Insecurity and anxiety hit humanity: the feeling of anguish grows globally

There is a growing insecurity among the population worldwide. At least six out of seven people feel insecure despite progress in development. This is the warning issued by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). And they go further, because they establish a direct relationship between feelings of insecurity and loss of confidence. People with a higher sense of insecurity are three times less likely to trust others.

If we add to this the presence of conflicts, which affect 1.2 billion people around the world, the future is not promising. Another fact: in 2021, despite reaching the highest GDP in history, lGlobal life expectancy fell for the second consecutive yearwith an average decline of 1.5 years compared to the pre-pandemic trend.

What are we doing wrong as humanity? In its report ‘The new threats to human security in the Anthropocene’, the UNDP reveals that, despite progress, the feeling of security is below the minimum in almost all countrieseven with those with high levels of education, wealth, and health care.

Contrary to what one might think, the population of developed countries also present a higher degree of cases of anxiety than ten years ago. At this point, can it be remedied? The UN itself points to the solution by calling to strengthen international solidarity and implement measures that allow populations to live without fear and with dignity.

Anxiety and insecurity even before the pandemic

“Although the world enjoys unprecedented wealth, most people are worried about the future, feelings that have probably been exacerbated by the pandemic,” said the UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner which has indicated that in “our unbridled pursuit of economic growth we continue to destroy our natural environment while increasing inequalities, both within and between countries”.

Thus, he clarified that “it is time to pay attention to the signals that societies that suffer immense stress emit and redefine the true meaning of progress. We need a suitable development model for this objective that is built around the protection and restoration of our planet, and that offers new sustainable opportunities for all”, he asserted.

Steiner stressed that “the imperative to act without delay has never been more apparent” given that the data “shows a decline in life expectancy globally for the second year in a row, in part due to the pandemic and worsening all the metrics of human development.

Climate change: the other great threat

Climate change could become one of the “main causes of mortality in the world” even with a reduction in emissions. According to their own estimates, rising temperatures could kill 40 million people by the end of the century. The authors of the report have pointed out that the fight against these threats will require that policymakers “address them jointly, taking into account, in addition, the principles of protection, empowerment and solidarity in a way that creates synergies and not contradictions between the security of people, the health of the planet, and human development.

Commitment to global solidarity

“One of the fundamental aspects of practical action highlighted in the report points to strengthen a sense of global solidarity based on the idea of ​​common security. This idea assumes the notion that the security of a community depends on the security of adjacent communities,” said the United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Director of the UNDP Crisis Office, Asako Okai. And the pandemic has been a A great example that has made us learn in the worst possible way. For Okai, the virus has reminded us that “countries are largely unable to prevent the cross-border spread of new variants” and that the effort must be global and coordinated.