Sustainable Development Goals in Zimbabwe: Setbacks Encountered During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This chapter explores efforts made to counteract the setbacks encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic that have the potential to threaten the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Zimbabwe. The intention is to suggest new and innovative approaches to supporting the implementation of the SDGs. Since the introduction of the SDGs in 2015, Zimbabwe has endeavored to make progress toward their achievement. The government prioritized ending poverty through the country’s poverty reduction strategy, which is anchored in the country’s Vision 2030, intended to transform Zimbabwe and rebuild it into an upper-middle-income economy by 2030. The top-down commitment to achieving the health-related SDG is evident in the country’s national healthy strategy. Zimbabwe revised the National Gender Policy (NGP) in 2017, with the aim of attaining a gender-just society in which women and men enjoy equality, which extends to participation in the development process. However, more recent efforts have met with obstacles, with considerations shifting toward curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has led to the introduction of a number of lockdown measures to curtail the transmission of the virus in the country, which has had a negative impact on the progress made in previous years with regard to achieving the SDGs. The objective of the chapter, therefore, is to explore through content analysis the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts made to minimize its negative impact on the achievement of the SDGs in Zimbabwe at both national and local levels. The chapter is qualitative in nature, containing a systematic review of the literature on the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe anchored in the inductive research approach. Content analysis was carried out using the sustainable livelihood theoretical framework and other literature including journal articles and policy reports, as well as reports from international and national organizations. It was established that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted efforts toward the achievement of welfare SDGs 1–5 in particular. It is recommended that the government and relevant stakeholders should nevertheless implement strategic actions and mechanisms to ensure the continuation of efforts to achieve the SDGs. It is further noted that innovation, evaluation, and political will are needed to ensure that strategies to achieve the SDGs are supported so that the country is not left behind in terms of global achievement by 2030.