UN DESA has continued to push forward action to support

I N T R O D U C T I O N implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement

of the Sustainable Development Goals for all people
everywhere. The work of the Department is guided by the
10 critical action areas to which Member States committed
in the political declaration at the SDG Summit in September
2019, and focuses on the entry points most effective for
accelerating integrated and cross-sectoral progress. Even as
the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world at its core, further
stalling progress in some areas of development, and
reversing gains in others, UN DESA has remained steadfast,
providing the hard-hitting analysis, data, projections, policy
guidance and capacity-building Member States need to
respond today with tomorrow in mind, and fulfil the promise
of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable
development.

10 priority action areas of Member States:

Leaving no one behind

Mobilizing adequate and well-directed financing

Enhancing national implementation

Strengthening institutions for more integrated solutions

Bolstering local action to accelerate implementation

Reducing disaster risk and building resilience

Solving challenges through international cooperation and

enhancing the global partnership

Harnessing science, technology and innovation with a greater

focus on digital transformation for sustainable development

Investing in data and statistics for the Sustainable Development

Goals

Strengthening the High-level Political Forum

Photo credit: Mr. HE Long, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

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 UN DESA: Responding today for a
better tomorrow

As I introduce this second edition of the UN

DESA Highlights, the world faces compounded
crises. Just as local, national, regional and global
leaders were gearing up for accelerated action
to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals,
our attention was turned to battling a deadly
coronavirus as it rapidly spread across the globe,
attacking our communities at the very social and
economic fissures that the SDGs are designed to
fill.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been further

offsetting efforts to implement the SDGs and
it threatens to undo the achievements already
made in many areas. Through the pace of its in global value chains and the supply of products.
spread, the nature of its symptoms and the
The pandemic is affecting the world’s poorest
responses that have had to be put in place to
and the most vulnerable people the most, which
curb them, COVID-19 has been devastating
too often includes older persons, persons with
health systems globally and threatening already
disabilities, indigenous peoples and ethnic
achieved health outcomes. It is pushing tens
minorities, migrants and refugees, and informal
of millions of people back into extreme poverty
sector workers. Women and children are also
and hunger and has kept hundreds of millions of
bearing the heaviest brunt. So too are the most
students out of schools for prolonged periods.
vulnerable countries, including least-developed
The pandemic has been severely affecting
and land-locked developing countries, small
the livelihoods of the global workforce, with
island developing States and countries in fragile
economic slowdown fuelling unemployment and
situations.
underemployment, and it has caused disruptions

6
In responding to this emergency, the Department DESA’s engagement with Member States
immediately pivoted our intellectual resources remained firmly anchored in supporting their
toward understanding and projecting the real and intergovernmental processes and deliberations.
potential socioeconomic fallout of the pandemic Despite the challenges posed by connectivity
and identifying policy recommendations and a n d t h e u n p re ce d e n t e d n e e d fo r v i r t u a l
concrete actions for Member States to consider. negotiations, there were some notable successes,
In support of the work of the Secretary-General including adoption, by the ECOSOC Financing
and the broader UN family we released these for Development Forum, of the first universally
insights as a series of focused policy briefs, agreed set of United Nations policies to finance
designed to guide policy makers through the COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. A
tough decisions that they have faced, and mapping of financing mechanisms was also made
continue to tackle, as we manoeuvre amid the available, to aid Member States’ efforts to access
impact of the crisis. The twenty-three briefs, such resources.
released from 1 April 2020 through June of this
We provided effective and critical substantive
year, addressed a number of hard-hitting issues,
support to the High-level Political Forum on
including designing inclusive stimulus packages,
Sustainable Development (HLPF), ECOSOC
preventing a global debt crisis, supporting
and its subsidiary bodies. As the first major
countries in special situations, protecting
meeting of the universal membership to discuss
the most vulnerable groups of people, and
the major threats COVID-19 represents for SDG
strengthening the role of science and technology.
implementation since the current emergency
The briefs emphasized the need for an effective
response measures came into effect, the Forum
and coordinated response to COVID-19 that
delivered a strong message that we need a
places the most vulnerable populations at its
multilateral response to the COVID-19 crisis and
core.
that the 2030 Agenda must be our guidepost as
Under tremendous pressure and with limited we recover better.
resources, our experts worked hard to ensure that
While COVID-19 has brought new context and
their analysis was fit for purpose and accessible
urgency to our work, the underlying impetus of
to the policy makers who needed it most.
our thought leadership, capacity development
They swiftly adjusted working methods, and
and other support to Member States has
partnered with academicians, governments and
remained constant.
other stakeholders to host webinars and virtual
trainings for applying their recommendations on As the highlights in this volume will attest,
the ground. we continued to demonstrate UN DESA’s
commitment and contribution to supporting
Against this rapidly shifting landscape, UN
and strengthening multilateralism, and to

