I think it is safe to say that this past year we depended on technology more than ever before. Between connecting with family and friends or working from home by Zoom and using web “apps” like never before for health or shopping issues, COVID-19 made us all a bit more technology dependent. In fact, some argue convincingly that technology has become so central to life today that it should be considered a human right. Especially during Covid, technology has become the gateway to education, to services, and to a form of much-needed human connection. Now, having considered all of this, can you believe that 789 million people around the world lack electricity?
 
As efforts are made to provide the world with electricity and the technologies that drive advancement, SDG 7 challenges us to ensure that this energy is not only available, but affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern. From eradicating poverty through “advancements in health, education, water supply and industrialization” to “mitigating climate change” (United Nations), access to clean energy is a  powerful tool and an ambitious goal that, if actuated, has great potential to create a more connected and inclusive world.
 
As we modernize our energy and learn about the effects of different energy sources it is important to ensure that our resources are clean and renewable. Many of the energy sources we use today are not clean and are polluting the earth we call home at an alarming speed, propelling the world down a path from which there may soon be no return.  We will reflect more deeply on the issue under SDG 13 “Climate Action.”
 
Closer to home and on a more personal level, we need to think about our everyday tasks and how our actions contribute to a lifestyle that pollutes and simply ignores what we are leaving behind to future generations.    
 
For example, when we leave a room, do we think to turn the light off? Could we walk or bike more often, or occasionally use public transit instead of driving? Do we vote for candidates who support clean energy?  Do we encourage our work place to invest in clean energy?   There are obviously a ton of other suggestions that flow from such a complex issue.
 
Clean energy is not just about or for the future, it must be about the now. We are living in a world that is increasingly aware of energy’s effects on the vitality of the planet. As concerns for climate change rise and technology advances, it is our responsibility to invest in what is best for our world.  It is also critical that we make what is best not only available, but affordable, so that all human beings have equal access to the opportunities clean energy provides, and that our earthly home can begin to heal itself once again in the process.
 
 

​ 
 
 
SDG 8, which calls for the promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all, has been heavily challenged, like many of the SDGs, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
People want to work.  Work gives people dignity and a sense of purpose.  The value of Work is undeniable: it expresses human creativity and can contribute to everyone’s health and material well-being. 
 
The challenges to decent work and economic growth are many and complex both in the here and now, and in the future because we do not yet have a clear idea of what the future holds for the job market.  As technology and artificial intelligence advance, we simply do not know what jobs will be necessary in the not so distant future and what will become totally superfluous.  So as the unknown future of work unfolds in a rapidly changing environment, we can only address current needs for work and economic growth.
 
As job losses escalate, the International Labor Organization estimates that almost half of the workforce around the world is at risk of losing their livelihoods.  The ILO also states that “the economic and financial shocks associated with the pandemic—such as disruptions to industrial production, financial market volatility, and rising insecurity—are derailing the already tepid economic growth and compounding heightened risks from other factors.”
 
So, how do we come back from this economic derailing? How do we ensure that all people not only have access to work, but to decent work that includes a fair income, security, social protection, personal development and social integration? The United Nations suggests to start by focusing on providing the best quality education and training to give those entering the workforce the desired skills of their trade. When we equip workers with the skills they need to enter the workforce, they will be better positioned to transition into a decent job that brings financial and social satisfaction.  At the same time we must make continue to insist on just wages, decent working conditions, social protections and fair systems of worker-employer labor and contractual relations.  Workplaces must be inclusive and nondiscriminatory. Only then can we move forward to build a workforce centered on growth and development.
 
Once we invest in proper skill-building and implement health/safety measures that build positive work environments, we can begin to build our global economy forward better than before. Covid-19 has highlighted the instability and fragility of our global economies. It has emphasized the flaws in our systems. It has broken many of our networks. Now is the time to fill these gaps, to correct these injustices, and to build sustainable and durable networks of inclusivity, sustainability, and decent working conditions. Together, we can invest in each other’s skills and we can promote work that is mutually beneficial for workers and for the overall economy.
 
