From the invidious remarks based on the virus’s origins to the unequal vaccine distribution, the pandemic has been marked by racial animus and disparity, at both the individual and institutional levels.

COVID-19 provided a convenient excuse for those with the pre-existing condition of bigotry to act out xenophobic attacks against people of Asian descent. At the same time, racial and ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups suffered the greatest harm from the pandemic, in terms of higher infection rates and deeper economic distress.

The recovery also has been marred by an imbalance of power that has left poor countries unable to vaccinate their populations. The World Health Organization has made it clear, vaccine inequality harms the entire world, not just those countries consigned to wait at the back of the line for doses. And in 2022, as the world was taking tentative steps out of the pandemic, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the ensuing refugee crisis raised serious concerns that not all those fleeing the violence would receive the same treatment, based on the colour of their skin.

Racism is a stain on our societies. And the pandemic is a visceral demonstration of how racism and discrimination impede development, with disastrous consequences for all of us.

Yet the field of development is not immune from the racial biases that infiltrate many of the institutions that govern our lives, from policing to healthcare and economic policy. Present power structures, rooted in colonialism, often influence how progress is defined and what development strategies are pursued.

“Nobody would say overtly, ‘I believe in white supremacy’, but the assumptions in our work often reveal implicit beliefs that White societies, White ideals, White forms of social organization, are inherently superior, and that the job of development is to support the global majority to better imitate those societies of the global minority,” said Anisa Khadem Nwachuku, a sustainable development and global health consultant and one of the organizers of an internal reading series on decolonizing development.

“This idea that some 90 percent of humanity should strive to imitate the other 10 percent is a misconstruction and, in fact, is doomed to failure,” she added.

“The reading series has, for me, created a safe space where we discuss issues critical for development,” said Amitrajit Saha, Team Leader for HIV, Health and Development in Africa. “That goes beyond racism and looks at questions of dominant modes of production, the failure of legacy ideologies and economic theories and practices to address challenges to our human and non-human world and the environment.”

In part, decolonization means recognizing that development isn’t one style fits all, and progress doesn’t mean countries in the global South emulating those of the North. Each country must choose its own course to achieve its own vision for sustainable development.

In many cases, the best solutions can be found in the country’s history and culture. In confronting the crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, many countries are learning from their Indigenous communities, borrowing from the traditional knowledge and practices that have maintained ecological balance for generations. To showcase this wealth of wisdom, UNDP’s Equator Prize recognizes Indigenous and local communities that achieve exceptional development outcomes using nature-based solutions to address climate change, preserve biodiversity and green the economy.

For Anisa, the popularity of the decolonization reading series signals that people are ready to grapple with complex ideas and challenge long-held assumptions about what is right in development. “We note people’s appreciation that this is not a fringe issue we have to deal with for cosmetic reasons, that decolonization is development, that they are inextricable.”

“Wherever we see racism, we must condemn it without reservation, without hesitation, without qualification.” – António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

UNDP has joined with our fellow UN organizations in a global call to #FightRacism as an imperative to uphold the UN Charter and ensure that all people enjoy their inalienable human rights. Ending discrimination is essential also for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the organizing principle, “leave no one behind”.

“That UNDP must be an anti-racist institution – in spirit and in practice – is non-negotiable. For at the core of racism is a primitive and uncivilized rejection of the humanity in others,” said Ahunna Eziakonwa, Regional Director for Africa. “There is no place for such behaviour in the United Nations.”

Our #FightRacism efforts are based on the premise that it’s not enough to be non-racist; we need to be anti-racist – actively creating systems to dismantle structural racism. In collaboration with communities and partners around the world, through the recommendations of our anti-racism committee, through frank and open conversations among colleagues, we are working to define what that means and how to achieve it.

“The fact that, as an organization, we've paused long enough to acknowledge that this is an issue that needs addressing is a great achievement,” said Joan Manda. “Without that pause, that acknowledgement and that intention, we’re not going do much about it."