KABUL, says the United Nations.
In a report, the UNDP said SDG1 (End Poverty) deteriorated significantly since poverty rate rose from its pre-COVID-19 level of just under 55 percent to 72 percent.
The pandemic has disrupted the progress recorded in the achievement of the SDGs till 2030, as the globally recognisable agenda for fostering inclusive development.
“Globally, the Human Development Index (HDI) is expected to decline this year for the first time since 1990, when it was first introduced,” the report said.
It added the government in Kabul increasingly realised that A-SDGs should be the building blocks for policy interventions addressing the socioeconomic fallout from the pandemic.
A setback for the Afghan economy and the attainment of A-SDGs, COVID-19 did not undermine Afghanistan’s long- term commitment to its sustainable development vision, the UNDP explained.
The report examines the affordability of A-SDGs attainment in 2020 by comparing fiscal capacity before and after the pandemic.
“More importantly, our results will inform policy makers on the funding needs and potentials of selected post-COVID-19 economic recovery policy options available to the government of Afghanistan.”
The UNDP underlined complementarity between fiscal, monetary, financial, trade and private sector-driven development policies for countering the impact of COVID-19 in the short-run and setting the economy on a sustainable development path, which is in alignment with the A-SDGs.
Kabul would need to allocate resources equivalent of 15% of the current GDP for immediate interventions in the health sector, along with social protection measures, including SDGs attainment in 2020.
This would include: (i) $300 million for overall SDG attainment, (ii) around $250 million for emergency interventions to fight COVID-19 and (iii) comprehensive social protection measures (cash transfer schemes to eligible citizens) amounting to the tune of $2.5 billion.
The government could mobilise more revenue through more efficient tax collections by focusing on strengthening institutions (SDG-16), according to the report.
About 30% of the potential revenue to be generated by VAT collections at the borders, 30% to be collected from excise and export tax from legalisation of illegal mining activities could fund A-SDGs achievement in 2020.
The remaining 70% additional revenue would support both the fight against COVID-19 and the longer-term development agenda.
If the cost of trade between Afghanistan and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries falls by 10%, Afghanistan’s GDP will rise by around 4% in 2020.
This additional revenue could finance SDG attainment as well as being deployed in addressing the adverse impact of COVID-19, the UNDP said.