Jim Claffey
NGO Representative of the CM at the UN
Congregationofthemissionun@gmail.com
Congregationofthemission-un-ngo.com
T: cmunnyc
FB: congregation of the Mission UN

We run, then we’ll need water. We make a speech, then we’ll need water. We’re eating
food, then we’ll need water. Our hands need a wash, then we’ll need water. If it’s a hot day, then
we’ll need water. Water is not only a large part of our lives, but also an essential element of
living. We are so lucky to have access to clean water each day whenever we need it, but some
are not as lucky. In fact, it is estimated that 790 million people (11% of the world’ population) do
not have adequate access to a clean water supply.

Last year, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Ecuadorian Amazon, where I
learned a lot about the power and influence of water. The Encyclopedia Britannica estimates that
one-fifth of the Earth’s running water is carried by the Amazon River. Ironically, many of the
Indigenous Villages I visited that surround the Amazon River do not have access to clean
drinking water and many are getting sick from water-borne illnesses. It was so saddening to see
many small children having to skip school due to stomach aches. Initially, I wondered, if there is
so much water here, why can’t we just figure out a way to filter the water? Turns out, it’s not that
simple.

After more intense study of the area, I found many mining projects occurring around the
villages. These mining projects caused deforestation which led to landslides which broke many
of the water filtration pumps in the area. Playing with the kids of the villages after school, I
noticed a crack in the middle of the soccer court. “It’s because of ‘el movimiento’,” one mother
told me, referring to the movement of land due to the landslides. By the time I reached the
village of Yunganza, the filtration system had been broken for over 6 months, during which time
children were still drinking from water fountains at school, although everyone in the community
was warned to boil their water. This drew my next question, why doesn’t the government fund
new filtration projects?

Alicia Vega, the president of water in Yunganza, told me that they had asked the
government for aid, but government officials told her to just pack up and move elsewhere. Vega,
an Indigenous Shuar woman, has grown up in this village, just as all of her ancestors. The area is
full of beautiful waterfalls her community considers sacred, of petroglyphs and ancient Shuar
drawings, of Shamans that know every plant of the area as well as their various functions, of
elders that only speak the Shuar language, and of children who have come to call this area home.
The Shuar culture and heritage is lived and celebrated here, yet rather than investing in the
vibrant community, the government would rather they all leave so that the mining projects could
expand. While the mining can bring economic benefit to the country and job opportunity to the
villagers who live in these remote areas, it comes at the cost of nature and health.
​
Despite all of these obstacles, I was inspired by the resilience of the Shuar community
who gathered together and pushed through the difficulty. For the time I was there, I helped the
community by participating in a ‘Minga’. The community holds many Mingas in order to protect
each other and keep each other well. A Minga entails a collaborative work system that dates back
to ancient times. It refers to the commitment, contract, or work agreement between a group of
people. Within this particular Minga, over twenty members of the community or all ages from
teens to elders signed up to repair the water filtration system. When one signs onto a Minga, they
will work in rotation on a particular project, and in the future, if anyone who signed up needs
help with their own project, then the same group will all help the other person. In this way, it’s
like a community-based insurance plan. Each day, we’d take an hour-long hike through the
Amazon to the ‘water tomb’, as they called it. And each day, our group felt more hopeful.

By the end of my time there, the water tomb was complete, and we all gathered together
for a traditional Shuar meal, complete with fresh, cool water. Today, many of us will walk to our
fridges, click a button, and water will start pouring out, but it did not just appear there. Take a
moment to think of the journey of the water, the funding of the pipes, the maintenance workers
that keep everything running. Every time we take a sip of water, let us imagine our own
grandmothers hiking through the Amazon to fix the pipes for their grandchildren. Let us imagine
the community efforts around the world centered on bringing that cold refreshing sip to our lips.
This week and every week, as we celebrate #InternationalWaterDay, let us be more cognizant of
our responsibility to limit water-waste, to fund sustainable water projects around the world, and
to appreciate what keeps us alive.

For more information on my time with the villages of Yunganza including Photos, Videos, and Audio Messages, visit: https://chloebergeron.myportfolio.com/the-changing-shuar-voice

Chloé Bergeron
Intern with the CM’s NGO presence at the UN

In one of their songs, the Eagles rock group sings “things in this life change very slowly if they
ever change at all.” The lament of many a social activist!

