Assessment of COVID-19 impact on sustainable development goals indicators in Egypt using fuzzy analytic hierarchy...

COVID-19 significantly influences the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in both developed and developing countries. Within the 2030 agenda, Egypt is likely to face enormous negative ramifications from the virus spread. As a result, efficient control of the adverse repercussions of this virus is critical to achieving this objective. This research assesses indicators of specific SDGs in reflecting COVID-19 impact by conducting several questionnaire surveys among experts in Egypt. The scope of this research is limited to addressing poverty alleviation (SDG1), hunger abatement (SDG2), healthcare promotion (SDG3), sustainable economic growth (SDG8), and climate change mitigation (SDG13). The indicators are prioritized using the relative importance index, weighted aggregated sum product assessment technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution, and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. The rankings are finally aggregated using an approach based on the half-quadratic theory. The results reveal that the most significant indicators in reflecting the COVID-19 impact are the share of population living below the international poverty line, undernourishment prevalence, official health sector support, annual gross domestic product per capita growth rate, and number of disaster deaths for SDG1, SDG2, SDG3, SDG8, and SDG13, respectively. Recognizing and ranking the indicators could help decision-makers understand the behavior of SDG indicators in light of COVID-19. The research findings could assist policymakers in making informed decisions to reduce the pandemic effects and sustain achieving SDGs by 2030.