7
 advancing inclusive, people-centred, sustainable Effective partnerships for amplifying impact
development, guided by a commitment to gender have become an increased feature of work in UN
equality and the empowerment of women. DESA. The United Nations Economists Network
has been a testament to that, facilitating
We entered 2020 with a concrete plan of action,
collaboration and joint work among agencies on
spring boarding from the milestone decisions of
issues of shared interest. The Network has been
Member States at the SDG Summit, High-level
a platform for integrated support on economic,
Dialogue on Financing for Development, and
financial and social policy issues to the UN
High-level Mid-term Review of Implementation
Country Teams and Resident Coordinator Offices.
of the SAMOA Pathway, among others.
Its first collaborative volume will be released later
We strengthened our work to further enhance this year.
the synergies between climate action and
Throughout the 74th session of the General
realizing the SDGs. 2019-2020 saw increased
Assembly, the Department has seen the growth
research and analysis on sustainable transport,
of its impact and relevance in related fora and
oceans, energy, water and sanitation, and the
processes in the international development
launch of related information networks, and data
sphere, including the Conference of Parties to
initiatives.
the UNFCCC, the Conference of Parties to the
Our increased focus, in UN DESA publications, Convention on Biological Diversity, G20, World
on identifying and forecasting the trajectory Economic Forum and World Bank-IMF meetings.
of persistent and emerging social, economic,
As we enter the period of the 75th Session of the
demographic, political and environmental
General Assembly, the vision of UN DESA is clear.
megatrends, and on tracking and forecasting
their impact on sustainable development, proved We are forging ahead with the Decade of
a valuable asset as the United Nations sought to Action to deliver the SDGs with a solid plan
shape the multilateral response to the social and for integrating our varied expertise to support
economic impacts of intersecting crises. And as and guide Member States along five key areas
the world explores options for recovering better of action: 1) promoting equality and inclusive
- with resilience and forward-looking policies - growth, 2) supporting evidence-based decision
the Department is supporting mobilization of making through high-quality data and statistics,
financing for sustainable development, including 3) strengthening the science-policy interface,
through increased attention to the impact of 4) working at the synergies of climate action
private investment, supporting delivery of the and SDG achievement, and 5) supporting
objectives of the GISD Alliance, and forests countries to incorporate demographic trends into
financing. development policy and planning. Setting the

8
foundation for this work is an underlying focus Wo r k i n g w i t h s t a k e h o l d e r s a c r o s s t h e
on sustainable finance, effective governance and international community, we will continue to
ensuring the achievement of gender equality and push forward evidence-based policies and build
the empowerment of women across all areas, at the capacities of Member States for moving the
all levels. world towards sustainable development for all.

Liu Zhenmin

Under-Secretary-General for

Economic and Social Affairs

September 2020

9
What does UN DESA do?
Intergovernmental support

By facilitating major global conferences and summits in the economic, social

and environmental fields, as mandated by UN Member States, UN DESA assists
countries as they find common ground, set norms, and take decisive steps to
move the world forward.

Analysis
As the think tank of the United Nations, UN DESA, generates, analyses and
compiles a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and statistics
to inform and advise Member States and other stakeholders as they take stock of
trends and policy options to tackle common problems.

Capacity-building

UN DESA aids in translating policy frameworks developed in UN conferences and

summits into programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance,
supports Member States in building national capacities.

Major databases

• Ocean Voluntary Commitment Database • UN Data

• Population Databases • UN e-Government Knowledge Database

• SDG Acceleration Action Database • UN Global SDG Indicators Database

• SDG Good Practices Database • UN LDC Data

• SIDS Partnerships Database • UN Public Service Awards Database

• UN Comtrade International Trade Statistics • UN SDG Data Hub

Database • UN System SDG Implementation Database

• UN COVID-19 Data Hub • Voluntary National Reviews Database

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 Major publications

World Social Report World Economic Financing for Sustainable International

Situation and Development Report Migration Report
Prospects

State of the World’s The Sustainable The World's Women United Nations
Indigenous Peoples Development E-Government Survey
Goals Report

World Population World Public World Youth Report

Prospects Sector Report

1 1
UN DESA in Numbers From January to December 2019,
UN DESA submitted in total 369
parliamentary documents,
including:

54 Reports of the Secretary-General

33 Notes by the Secretary-General

59 Notes by the Secretariat

10 Agendas

4 Committee Experts Reports

2 Summaries by ECOSOC President

2 Reports of an intergovernmental
group meeting

33 New Applications for Consultative

Status with ECOSOC

5 Quadrennial Reports

90 Summaries of technical papers

77 NGO Statements

UN DESA staff represent more than 80 countries worldwide, from all regions.

Progress toward gender parity at

In 2019, UN DESA ran more than 200 capacity-building projects In 2019 UN DESA’s overall website visits increased by 16% over 2018. Traffic to the main UN the Professional level in UN DESA
in more than 90 countries across the globe. DESA website increased by 30%, a testament of the efforts to coordinate outreach at the
Departmental level.