To be fair, one exception would be gay marriage rights, which seem to have come more quickly
than most struggles for equality. But generally it is true that real change demands significant
patience and insistent efforts over a long period. Think of the long painful struggle in the US for
civil and voting rights, and even these are under attack once again as racism rears its ugly head.
In terms of gender equality, this aspect of justice has been slow in coming. Although we are
definitely at a better place than we were many years ago, we still have a lot of work to do.
Around the world, both laws and cultural norms are holding many back from reaching their
potential simply because of their gender identity. According to the UN, “1 in 5 women and girls
between the ages of 15 and 49 report experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate
partner within a 12-month period” … and that’s not all. Many women around the world are still
being held back from property ownership, from proper education and forced into unsafe work
environments, marriages and female genital mutilation. With all of the resources that we have
today, this is unacceptable. We must raise awareness of these issues and continue the struggle for
change.

From healthcare to personal security to social protection and economic opportunity, fighting for
gender equality means analyzing every societal system from its root and breaking the glass
ceiling that has held back some of the best and brightest from achieving their potential.
Now is the time to recognize the gender inequalities that surround us, especially because during
the pandemic, lockdown measures severely cut access to helpful services for those suffering one
or more of the results of gender inequality. A significant example: COVID has forced many
women to be trapped at home with their abusers and left without a place to feel safe, adding to
the fear and trauma many people already endure in this very different world we now live in. We
must focus on women and girls as we build back stronger from the COVID-19 Pandemic, for as
the UN states, “women are not only the hardest hit by this pandemic, they are also the backbone
of recovery in communities.”

As we work towards equality for all genders, let us not forget the power that lies in local action.
We can make our work environments inclusive and set rules that prohibit gender discrimination.
On the global scare, we can become aware of the targets of this SDG, listed below and explained
on the UN’s website: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/ in summary
form as follows:
●  End all forms of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and girls
everywhere including trafficking and all forms of exploitation;
● Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female
genital mutilation;
● Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, women’s full participation
and equal opportunity for leadership in political, economic and public life while
recognizing the value of (normally unpaid) domestic work and enhancing the rights of
women for ownership and inheritance of property, access to technology and all social
protection policies.
Together, and only together, can we create a world that adopts and strengthens sound policies
and enforceable legislation to promote gender equality on a path to a more inclusive and just
world. Some “things change very slowly” but they can and will change.

Three questions to answer quickly: how long can we live without food? (Typically about three
weeks). And without air? (About three minutes). And without water? You guessed it—three
days. The rule of 3’s.

Water is essential for healthy life, yet according to the UN, 2.2 billion people lack easy access to
safely managed potable water. We cannot even absorb food without water. And what about
basic sanitation? The figure jumps to 4.2 billion lacking decent sanitation. Although a recent
article here talked about the value of cell phones for people living in poverty, it doesn’t help that
today there are more cell phones than toilets around the world! Far too many children, estimates
say 1,000, die every day from totally preventable water and sanitation disease.

Water is key for so many issues throughout the world. How could something that many of us
simply take for granted be so fundamental to an almost endless list of issues? If drinking water is
unavailable and/or not filtered properly, it can become fatal. Health experts would say that most
of us do not drink enough water on a daily basis. By the time we really want to drink water, we
may already be a bit dehydrated. And if children do not drink enough water, they cannot
perform at their best in schools.

If water is not in ample supply in an area, it is not an exaggeration to say that wars will be fought
over water rights. And that’s only considering the impact on human health. Global environments depend on water
to live. Water is the heartbeat of us all. Without water, plants and entire ecosystems will suffer.
Even tourism, in many places around the world a critical component of national income, is
affected by dwindling sources of clean water.

During COVID-19, we are all reminded to wash our hands frequently, but what if there is no
water at hand? In fact, only two out of every five people have basic hand-washing facility with
soap and water (UN). So much for global health and the safety of us all.
​
So at the very least we should not think of water as limitless, but as an extremely valuable and
fragile resource. There are many organizations worth our support working to ensure equal
universal access to clean water through investment in simple, efficient irrigation technology and
the promotion of rainwater harvesting. There are many important actions we can take to ensure
this right for everyone. We can sign petitions to government and international organizations that
every human being has the critical right to water. When we drink water, we can pause to remind
ourselves about the importance of water as a critical resource, and when we use water for other
purposes we can try to limit the usage. This SDG asks us to prioritize the importance of water as
another way of living human solidarity, building sustainable development for the common good,
and caring for creation.

