Suluk: Why It Matters Calendar

Week 1

19 July 2020 - No region has been spared from the spread of COVID-19. Its ripple effects have been complex and widespread, and no country can escape either the health or the economic dimensions of the crisis on its own.

So, instead of the original plan of going in chronological order, Goal of the week is Goal #17 - Partnership for the Goals, or in Hosn Al Suluk, Join Groups and Have Fun!

SDG17 or Suluk17 is the engine of interconnection, possibilities and promise for our collective future. COVID-19 knows no boundaries, and neither should our efforts to respond to the emergency, recover from its multidimensional impact and build back better.

Week 2

26 July 2020 - This week is the start of another 2-week total lockdown in Oman and the upcoming Eid Al Adha on the 30th July 2020. So with this blessed week, we are highlighting SDG#16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, or in Hosn Al Suluk #16 - Be in Peace.

We are all indirectly or directly affected by crimes because it threaten the foundation of peaceful societies like Oman, where we live.

Human rights put people centre-stage. Responses that are shaped by and respect human rights result in better outcomes in beating the pandemic, ensuring healthcare for everyone and preserving human dignity.

Find out some easy daily actions that can start with you, at home and with your family even during lockdown.

Week 3

2 August 2020 - Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Currently, the world is facing a global health crisis unlike any other — COVID-19 is spreading human suffering, destabilizing the global economy and upending the lives of billions of people around the globe.

The pandemic is much more than a health crisis. It requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response, matching the resolve and sacrifice of frontline health workers. People and organizations who want to help fight the pandemic and support WHO and partners can donate through the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund which supports WHO’s work to track and understand the spread of the virus, to ensure patients get the care they need and frontline workers get essential supplies and information, and to accelerate research and development of a vaccine and treatments for all who need them. You can also donate through Oman's Official Portal and take simple daily actions or hosn al suluk to help achieve this goal.

Week 4

9 August 2020 - 2019 was the second warmest year on record and the end of the warmest decade (2010- 2019) ever recorded.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rose to new records in 2019.

Climate change is affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme.

Although greenhouse gas emissions are projected to drop about 6 per cent in 2020 due to travel bans and economic slowdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, this improvement is only temporary. Climate change is not on pause. Once the global economy begins to recover from the pandemic, emissions are expected to return to higher levels.

Saving lives and livelihoods requires urgent action to address both the pandemic and the climate emergency.

Week 5

16 August 2020 - Lockdown in Oman was lifted yesterday and this week, we are marking the 11th year of World Humanitarian Day. So it is just timely to review SDG8 or in Hosn Al Suluk - Do Good Work.

COVID-19 has disrupted billions of lives and endangered the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects a global recession as bad as or worse than in 2009. As job losses escalate, the International Labor Organization estimates that nearly half of the global workforce is at risk of losing their livelihoods.

Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, one in five countries – home to billions of people living in poverty – were likely to see per capita incomes stagnate or decline in 2020. Now, the economic and financial shocks associated with COVID-19—such as disruptions to industrial production, falling commodity prices, financial market volatility, and rising insecurity—are derailing the already tepid economic growth and compounding heightened risks from other factors.

Week 6

23 August 2020 - With the 're-opening' of restaurants and shops and people allowed to dine in these establishments in Oman last week, living with the "new normal" is a daily challenge and was also seen as a "sign of life" in the Sultanate.

Oman is making progress towards Goal 7, however, we still have to do our part by changing mindsets and behaviour...we all know it, but are we actually doing them?

Week 7

30 August 2020 - The school academic year for 2020-21 in all GCC countries, will start this week except the Sultanate. In Oman, the new academic year for the government and private schools will start from November 1 for students, and from September 27 for teachers and related jobs, however, some international schools in Oman were given special permit to commence their remote learning.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, a majority of countries announced the temporary closure of schools, impacting more than 91% of students worldwide. By April 2020, close to 1.6 billion children and youth were out of school. And nearly 369 million children who rely on school meals needed to look to other sources for daily nutrition.

Never before have so many children been out of school at the same time, disrupting learning and upending lives, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised. The global pandemic has far-reaching consequences that may jeopardize hard won gains made in improving global education.

Week 8

6 September 2020 - According to the Supreme Council of Planning (2019) poverty indicators contained in the SDGs do not apply to Oman since the percentage of people living on US$1.9 (about 700 Baezas) purchasing power parity per day is zero.

However, developing countries are most at risk during – and in the aftermath – of the pandemic, not only as a health crisis but as a devastating social and economic crisis over the months and years to come. According to UNDP income losses are expected to exceed $220 billion in developing countries, and an estimated 55 per cent of the global population have no access to social protection. These losses will reverberate across societies; impacting education, human rights and, in the most severe cases, basic food security and nutrition.

Why should I care about other people’s economic situation? There are many reasons, but in short, because as human beings, our wellbeing is linked to each other. Growing inequality is detrimental to economic growth and undermines social cohesion, increasing political and social tensions and, in some circumstances, driving instability and conflicts.

Check out why SDG1 matters and what daily suluk you can do to achieve this goal.

Week 9

13 September 2020 - While substantial progress has been made in increasing access to clean drinking water and sanitation, billions of people—mostly in rural areas—still lack these basic services. Worldwide, one in three people do not have access to safe drinking water, two out of five people do not have a basic hand-washing facility with soap and water, and more than 673 million people still practice open defecation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the critical importance of sanitation, hygiene and adequate access to clean water for preventing and containing diseases. Hand hygiene saves lives. According to the World Health Organization, handwashing is one of the most effective actions you can take to reduce the spread of pathogens and prevent infections, including the COVID-19 virus.

