An Introduction to Major Global Issues to Be Addressed

All Countries in this world are constantly struggling to establish peace, tranquility, equality, and democracy. But at the same time countries themselves get indulged in both internal and external conflict with other countries. But one has to understand that in the battleground maybe two countries are having a raging war with each other but the impact of that war is faced by the entire world and the impact does not stay within the boundaries of those two countries.

 And not just war with armaments is a threat to the entire world but also; other problems that are rising and creating a bad impact on humanity and the environment are the problems such as famine, disease, natural calamity, political disorder, and death, etc. in order to stop them one has to understand all these prevailing issues, we must address and find out the way to solve them and establish a sense of peace in the entire world.

United Nations (for the ultimate benefit of all humanity)

When it comes to global issues and resolving them one has to bring the United Nations into the limelight, as the United Nations is the only organization responsible for establishing global good conduct.

The United Nations is the body that is consistently working to safeguard peace, protect human rights, establish the framework for international justice, and promote economic and social progress, along with this United Nations is working on peacekeeping and conflict resolution and to improve people's lives around the world. United Nations is also addressing climate issues and providing aid to people from disasters and promoting women's empowerment and peaceful use of atomic energy.

But you as a citizen of this world can also bring positive changes and tackle world issues by using your own intellect and by taking a glimpse into the solutions to the problems we are going to suggest further in this blog. To know more about the “prevailing global issues, we must address”, be with us till the end of this blog.

The Most Critical Global Issues to Be Addressed

1. Aging

The population of the planet is aging. Almost every nation in the globe is seeing an increase in the number and percentage of elderly people in its population.

With implications for almost all facets of society, including the labour and financial markets, the demand for goods and services like housing, transportation, and social protection, as well as family structures and intergenerational ties, population aging is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century.

Older people are increasingly viewed as development contributors, whose capacity to act for their own and their societies' betterment should be integrated into policies and programs at all levels.

2. AIDS

The first clinical instance of the illness that would later be known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, was described by American researchers in June 1981.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), its cause, was discovered in 1983. Around 79.3 million people have acquired HIV since the epidemic's inception, and 36.3 million have passed away from AIDS-related illnesses. There will be 37.7 million HIV-positive people worldwide in 2020.

Blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk of an HIV-positive person can all contain HIV. Sexual contact that is not protected can spread it. Additionally, it spreads through unscreened blood products, non-sterile needles and syringes used for drug injection, and drug users. It can also spread through breastfeeding from HIV-positive mothers.

3. Atomic energy

Nearly at the same time, the UN and the nuclear age began. The atrocities of the Second World War, which culminated in the atomic explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, made obvious how urgently the nuclear problem needed to be addressed.

The UN Atomic Energy Commission was created by the General Assembly's first resolution to address the issues brought on by the discovery of atomic energy.And the International Atomic Energy Agency was founded in 1957 as a result of Dwight D. Eisenhower's historic 1953 speech, "Atoms for Peace" (IAEA).

In today’s world nuclear threats have become a common practice by nuclear efficient countries, but these threats have to be stopped as atomic energy is a curse to humanity, if used as a weapon. So, adequate steps have to be taken by the responsible agencies to eradicate the use of nuclear energy as a weapon in wars.

Every country that uses nuclear technology is accountable for nuclear safety. The Department of Nuclear Safety and Security of the IAEA seeks to establish a robust, long-lasting, and widely-recognized global nuclear safety and security framework for the defence of individuals, society, and the environment. This framework enables the coordinated creation and implementation of safety and security criteria, recommendations, and standards, but it is not mandated to compel the use of safety standards across a nation.

4. Big data for sustainable development

The amount of data generated globally is growing exponentially. Data creation reached 64.2 Zettabytes in 2020, a 314 percent increase from 2015. The COVID-19 pandemics' heightened demand for information also contributes to the stronger-than-anticipated growth.

The majority of this output is made up of "data exhaust," or passively gathered data from daily interactions with digital goods and services like credit cards, social media, and mobile phones. Big data refers to this flood of digital data.

Data is expanding due to the proliferation of low-cost, widely available information-sensing mobile devices as well as the fact that during the 1980s, the world's capacity for storing information has nearly quadrupled every 40 months. 

To make use of the opportunities offered by big data, fundamental aspects of human rights must be protected. Privacy, ethics, and respect for data sovereignty call for us to weigh individual rights against the advantages of the group. Many new pieces of information are passively gathered via sensor-enabled products and the "digital footprints" people leave behind, or they are inferred by computers.