Jim Claffey
Congregation of the Mission UN NGO
congregationofthemissionun@gmail.com
Twitter: @cmunnyc
http://congregationofthemission-un-ngo

In 2008-09 my wife and I volunteered at an orphanage for boys in rural Honduras.  Walking in the nearby village one day, up the hill from the river along the pot-holed dirt road comes an ox-drawn cart…. with the driver talking on a cell phone!

What a strikingly incongruous image.   Yet it tells us something important.

Cell phones, once a luxury, are now almost a necessity.  For the impoverished, especially in rural areas, they can make all the difference for one’s life and health.  Governments in developing countries may never build the power lines necessary for landline phones.  It’s just not a budgetary priority.  The connectivity a cell phone provides, however, allows current information, access to critical services, and contact with family and friends.

Ours is an increasingly digital world.  And as technology grows at an incredible pace, cell phones are only an initial gateway into this new world.  Access to the internet has become a critical tool for education, for healthcare and for social services.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations points to the “yawning gap” in internet access, with less than half the world’s population online.  If we are to “Build Forward Better” leaving no one behind, it includes leaving no one offline.  And the longer we wait, the more people not only fall behind but fall further behind.  Digital rights, at this time in world history, are Human Rights.

An entirely new mindset about collaboration is the starting point.  We need a partnership to connect the world.  We cannot discuss connectivity with a cost-based approach.  To overcome the digital divide, nations and the private sector need to explore pragmatic solutions to achieve affordable, universal internet access.  And fundamental digital skills can be easily taught.

Think of the consequences of not bridging this gap.  School children, especially during the COVID19 pandemic, need these tools for basic education.  How many in poorer countries are falling behind at an alarming rate for lack of computer access?  It is shameful to leave so many children unschooled.  How many people forced to be on the move—refugees, migrants, the internally displaced—are either totally out of touch or spending, according to recent estimates, up to 70% of their meager resources to pay for unreliable phone service?  Telehealth is growing as a more affordable healthcare option.  Should it not be available to everyone?  Again, what are those in rural areas, abandoned women raising small children, or the disabled, to do?  Do we not feel a moral obligation to insist that the basic new technologies be available to everyone?
​
For all its dangers and misuse, the internet is knowledge and opportunity that can empower people to act on their interests and needs.  And it is possible to achieve great success.  Argentina reports that fully 85% of its population is now connected.  Realistically progress will vary greatly nation to nation, depending on each country’s financial possibilities.  But the starting point is the conviction that affordable universal connectivity is a right people should enjoy today, and that it will lead to a populace that is healthier, more educated and better positioned to contribute to a prosperity that enriches the entire nation.
 
Note: inspired by the UN’s Dept. of Economic and Social Affair webinar “Digital Inclusion for All”
Jim Claffey
NGO representative of the Congregation of the Mission to the UN
Twitter: @CMunnyc
FB:congregationofthemissionun
Congregation of the mission-un-ngo.com

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

Has global humanity ever been more focused on health? The pandemic did it. Sooner or later
health and the pandemic find their way into almost every conversation and dominate the news.
While many of us take health somewhat for granted, COVID19 has burst that bubble and shown
us how fragile health can be.

The lack of decent health affects us in so many ways, limiting our human potential, our ability to
learn and accomplish our goals, and to care adequately for ourselves and loved ones. COVID19
has unmercifully unmasked gaps, in some cases craters, in worldwide healthcare systems. Their
inadequacy is there for all to see: accessibility, coverage and cost issues predominantly. The
lack of healthcare, like so many other issues of social justice, is both a product and a producer of
poverty in our world. Financing for the health of all is not the problem; corporate greed and lack
of political will to address healthcare disparities must be addressed.

It is critical to start from the conviction that Healthcare is a Human Right. Not a privilege for
some, but a necessity—a Human Right—that all should enjoy. And with that right comes the
responsibility to do the common sense things that keep ourselves healthy. We wear masks now
to protect ourselves and because we are only as healthy as the least heathy among us in this ever
more interconnected world. Systemic Change thinking: nothing happens in isolation, everything
is connected to everything else.

