Knowledge Products

Although technological change is ultimately essential for economic growth and sustainable development, it can initially widen inequalities. Recent technological advances could bring significant benefits that touch on all the Sustainable Development Goals, but not everyone has immediate access to such progress, such as life-saving treatment, clean water, specific knowledge, or a piece of technology. For [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has created the worst crisis in Asia and the Pacific since World War II. Across the Asia-Pacific region, as across the world, countries have suffered sudden economic contractions, along with interruptions to trade, broken supply chains, and the collapse of international tourism – leading to widespread job losses and increases in poverty. [...]

The UNCCT is committed to the transparency of and the visibility in its work. This Annual Report provides a detailed account of the work of the Centre during the course of 2019, and is supplemented by the quarterly highlight reports issued by the Centre and made available through the UNCCT website (www.un.org/uncct), where additional information [...]

This is a crucial moment for the world’s food systems. Hunger has been on the rise since 2015, and 3 billion people cannot afford healthy diets. At the same time, food systems are placing unsustainable demands on the world’s water and energy resources and contributing a hefty share of greenhouse gas emissions. All these trends [...]

COVID-19 has put societies all around the world under enormous pressures and jeopardized the core principle of the Sustainable Development Goals – leaving no one behind, both globally and in China. Vulnerable groups who were already at risk before COVID-19 are now at even greater risk, making the achievement of the SDGs even more challenging. [...]

'Agenda 2063 and SDGs Implementation in Africa' is the first report from the African Peer Review Mechanism focussing on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Though there are other reports on progress towards meeting the targets of both the SDGs and Agenda 2063 at continental [...]

The SDGs are a global pledge to end to poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet for future generations, by the year 2030. This calls for unprecedented investments and cooperation across all of society – including governments, communities, civil society and the private sector. This is already changing “business as usual,” by putting the SDGs [...]

By Dr. Nir Kshetri This paper examines how recent advances in computing and telecommunications technologies are promoting financial inclusion in the Global South by dramatically transforming the way the financial industry operates. The emergence of financial technology (FinTech) companies based in the Global South and their roles in pro- moting financial inclusion in their respective [...]

By Dr. George Kararach The purpose of this paper is to highlight the major capacity constraints and challenges facing Africa as it seeks to expand its trade opportunities as well as attract greater volumes of good quality investments (both local and foreign) within the context of South-South Cooperation (SSC) and related engagements. In addition, it [...]

By Professor Myriam Ramzy & Professor Chahir Zaki Digitalization refers to the transition from an industrial age characterized by analogue technologies to a new era in which commerce, innovation, knowledge acquisition, communication and many other aspects of modern life are driven by digital technologies. Digitalization is transforming economies and societies in multiple areas, even influencing [...]