The elimination of specific personal information may not fully safeguard privacy because big data is a product of distinctive human behaviour patterns. By combining different databases, it may be possible to re-identify certain people or groups of people, perhaps putting them in danger. To avoid data misuse or improper management, appropriate data protection measures must be implemented.

5. Children

Let's know about the state of children in the world, every society has a stake in increasing children's opportunities in life, and every kid has the right to health, education, and protection. Millions of children are nonetheless denied a fair chance around the world for no other reason than the nation, gender, or circumstances of their birth.

Children suffer the most from poverty. One out of every six youngsters on the planet subsists on less than US$1.90 a day. Their families find it difficult to pay for the essential medical treatment and nutrition they require to give them a good start in life. As a result of these hardships, 149 million children under the age of five had stunted growth in 2019.

Culture, class, or educational distinctions have no bearing on violence against children. Children are the victims of it in homes, schools, and institutions. A problem is also peer violence, as is the rise in cyberbullying. Children who witness violence experience isolation, loneliness, and dread as they don't know how to get help, especially if the offender is someone close to them.

The likelihood of violence can be influenced by a child's gender, disability, poverty, nationality, or religious background, with young children being particularly in danger because they are less able to speak up and seek help.

These enormous injustices and risks endanger not just the rights of the individual children but also their prospects as a whole. They maintain intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and inequality that jeopardize the security of all countries throughout the world as well as the stability of society.

6. Climate change

The most important issue of our day is climate change, and this is a pivotal period. The effects of climate change are unparalleled in magnitude, ranging from changing weather patterns that endanger food production to increasing sea levels that increase the likelihood of catastrophic flooding. Without immediate action now, future adaptation to these effects will be more difficult and expensive.

Because they prevent some of the heat from the sun from bouncing back into space and make the Earth habitable, greenhouse gases are a natural occurrence and are vital to the life of people and millions of other living creatures.

But as a result of industrialization, deforestation, and large-scale agriculture that has lasted for more than a century and a half, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has reached record heights that haven't been seen in three million years. The total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rises along with population, economy, and living standards.

There are a few fundamental, well-known scientific connections:

• The amount of GHGs present in the earth's atmosphere is directly related to the planet's average global temperature;
• Since the Industrial Revolution, both the concentration and average global temperatures have been continuously increasing. 
• The most prevalent GHG, carbon dioxide (CO2), which makes up roughly two-thirds of all GHGs, is mostly a byproduct of burning fossil fuels.

7. Ending poverty

Being poor involves more than just not having enough money or other resources to support a sustainable way of life. It shows up as starvation and malnutrition, restricted access to healthcare and other necessities, social isolation and prejudice, and a lack of involvement in decision-making.

More than 736 million people in 2015 were living below the poverty level. Prior to the pandemic, 10% of the world's population struggled to meet even the most basic needs, including access to water and sanitation, education, and health care. More than 160 million children were at risk of continuing to live in extreme poverty, and there were 122 women living in poverty for every 100 men in the 25 to 34 age range. 

The most recent estimates indicate that 734 million people, or 10% of the world's population, survived on less than $1.90 a day in 2015. With an additional 32 million and 26 million people, respectively, likely to live below the international poverty line as a result of the pandemic, southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are predicted to experience the highest increases in severe poverty.

Over the past ten years, the percentage of employees worldwide who live in extreme poverty has decreased by half, from 14.3 percent in 2010 to 7.1 percent in 2019. In accordance with baseline predictions made prior to COVID-19, 6% of the world's population would still be living in extreme poverty in 2030, falling short of the goal of eradicating poverty.

Over 70 million people could become extremely poor as a result of the pandemic's aftereffects. A lifetime of ill consequences from poverty and suffering might result from the fact that one in five youngsters live in extreme poverty. In 2016, 4 billion people, or 55% of the world's population, were not covered by any type of social safety.

8. Food

According to the most recent "status of food security and nutrition in the world report," which was released in the middle of 2021, between 720 and 811 million people experienced hunger in that year. Billion people cannot afford to consume a healthy or nutritious diet due to high costs. When comparing 2020 to 2019, there were 118 million more individuals who were hungry, or as many as 161 million when comparing the center of the expected range (768 million).

