United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday gave a rallying call for urgent action to end the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over four million people across the world, saying the response of the international community to fight the pandemic “has been too slow and too unequal.” “Our world is challenged like never before. From climate change, to conflicts, to COVID-19, which is putting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) further out of reach,” Dr Guterres said at the 2nd SDG Moment on the eve of the commencement of the high-level week of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
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The 2nd SDG Moment to take stock of the 2030 Agenda comes as the world experiences a deeply uneven response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which risks creating a two-tier recovery with significant implications for the advancement of the SDGs, especially in developing countries. Emphasising that the world has a path to recovery “if we choose to take it”, Guterres outlined his five areas for urgent action – ending the pandemic, sustainable and equitable recovery for all, equal rights for women and girls, climate action and net-zero emissions by 2050 and public collaboration for a global recovery.
First – we need to end this pandemic. Our response has been too slow and too unequal. I call on the world to mobilise behind a global vaccination plan that doubles vaccine production, to reach 70 per cent of the world’s population by the middle of next year, he said.
More than 5.7 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally, but only 2% of them in Africa, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said last week. As per latest WHO data, there have been 228,206,384 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,687,066 deaths. As of 15 September 2021, a total of 5,634,533,040 vaccine doses have been administered. Guterres added that “we need to get down to the business of a sustainable and equitable recovery for all, so that we stay on track to end poverty by 2030.”
This means making bold investments in systems that support human development – from education and universal social protection, to health care and jobs, he said, adding that it means putting people above profits, including through progressive taxation, and ending tax evasion, money laundering, and illicit financial flows. He also stressed on the need for reforming the global financial system, tackling debt distress and ensuring that developing countries benefit from the recent allocation of Special Drawing Rights. Emphasising equal rights for women and girls, Dr Guterres said,
We cannot achieve any of the SDGs without gender equality. We need bold investments to make sure every girl has a seat in the classroom – and the skills she needs to chart her own future. We need to dismantle the power structures that allow discrimination, violence and economic hardship to keep one half of humanity down. And we need to make sure that girls and women have a seat at every table. From the halls of power to the boardrooms of business.
Dr Guterres also called for urgent climate action and said nations must “end the war on our planet” and commit to zero emissions by 2050. “Fifth – we need you. All of you are critical to global recovery. I urge you to work with your governments to put people first in their budgets and recovery plans,” he said.
It would be easy to lose hope. But we are not hopeless. Or helpless. That’s what this SDG Moment is all about, the UN chief said.
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NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
World
22,85,32,303Cases
19,11,25,571Active
3,27,15,105Recovered
46,91,627Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 195 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 22,85,32,303 and 46,91,627 have died; 19,11,25,571 are active cases and 3,27,15,105 have recovered as on September 20, 2021 at 3:48 am.
India
3,34,78,419 30,256Cases
3,18,18113,977Active
3,27,15,105 43,938Recovered
4,45,133 295Deaths
In India, there are 3,34,78,419 confirmed cases including 4,45,133 deaths. The number of active cases is 3,18,181 and 3,27,15,105 have recovered as on September 20, 2021 at 2:30 am.
State Details
State |
Cases |
Active |
Recovered |
Deaths |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maharashtra |
65,21,915 3,413 |
46,510 4,962 |
63,36,887 8,326 |
1,38,518 49 |
Kerala |
45,08,466 19,653 |
1,74,201 7,210 |
43,10,674 26,711 |
23,591 152 |
Karnataka |
29,67,866 783 |
15,411 372 |
29,14,852 1,139 |
37,603 16 |
Tamil Nadu |
26,45,380 1,697 |
16,969 76 |
25,93,074 1,594 |
35,337 27 |
Andhra Pradesh |
20,38,690 1,337 |
14,699 46 |
20,09,921 1,282 |
14,070 9 |
Uttar Pradesh |
17,09,669 17 |
198 5 |
16,86,584 12 |
22,887 |
West Bengal |
15,61,649 635 |
7,906 61 |
15,35,091 685 |
18,652 11 |
Delhi |
14,38,497 28 |
387 17 |
14,13,025 45 |
25,085 |
Odisha |
10,20,244 623 |
5,043 886 |
10,07,066 1,502 |
8,135 7 |
Chhattisgarh |
10,05,056 14 |
304 28 |
9,91,191 41 |
13,561 1 |
Rajasthan |
9,54,254 8 |
101 1 |
9,45,199 9 |
8,954 |
Gujarat |
8,25,723 8 |
136 7 |
8,15,505 15 |
10,082 |
Madhya Pradesh |
7,92,394 8 |
96 1 |
7,81,781 9 |
10,517 |
Haryana |
7,70,733 22 |
334 11 |
7,60,591 11 |
9,808 |
Bihar |
7,25,894 13 |
70 5 |
7,16,165 7 |
9,659 1 |
Telangana |
6,63,454 173 |
5,005 143 |
6,54,545 315 |
3,904 1 |
Punjab |
6,01,264 28 |
317 1 |
5,84,479 26 |
16,468 1 |
Assam |
5,97,968 259 |
5,056 7 |
5,87,115 259 |
5,797 7 |
Jharkhand |
3,48,116 2 |
56 18 |
3,42,927 20 |
5,133 |
Uttarakhand |
3,43,382 6 |
273 9 |
3,35,719 15 |
7,390 |
Jammu And Kashmir |
3,27,941 168 |
1,493 14 |
3,22,032 154 |
4,416 |
Himachal Pradesh |
2,16,906 93 |
1,562 48 |
2,11,694 140 |
3,650 1 |
Goa |
1,75,498 84 |
774 3 |
1,71,430 79 |
3,294 2 |
Puducherry |
1,25,463 79 |
923 1 |
1,22,709 78 |
1,831 2 |
Manipur |
1,18,495 234 |
2,189 9 |
1,14,475 224 |
1,831 1 |
Tripura |
83,854 14 |
336 31 |
82,710 45 |
808 |
Mizoram |
79,729 558 |
14,132 324 |
65,336 880 |
261 2 |
Meghalaya |
79,493 168 |
1,891 15 |
76,223 148 |
1,379 5 |
Chandigarh |
65,181 5 |
37 2 |
64,326 3 |
818 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
54,070 10 |
422 39 |
53,377 49 |
271 |
Sikkim |
30,955 62 |
713 15 |
29,863 77 |
379 |
Nagaland |
30,864 24 |
484 7 |
29,727 31 |
653 |
Ladakh |
20,730 28 |
134 25 |
20,389 3 |
207 |
Dadra And Nagar Haveli |
10,670 |
1 0 |
10,665 |
4 |
Lakshadweep |
10,356 |
5 1 |
10,300 1 |
51 |
Andaman And Nicobar Islands |
7,600 2 |
13 1 |
7,458 3 |
129 |