Correlation of the sustainable development goals index score and COVID-19 death rate: a comparison among 40 Asian countries

ABSTRACT Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, numerous studies have focused on its impact on sustainable development goals (SDGs); however, research on the extent of its successful implementation in relation to protecting human lives and health remains limited. Confronted with the fact that the SDGs have become a lower priority in recent years than they were in 2015, if it could be demonstrated that the SDG achievements had effectively mitigated COVID-19 mortality, it could motivate the world to focus on achieving the SDGs. Based on data extracted from 18 February 2020 to 1 April 2022, we investigated the correlation between SDG success and COVID-19 deaths in 40 Asian countries. The outcomes indicated (i) a strong negative correlation between the SDG index score and COVID-19 mortality rate (p = 0.001), and (ii) a significant (p = 0.004) negative association between the SDG index score and COVID-19 mortality rate after controlling for other heterogeneous variables, which included the rate of fully vaccinated individuals, hospital beds, aging population, GDP per capita, and universal health coverage. This study concludes that the lower COVID-19 mortality rate depends on the level of sustainable development capacity. Therefore, to better protect current and future public health, improving sustainable development capacity should be prioritized worldwide.