Abstract
This chapter argues that the framers of the 2030 Agenda for development have missed one of the most important goals, SDG18 (communication for all). It argues that without SDG18, it is difficult to achieve the targets set in the global goals because each of the SDGs requires an element of communication for development. As the COVID-19 pandemic indicates, the communication infrastructure available the world over served as the ‘ventilator’ that provided the needed life support for the global economy during the pandemic. Almost all institutions in many countries worked from home, and education and health activities were facilitated remotely. Major global events such as the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and the annual meetings of multilateral development institutions were conducted virtually. The entire global population relied on the mass media for information and guidance on how to tackle the pandemic. The chapter therefore strongly supports a review of the SDGs by adding SDG18 to the list of the global goals. The chapter also discusses and provides an overview of each of the 17 SDGs agreed by the 193 UN member states.
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Notes
- 1.
This chapter was written in November 2020. Going by the experience of COVID-19 (see the discussion on SDG4 about the number of school children who missed out on remote access to education), it is clear that this particular target is already off-track.
- 2.
See https://www.bic.org/news/Looming-challenge-communicating-Sustainable-Development-Goals%20 retrieved 04/11/2020.
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Yusha’u, M.J. (2021). SDG18—The Missing Ventilator: An Introduction to the 2030 Agenda for Development. In: Yusha’u, M.J., Servaes, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of International Communication and Sustainable Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69770-9_3
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