The year 2020 marks the start of the Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. From eliminating poverty and hunger to reversing climate change, this period was set to advance a shared vision and accelerate responses to the world’s gravest challenges. Ever since the 2030 Agenda launched in 2015, some gains were visible: the share of children and youth out of school had fallen; the incidence of many communicable diseases was on the decline; access to safely managed drinking water had improved; and women’s representation in leadership roles was increasing. However, the year greeted us with an unknown – The COVID-19.