No one can doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the development of the world economy or that it has set back the progress that had been made toward realizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Nonetheless, the harmful effects of the pandemic go beyond the imagination of many.

In addition to the almost 4 million people that have died from COVID-19, the number of people living in extreme poverty rose for the first time since 1998 last year, when between 119-124 million people were pushed back into poverty and chronic hunger, and the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs were lost, according to a United Nations' report released at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development that was convened last week.

In addition, the livelihoods of 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy have been put at risk because of the pandemic.

The number of children and youths not meeting the minimum level of proficiency in reading was estimated to have increased by 101 million in 2020, which means what has been achieved in the past decade has been rendered to zero.

As far as the goal of creating a better world for all is concerned, global solidarity has never been so urgent and important as today in dealing with the common challenges the world faces.

Specifically, multilateralism in the development of the world economy to promote growth globally so that more jobs will be created and hunger for an increasing number of people will be avoided.

Unless substantial policies and actions are taken worldwide to effectively deal with the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic, international conflicts and climate change, the UN's sustainability goals will hardly be achieved.

Unilateralism and protectionism will likely destroy the global supply chain that has been established with efforts of all countries in the past several decades and only create a more divided world. The result will be the loss of jobs for many in developing countries and an increasing number of people being pushed into poverty.

The slowed global economic growth because of the pandemic did not ease the pace of global warming. 2020 ranked as the second warmest year in the 141-year record for the combined land and ocean surface. The Earth's average temperature has increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius since the late 19th century due to human activities. Extreme weather conditions have become increasingly frequent all over the world.

It is high time that the world's major countries shelved their differences and jointly committed themselves to concerted efforts against these common challenges. That China has already provided 500 million doses of vaccines and vaccine concentrates for more than 100 countries and international organizations sets an example about what to do.