UN Goal: Less Inequality

The issue of inequality is complex and includes issues related primarily to health, trade and the political system.

Growing inequality is a problem for the whole world. Their consequences are not only the suffering of millions of people, but also a series of geopolitical changes such as migration. The UN's 2030 goal is to eliminate social inequality as much as possible, and it focuses mainly on developing countries and the poorest part of the population. The Sustainable Development Goals agenda also includes plans to regulate global markets, promote appropriate policies and legislation, strengthen the representation and voice of developing countries, control safe migration, and reduce the transaction costs of foreign remittances.

Child mortality

We talk about child mortality in the context of those who are under 5 years old. In 2022, 4.9 million children in this age group died globally. This is still a lot, but, surprisingly, it is at the same time a historical minimum. If we look at the indicators and recalculate the figure so translates to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births - this is a decrease of 51% since 2000. The mortality rate has decreased by an average of 51% by 2022, however, some low and middle income countries - such as Cambodia, Malawi, Mongolia and Rwanda - have made even more progress, recording a decrease of more than 75% since 2000. What has contributed to the improvement are actions related to adequate investment in primary health care (especially in the field of protecting the health and well-being of children), which at the same time shows that these actions make sense and have a real impact on improving the situation.

The situation regarding child mortality, of course, varies greatly depending on the region of the world. In developing countries, there are often significant differences depending on income levels: children in the poorest 20% of the population have about twice the chance of dying than those in the richest 20%, which is the case in many countries. It is worth remembering that close to half of all deaths of children under the age of five were in newborns, and an additional 2.1 million deaths were recorded among children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 24., that despite the improvement in the situation. Unfortunately, at the same time, we are faced with an additional issue related to mortality and the mental health crisis - according to WHO, about 727,000 people commit suicide annually, and suicide is the third leading cause of death in the 15-29 age group; as many as 73% of these cases are in low- and middle-income countries, which again indicates that these countries need more systemic assistance that takes care of It would be about citizens. The mental health crisis is not, as is often perceived in Western societies, an individual crisis — it is a problem often stemming from social problems, lack of state care, poverty, lack of development and prospects, and fear. This can be seen very well from other data, those concerning the suicide rate among men - in Europe it is highest in Georgia and post-communist countries, which shows that the effects of both communism and violent economic transformations as well as the promotion of patriarchal culture result in very serious consequences related to the psychological nature.

Deaths in childbirth: place of residence as a key factor.

The mortality of women in childbirth is still one of the biggest problems, which even today - when, it would seem, we have such advanced technology and medicine about is very strong. According to the latest UN report, every 2 minutes a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. In recent years, maternal perinatal mortality has either increased or stopped at the same level in almost all regions of the world. This is evidenced by the fact that mothers do not pass most of the recommended examinations - at least not because of such decisions - often this lack is due to low availability or, for example, the distance to a medical facility. About 270 million women do not have access to modern family planning methods. This is an essential point that tells us not only about the diseases and complications that can happen even in very good conditions of medical care, but above all about the whole context of the situation - everything related to pregnancy and childbirth is the result of the system, also political, in which women live. The culture and development of a given country influences, for example, the availability of contraception, abortion, the possibility of planning parenting in a responsible and safe way. In countries that do not have such rights, the risk of death is higher. Politicians whose decisions limit women's safety in this regard are therefore also to blame. Exercising control over one's reproductive health is, unfortunately, in many countries, partly in Poland, a topic that is being discussed in the public forum and should concern only those who are pregnant. Inequalities based on income, education, race or ethnicity exacerbate the risk for pregnant women from marginalized groups, who have the least chance of accessing primary obstetric care and at the same time are most vulnerable to the occurrence of underlying health complications during pregnancy. Of course, the highest number of female deaths is concentrated in the poorest parts of the world and in countries affected by conflict. About 70% of all maternal deaths in 2020 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. In nine countries affected by major humanitarian crises, perinatal mortality rates were twice the global average, at 551 deaths per 100,000 live births, while the global average was 223 deaths.

The level of social protection and the UN

The latest World Bank report shows that in 2019, about 1 billion people in the world experienced catastrophic health spending (more than 10% of income, which threatens poverty). This rate increased globally by almost 4 percentage points from 2000 to 2022. Such data show that the health care system that dominates the country is of great importance, as can often be seen in the vivid examples of the United States and, for example, welfare states such as those in Scandinavia. Public health protection, although in Poland it is associated with long queues, is essential in the service of all citizens and although it will never be entirely profitable, its conscious planning - allocating a larger state budget and restructuring the system (so as to include, for example, adequate contracting of hospitals and doctors) - has a huge impact on the health of citizens. This, of course, also applies to people with disabilities, whose greater inclusion in the social system often begins with the health and social system. On Polish soil, the UN community is still waiting for the Law on Personal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities (which was prepared at the end of 2024) - unfortunately, it has not yet been introduced and is supposed to introduce a systemic, universally available assistnetry service funded by the state. This is to enable persons with disabilities to realize their right to independent living and full participation in social and professional life. In practice, the service of a personal assistant is an individual support in everyday activities, such as maintaining hygiene, running a household, communicating, moving or participating in social activities. The assistant works under the guidance of a person with a disability, based on their needs and decisions. Similar support systems are already in place in many countries.

Trade and Income Inequality

Trade support in the form of duty-free access to developed markets can stimulate economic growth in LDCs and lead to an overall increase in income. The prerequisite, however, is that these additional resources go to those most in need, and especially to women in households, if this does not happen the benefits remain scattered or partially invisible. The lack of equal status of women and men in access to income weakens the economic potential of the process of inclusive development, as we wrote recently in the article Feminist economics. For this policy to be effective, it must go two ways: on the one hand, encourage developing countries to use trade preferences to increase the level of exports and national revenues, and, on the other hand, act in parallel to equalize inequalities within households (which is often forgotten when focusing on the external economy), so that growth materially improves the situation of all members of society, and in particular of women.

summary

Reducing inequality is the key to a healthier, fairer and more peaceful world. The UN points out that real change requires not only local but also global action. Starting from systemic health care to gender equality and ending with fair trade. Although it is worth mentioning that it is economic issues that have the greatest impact on all the rest of the systems in which people from disadvantaged social strata are located.

Sources

UN Goal: Less Inequality

Child mortality

Other stories

Feminist economics

UN Goal: Innovation, Industry, Infrastructure

Mothers at work

Sustainable Development Goal: economic growth and decent work

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