The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unrelenting in its social and economic damage. Therefore, the development crisis alarm raised by the Secretary-General in early 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, is still relevant, given the continued reversal of progress on Sustainable Development Goals. This interim report provides evaluative evidence in real time. It combines an illustrative case study with other streams of evidence to show and analyse the response of the UN Development System to the socio-economic effects of the rapidly changing COVID-19 pandemic, enabled by the ongoing reform of the UN Development System. With its focus on a single country, the case study cannot be representative of the global situation, except where it provides evidence confirmed by other data sources. The final report, to be completed in September 2022, will draw on eight case studies, interviews, and documentary evidence to make an evaluative judgment on how the UN Development System has responded to COVID-19.