The global food systems, which are thought to be all the activities and processes affecting the production, distribution, and consumption of food, are becoming more vulnerable and inadequate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

9. Gender equality

Half of the world's population is made up of women and girls, and those also hold half of the world's potential. Gender equality is essential for the development of peaceful societies, the full realisation of human potential, and sustainable development in addition to being a fundamental human right, the realization of all human potential, and sustainable development. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that empowering women boosts economic growth and productivity.

UN Women cautions that there is still a long way to go before men and women are treated equally in terms of rights and opportunities. In order to ensure that men, women, and girls have equal access to quality healthcare, education, financial resources, and political participation, it is imperative to put an end to the many forms of gender violence. At all levels, there must be equal access to employment, leadership, and decision-making positions.

10. Human Rights

All people have the same basic legal rights, regardless of their gender, colour, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other distinction. Human rights cover a wide range of rights, such as the freedom from slavery and torture, the right to life and liberty, the freedom of speech, and the right to a job and an education, among many more. These rights apply to everyone without exception. 

The 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights was replaced as the primary UN intergovernmental body in charge of human rights on March 15, 2006, when the General Assembly formed the Human Rights Council and gave it direct reporting responsibility.

The Council, which is composed of 47 State representatives, has the responsibility of addressing instances of human rights violations and making recommendations on them, including responding to human rights emergencies, in order to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights all over the world. 

The Universal Periodic Review is the Human Rights Council's most novel feature. The 193 UN member states' human rights records are examined every four years as part of this special procedure.

Under the direction of the Council, the Review is a cooperative, state-driven process that gives each state the chance to present the steps they have taken and obstacles they still need to overcome in order to better the human rights situation in their nation and uphold their international obligations. The Review aims to guarantee fair treatment for all nations.

11. Migration:
    
    Any individual who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his or her habitual place of residence, regardless of:

• The individual's legal status, 
• The movement's voluntariness or involuntary nature, 
• The reasons behind the movement, 
• The length of the stay, etc.

Humanity has been on the move ever since the beginning of time. Some people relocate to join family, pursue educational chances, or find employment or economic opportunities.Others move in order to escape conflict, persecution, terrorism, or violations of human rights.

Others still migrate in reaction to the unfavorable consequences of environmental variables like natural catastrophes or climate change. More people than ever before are living outside of their nation of birth nowadays.

The IOM World Migration Report 2020 estimates that there were about 272 million migrants worldwide as of June 2019, an increase of 51 million from 2010. Almost two-thirds were migrant workers. 3.5% of the world's population was made up of immigrants in 2019.

The General Assembly declared December 18th, 2000, International Migrants Day. The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was adopted by the Assembly on that day in 1990.

12. Oceans and the law of the sea:
    
    The waters gave rise to life itself. 140 million square miles, or over 72% of the surface of the Earth, are covered by the ocean. For the life it helped create, the ocean has always been a significant source of sustenance. From the beginning of recorded history, it has also facilitated trade and commerce, exploration, and discovery. People have been drawn together and torn apart by it.
    
    The majority of people on the planet still live within 200 miles of the sea and have intimate ties to it, even though the continents have been surveyed and their innards have been made accessible by land, water, and air. The freedom-of-the-seas theory, which was proposed in the 17th century and basically restricted sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the oceans to a narrow sea belt encircling a nation's coastline, had long applied to the oceans.
    
    The remaining waters were deemed to belong to no one and be free for all. While this position persisted throughout the 20th century, there was a push to expand national rights over offshore resources by the middle of the century. But our concern towards the marine water is not just for our benefits it is for the marine animals as marine water is their natural habitat. To preserve them and to sustain the quality of marine water adequate steps should be taken.
     
13. Cyber security:
    
    On page 9 of the WEF's Global Risks Report 2022, cybersecurity vulnerabilities were noted as a potential problem. Rapid digitalization, which was partly sparked by COVID-19, is the cause. Today's "advanced economies" face a greater risk of cyberattacks than ever before. Failure in cybersecurity was cited by GRPS respondents as a serious short-term danger.
    
    Malware and ransomware attacks increased by 358% and 435%, respectively, in 2020. This is due to a number of factors, including more effective (and straightforward) attack techniques and subpar governance. Cyberattacks undermine public trust and have a wide range of catastrophic repercussions. Countries' cybersecurity must keep up as they become increasingly reliant on digitalization.

Conclusion:

After reading a lengthy blog and learning about various current Global issues that must be addressed promptly, we are confident that you will discover a solution. However, as responsible global citizens, we will also try to contribute our ideas to the world and address these issues in order to make our planet Earth suitable for living for all species that currently inhabit the planet.