Total downloads of Top 5 5 most downloaded UN DESA

TWITTER Share of visits to the UN DESA websites (by region, 2019)
UN DESA Publications publications in 2019
769,376 Combined followers across
Sustainable Development accounts managed by UN
Goals Report 2018
343,531 DESA: 734,884

D- D -2
174,906

1
Total average growth in USG
ASG
World Population Prospects 2019: 3.3%. 5
Key Findings P- P-
3
173,829 4 P- 2
2018 2019 P-

E-Government Survey 2018

164,514 FACEBOOK Female
In 2019, UN DESA's top 5 most
Male
popular publications were Combined followers across
World Economic Situation
downloaded a combined and Prospects 2019 accounts managed by UN As of 31 March 2020, UN DESA had achieved
769,376 times, more than 151,036 DESA: 2,088,143 Europe 31% North America 23% Africa 7%
its target for gender balance at the ASG and
P4 levels. The Department remains committed
doubling total downloads for the International Migration Total average growth in
to the promise of gender parity and women’s
top 5 publications in 2018.
Report 2017 2019: 3.3%. Asia 27% atin merica 9% Oceania 3%
empowerment within its workforce,
105,091
operations and substantive approach.
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 UN DESA’s RESPONSE TO COVID-19: HIGHLIGHTS

In the wake of COVID-19, UN DESA undertook a range of immediate actions to support and
advise the Secretary-General and help Member States to respond to the pandemic and navigate
the policy choices ahead. Led by the COVID-19 response task team established in March 2020,
the Department’s experts have been closely monitoring the situation and the impact of the crisis
on economic, social and sustainable development. The findings and related recommendations
were shared through analytical reports, policy briefs, webinars, data and information hubs, Policy brief and webinar series on the economic and social impact of COVID-19
enabling the international community to make informed decisions.
UN DESA launched a special policy brief series on the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on
1 April 2020. The 23 thematic briefs, released from April to June 2020, highlighted a number of
critical issues – including designing inclusive stimulus packages; preventing a global debt crisis;
supporting countries in special situations; protecting the most vulnerable groups of people;
Supporting the Secretary-General’s initiatives in response to COVID-19 strengthening the role of science, technology and institutions for an effective response; and
working together to recover better and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The series was made available as a compilation volume Responding to COVID-19 and Recovering
UN DESA has actively supported the Photo Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider
Better.
Secretary-General’s initiatives to counter COVID-19,
contributing analysis to help policy makers take
Looking ahead, the Department continues to provide updated analyses, policy recommendations
informed decisions. The Department supported the
and practical tools to support countries in recovering better from the pandemic and advancing the
development of the United Nations framework for the
Decade of Action for sustainable development.
immediate socioeconomic response, which provides
practical guidance to Resident Coordinators and UN
Country Teams. UN DESA also provided direct input to
several policy papers and calls to action. The
Department has contributed insights, and shared policy
recommendations, on various socioeconomic challenges.

Online dialogue: launch of the compilation COVID-19 response databases

of the High-level Advisory Board for
UN DESA established the UN COVID-19 Data
Economic and Social Development (HLAB) Hub and a COVID-19 resources portal for
national statistical offices. This rapid response to
UN DESA convened 14 the need for accurate, real-time data has been a
Sustainable Development Outlook 2020 world renown experts for a welcome assistance to Member States, helping
high-level panel event to guide informed decision-making amid the
UN DESA released a special in-depth analysis focused on Recover Better: Economic global pandemic.
presenting scenarios for policy makers to shape action for and Social Challenges and
achieving the SDGs in the wake of COVID-19. Opportunities on 22 July
2020. The event launched a
The recommendations of the report revolve around three key compilation of essays by
messages: HLAB members. The Volume
1. The setbacks caused by COVID-19 need not be permanent. reflects a wide range of
COVID-19 Data Healthcare Resources
2. Our recovery from the COVID-19 crisis must direct development trends and
investment towards realization of the SDGs. issues of critical importance
3. While the lockdowns and other measures taken during the to the achievement of the
crisis negatively impacted economies and livelihoods, many SDGs and the recovery from
planet-related SDGs have benefited, a vivid revelation that the COVID-19.
current ways of achieving prosperity conflict with the health of
the planet.
Economy Population

1 4 1 5
Supporting development for all
through intergovernmental processes

General Assembly High-level Political Forum Economic and

on Sustainable Development Social Council

Plenary
Commissions
Economic and Financial Committee
Commission for
(Second Committee)
Social Development
Social, Humanitarian Commission on Population
and Cultural Committee and Development

(Third Committee) Statistical Commission

United Nations
Forum on Forests

Forums UN Collaborative Mechanisms Committees and Advisory Bodies

Development Cooperation Forum Collaborative Partnership on Forests UN-Energy Committee of Experts
on International Cooperation in Tax Matters
Financing for Development Forum Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs UN-Water
Committee on Non-Governmental Organizationas
Internet Governance Forum High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination UN Inter-agency Support Group
and Capacity-building for the 2030 Agenda on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues Committee of Experts on Public Administration
Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science,
Technology and Innovation for the SDGs Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators United Nations Inter-agency Network Committe for Development Policy
on Youth Development
Partnership Forum Inter-agency Consulative Group on SIDS Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
United Nations Global Working Group (GWG)
World Data Forum Inter-agency Support Group for the Convention UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial
on Big Data for Official Statistics
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Information Management
Youth Forum
Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development United Nations Group of Experts
on Geographical Names
Inter-agency Task Team
for the Technology Facilitation Mechanism

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