthy, equitable and sustainable societies.
3. Transforming our agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable will be critical to building back better, and for delivering on the 2030 Agenda and achieving the SDGs, especially SDG2, 1 and 10.
4. Agrifood systems must be beneficial for ALL.
5. Women, youth, rural communities and Indigenous Peoples should all be key actors across agrifood systems.
6. The persistent “gender gap” continues to hamper women’s access to assets, land, productive resources, services and technologies, and undermines their productive and business potential.
7. FAO’s programmes continue to prioritize rural women's engagement and leadership in agrifood systems, and to improve the status of rural women.
8. An inclusive and resilient recovery must ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute,
9. And this depends on everyone having equal access to health services, education, decent jobs and business opportunities.
10. FAO’s flagship initiatives like the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, and in particular the 1000 Digital Villages Initiative, support digital transformation in communities by providing technologies and solutions for e-services that improve education, livelihoods, agriculture, nutrition, health, and well-being of rural and marginalized populations.
11. The COVID-19 crisis has thrown a spotlight on the pivotal role of healthy ecosystems.
12. Recovery from the pandemic would not be achieved without addressing the loss of natural resources and the degradation of our terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
13. Oceans host huge reservoirs of biodiversity.
14. Small Island Developing States and all coastal communities are especially dependent on the fisheries sector for food security, livelihoods and household income.
15. FAO, together with key partners, supports projects to build resilience and mitigate vulnerability to the impacts of the climate change in the fisheries sectors.
16. The negative pressure of human activities on our ecosystems also increases the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases.
17. To mitigate the risk, we must address biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
18. This can only be achieved through an integrated and inclusive approach across all agrifood sectors.
19. Many communities are facing protracted crises.
20. Our collective and integrated approach to overcome the COVID-19 and future challenges must address compounding shocks, to reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience.
21. Inclusive recovery remains a big policy challenge for governments, civil society, the private sector and other development actors.
22. The UN system’s integrated policy advice and action supporting the 2030 Agenda and agrifood systems transformation promotes a healthy, inclusive, and green recovery.
23. FAO is hosting the recently established Coordination Hub for the follow up of UN Food System Summit,
24. Which will support countries through technical and policy support in further developing and implementing national pathways towards agrifood systems transformation.
25. FAO is committed to working together with key partners in an efficient, effective and coherent manner for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
26. The aspirations of these Four Betters reflect the interconnected economic, social and environmental dimensions of agrifood systems, and their centrality to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
27. Thank you.