The United Nations has warned: we are facing the first decline in the global development index in 30 years. According to data from Oxfam IntermĂłn, the coronavirus could plunge 500 million more people into poverty.
In Spain, working is no longer a guarantee of having the most basic needs met; according to Caritas, 2.5 million working people are living in poverty. The consequences of the pandemic are directly affecting the living conditions of people around the world, especially women, who are generally the ones who sustain life and perform essential caregiving tasks. The impact on girls is also very worrying: before the pandemic, 130 million girls were already out of school, and it is estimated that this year, 11 million are at risk of not returning to school.
According to the United Nations report "The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019," the number of major floods has doubled over the past 20 years, while droughts, wildfires, and extreme temperatures have increased.
Disasters between 2000 and 2019 claimed 1.23 million lives and affected 4.2 billion people (many more than once), resulting in approximately $2.97 trillion in global economic losses.
Hundreds of social organizations around the world are demanding the unconditional cancellation of foreign debt. As we denounced in a statement, âThe COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the health, safety, and survival of hundreds of millions of people. Communities around the world are being pushed deeper into poverty, precarious existence, and inequality, with massive losses of paid work, self-employment, and livelihoods, as well as diminished access to food, water and sanitation, adequate housing, education, health services, and other basic needs.â
European and Spanish budgets
It seems that political decisions are blowing in the opposite direction to urgent global needs. The EU is currently negotiating what is known as the "Multiannual Financial Framework," that is, its 2021-2027 budget. Everything points to significant cuts in cooperation and external action. Together with our European partners, we have already warned: "The decision to cut funds allocated to cooperation and external action in the EU must be reversed. The multiple and complex crises we face as humanity demand a firm commitment to shared responsibility and solidarity. The next decade must be marked by unprecedented international cooperation and action that guarantees human rights worldwide, the protection of the planet, and the fulfillment of the commitments made in the 2030 Agenda."
The situation in Spain is not very different. Over the last ten years, development cooperation has suffered enormous cuts that have not been recovered. After a lost decade, we remain at the bottom of Europe in terms of commitment to this policy. The Government has expressed its commitment to reaching 0.5% by the end of this term; it now remains to be seen whether this commitment translates into clear measures and resources included in the next general state budget. The current context shows us that development cooperation policy must be part of the package of public policies we need to strengthen so that our country can prosper in a world with greater threats and global tensions and put us on the roadmap for the 2030 Agenda. We have communicated this to the Government.
Citizen mobilizations
This week, numerous cities around the world will host street protests demanding public policies that curb poverty, guarantee human rights, and protect our environments.