According to the SCP (2019), 98.7% of the population in the Sultanate benefit from safe drinking water services; and as of 2018, sanitation and hygiene services cover over 98% of the population in cities and 97% in rural areas.

Check out your valued and critical personal role in achieving SDG6.

Week 10

20 September 2020 - This week we mark 4 international days - Day of Peace, Sign Languages, Maritime, and Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. They are directly linked with SDG16, however, its indirect connection with SDG 10 exist. Reducing inequalities and ensuring no one is left behind are integral to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Inequality within and among countries is a persistent cause for concern. Despite some positive signs toward reducing inequality in some dimensions, such as reducing relative income inequality in some countries and preferential trade status benefiting lower-income countries, inequality still persists.

So this week, we check on SDG10 or Hosn Al Suluk's Be Fair, Be Kind and what personal daily actions you can do.

Week 11

27 September 2020 - After decades of steady decline, the number of people who suffer from hunger – as measured by the prevalence of undernourishment – began to slowly increase again in 2015. Current estimates show that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population – up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years.

The world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would surpass 840 million by 2030 (UN, 2020). In Oman, locally produced food accounted for 58% of the total goods available for consumption (SCP, 2019). Oman is also ranked 46th out of 113 countries on the Global Food Security Index in 2019.

We all have a role to help achieve SDG 2 - SustainableOman has prepared easy daily suluk.

Week 12

4 October 2020 - Nature is critical to our survival: nature provides us with our oxygen, regulates our weather patterns, pollinates our crops, produces our food, feed and fibre. But it is under increasing stress. Human activity has altered almost 75 per cent of the earth’s surface, squeezing wildlife and nature into an ever-smaller corner of the planet.

The challenge in Oman is due to its geographical location, the Sultanate is prone to many dangers, particularly land degradation. Nevertheless, Oman is working to achieve SDG15 with the participation of international scientific and research institutions.

You can also do your part to help achieve SDG15 through easy daily suluk.

Week 13

11 October 2020 - Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world.

There has been progress over the last decades: More girls are going to school, fewer girls are forced into early marriage, more women are serving in parliament and positions of leadership, and laws are being reformed to advance gender equality.

In Oman, the absence of legal awareness among women regarding their rights is a key challenge but several awareness-raising works is currently being done. Including the Omani Women Association, which reached to 65 across Oman and 10 Community Knowledge Centers dedicated to women.

If you are a girl, you can stay in school, help empower your female classmates to do the same and fight for your right to access sexual and reproductive health services. If you are a woman, you can address unconscious biases and implicit associations that form an unintended and often an invisible barrier to equal opportunity. If you are a man or a boy, you can work alongside women and girls to achieve gender equality and embrace healthy, respectful relationships.

Week 14

18 October 2020 - We are on the second week of lockdown in Oman and it is just timely to reflect on SDG 9. Inclusive and sustainable industrialization, together with innovation and infrastructure, can unleash dynamic and competitive economic forces that generate employment and income. They play a key role in introducing and promoting new technologies, facilitating international trade and enabling the efficient use of resources.

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the urgent need for resilient infrastructure and Oman is challenged by its geographical environment for being vast and its terrain to make for easy access of digital services.  Nevertheless, the Sultanate is ranked as one of the top ten countries in the world and the first in the Middle East and North Africa region of the G3ict's Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation Index (DARE Index), a global ICT initiative aimed at measuring the digital accessibility of people with disabilities (SCP, 2019).

As much we think that it's beyond a person's reach - we have a role to help achieve this goal.

Week 15

25 October 2020 - Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future. However, at the current time, there is a continuous deterioration of coastal waters owing to pollution, and ocean acidification is having an adversarial effect on the functioning of ecosystems and biodiversity. This is also negatively impacting small scale fisheries.

Today the 2-week lockdown was lifted except for the beaches which are still not allowed to be used by everyone. It's not easy considering beaches have been part of our beautiful Omani living, however, let us all consider this as a chance for our oceans to recuperate, too.

The health of the ocean is intimately tied to our health. According to UNESCO, the ocean can be an ally against COVID19 – bacteria found in the depths of the ocean are used to carry out rapid testing to detect the presence of COVID-19. And the diversity of species found in the ocean offers great promise for pharmaceuticals.

Week 16

1 November 2020 - Today school reopens in the Sultanate of Oman and citizens and residents have mixed emotions - excited, anxious, etc. Whatever it is, the current health crisis should be looked at as an opportunity for a profound, systemic shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet.

The emergence of COVID-19 has underscored the relationship between people and nature and revealed the fundamental tenets of the trade-off we consistently face: humans have unlimited needs, but the planet has limited capacity to satisfy them. We must try to understand and appreciate the limits to which humans can push nature, before the impact is negative. Those limits must be reflected in our consumption and production patterns.

COVID-19 can be a catalyst for social change. We must build back better and transition our production and consumption patterns towards more sustainable practices.

Week 17

8 November 2020 - The Sultan Qaboos Highway and Muscat Expressway are decorated with colourful garland lights.  All these are giving a sense of pride, confidence and hope in the minds of citizens and residents in the country. Usually, the National Day celebrations entail Royal Address to the nation, an evening of colourful fireworks display, camel races and parades. But this huge 50th year might look different as we celebrate in isolation or in a safe manner.

As we approach November 18, let us check out SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities or in Hosn al Suluk - Love where you live, love Oman.

Even amidst the pandemic, we can still do our share of achieving this goal, and yes, even within the confines of your home, office, or school.