The COVID-19 pandemic spares no one. But its consequences for health, social and economic conditions are unequal and disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. The pandemic is also eroding the global middle class.

Against this backdrop, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its underlying principle of leaving no one behind are more than just catchphrases. They provide the framework for addressing the impacts of the pandemic and future crises in a holistic, sustainable and inclusive manner.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to add 78 million people into the number of extreme poor or those living under US$1.90 per day in developing Asia in 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates. The number is even larger for those living below $3.20 a day with an additional 162 million people expected to be pushed into poverty in 2020 in developing Asian countries. As progress in poverty reduction is reversed, a considerable erosion of Asia’s middle class is also projected. South Asia’s middle-class population is estimated to decrease by 32 million and East Asia’s by 19 million in 2020 because of the pandemic, Pew Research Center notes.