Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the global pace of human activity and at the same time made us all more cognizant of the impact of the same. What has perhaps become most evident is what was, in pre-pandemic times, less visible—the plight of the vulnerable and the close relationship between vulnerability and lack of resilience. For non-human species, the lack of human activity created opportunity without fear to rediscover and enter places where human encroachment had eliminated generational habitats. For humans, COVID-19 made clear the precarious existence of the poor, the human-made nature of systemic poverty both within and across nations, and the importance of poorer members of communities to the functioning of the economy. It was and is the poor who, based on circumstance, have been on the frontline of the pandemic. Financial challenges are reflected in differences in access to basic safety equipment, crowded living conditions, and pre-existing health risks that limit recovery for those infected. The impact of poverty is seen most evidently in locations where poverty is not residentially bounded, highlighting the significance of Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1), Zero Poverty.
This issue begins with a discussion of the ethical implications of SDG implementation. Khayesi provides a Perspective and argues that in the implementation of the SDGs there may implicitly be a bias that may further the interest of some over the needs of others. Noted is that qualitative parameters need to be included in the assessment of sustainable development in order to promote equity.
Among the poor, the social construction of poverty has made the adverse consequence to some groups disproportionately greater than for others. As noted in the Commentary by Venkatesan and Bernal, in the US, racialization of poverty has resulted in higher pandemic death rates among the Indigenous and African American populations. The authors highlight that the discussion of the impact of the pandemic based on racial outcomes obscures the causal relationship.
In this special issue, globally sourced articles explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, in relation to equity, poverty, and the SDGs, as well other sustainability measures. Ahmed provides a global perspective on poverty in a discussion of the pandemic in relation to the hyperurbanization and poverty in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The rationale for an ethical framework to promote collective behavior is offered by Makrakis, who highlights how COVID-19 has fostered a need for education for sustainability as well as action aligned with the common good.
The theme of education is addressed from the perspective of equity by Venkatesan, Bandara, Iliško, and Yenilmez, who provide a comparative assessment of education and equity attainment across a select group of countries; they discuss how the pandemic will further the divide between the rich and poor. Infrastructure for sustainable development, specific to green energy, is the focus of Ejemeyovwi, Osabuohien, Ihayere, Gitau, and Oyebola, who address energy infrastructure capacity building for sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa. The issue concludes with a discussion of race and regional implementation of SDGs in and around Atlanta in an article from Hirsch, Jelks, and Owokoniran.
We hope that the themes of this issue will spark or enhance your interest in the role of poverty reduction in the attainment of sustainability and the relationship between poverty, equity, and sustainability.