SDG3 works to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” and calls for
every nation to prioritize our health and the health of our communities. Although less than half
the global population has access to essential health services, the UN believes that prior to the
pandemic, major progress was made in improving the health of millions of people. Significant
strides were made in increasing life expectancy, reducing some of the common killers associated
with child and maternal mortality, greater control of diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, and
widespread health education learning in general.

Some forward steps towards greater global health and well-being have been reversed by the
onslaught of the pandemic. We must get back on track in this regard because the world we want
depends on healthy people and communities. Along with physical health let’s not forget its
partner mental health, another striking victim of COVID, and support movements to destigmatize
and increase access to mental health practices and resources.

Google the “targets” under SDG3 to see concrete goals to make it happen. Let’s remind people
with whom we converse that Health is a Human Right and never more critical that right now.
Let’s strive to protect our own health and that of those around us. “Health Solidarity” we might
call it. Some might even call it a virtue.

SDG1: NO POVERTY
No poverty?  For real?  For everyone?

Then we can stop here.  Why 16 more goals?  If no poverty, what a fantastic world!
But no.  Poverty encompasses so much, its tentacles reach into so many related issues and problems that are not tangents but causes and results of poverty often at the same time.  Just think about poverty and health, housing, clean water, sanitation, jobs, etc.  And what about climate change and Mother Earth?  If SDG13 (Climate Action) is ignored, why worry about people when the earth might become uninhabitable?  No, the SDGs are about People AND the Planet.
Systemic Change thinkers would remind us: everything is connected to everything else, nothing happens in isolation.
SDG1 (No Poverty) posits a broad objective: “Ensuring that the entire population and especially the poorest and most vulnerable have equal rights to economic resources, access to basic services, property and land control, natural resources and new technologies.”
Ensuring these rights for every human being brings us closer to ensuring justice around the world and challenges us to examine how poverty is intricately linked to many social justice issues from gender inequality to poor education systems to environmental degradation.
When 193 countries signed on to this UN 2030 Agenda, they pledged to create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, with social protection systems and measures, to eradicate poverty.
But still: no poverty.  What an amazing thing to ponder.

In this blog series, let’s explore the meaning of the SDGs, the
Sustainable Development Goals, known as the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for the
People and the Planet. What follows is a brief introduction to the list of 17 goals.
​
In September 2015, 193 countries came together at the United Nations to adopt
and commit to a long-term, comprehensive strategy to tackle the world’s greatest
challenges related to global sustainable development. The result was the SDGs, a
list of 17 goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030.
The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are ambitious, but
they are far from unachievable. Still, in order to achieve them, much work must be
done. We must work together, leverage partnerships, analyze systemic issues,
address root causes to these issues, and take action!

These goals allow us, as a global community, to visualize where we want to be by
2030 and the world that we want to live in. By creating these comprehensive goals,
writing them out, and sharing them throughout global societies, we are able to
tangibly encourage social mobilization, create peer pressure among political
leaders, spur networks of expertise, knowledge and practice into action, and
mobilize stakeholder networks across countries, sectors and regions, to come
together for a common purpose: global development and sustainable change. 
As explained by the United Nations, we are living in a crucial time, and with only 9
years left to reach our goals, our priorities must shift, with those in the most
vulnerable positions pushed to the forefront of our agendas. 

The UN website states:
 “With just under ten years left to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals, world leaders at the SDG Summit in September 2019 called for a Decade of
Action and delivery for sustainable development, and pledged to mobilize financing,
enhance national implementation and strengthen institutions to achieve the Goals
by the target date of 2030, leaving no one behind. The UN Secretary-
General called on all sectors of society to mobilize for a decade of action on three
levels: global action to secure greater leadership, more resources and smarter
solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals; local action embedding the
needed transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks of governments, cities and local authorities; and people action, including by youth,
civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, academia and other
stakeholders, to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for the required
transformations.”

Now is the time to get informed about these goals, to spread awareness, and to
take action, especially on the key question: How accelerate their development
during COVID? Your comments and your ideas most welcome as we move
through the 17! Together, we can make great change!
​
Submitted by Jim Claffey
NGO representative of the CM to the UN