Challenges and Opportunities From COVID-19 for Global Sustainable Development

We live in unprecedented times, faced with a pandemic of monumental proportions. Not only has COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the world, it also has exposed fundamental weaknesses in healthcare systems in a number of countries. We identify challenges and opportunities that COVID-19 presents by connecting the immediate need to curb the spread of the disease to the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). Considering broad social, political, and economic impacts, we focus on health disparities and the severe effects of the crisis on some populations, especially disadvantaged and underserved ones, and countries relative to others. In particular, we identify key targets for achieving SDG-3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) that will help strengthen capacities for scaling up healthcare and policy responses to understand, combat, and control COVID-19.