It‘s in all our interests to end the pandemic and the economic crisis it continues to drive. We have the means to do this, so what are the issues standing between us and finally ending the pandemic? 1. Wealthy countries are still hoarding vaccines despite nearly meeting the global vaccination target Did you know? New analysis from ONE shows that twice as many people in wealthier countries have received a booster shot as people in low-income countries got their first vaccine...
At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, wealthy countries ripped up the economic rulebook to support their people and economies through the crisis but the response globally and support for other countries who didn‘t have the same luxury has been a little more lacklustre. This hampered many low-income countries’ abilities to respond to the pandemic, particularly against the backdrop of a growing economic crisis, unsustainable debts, and a liquidity crisis. It’s now been over 18 months since the start of...
The global response to COVID-19 is not working. So far this year, despite the development and roll out of effective vaccines, more than twice the number of people have died from COVID-19 than in all 2020. More than 8,000 people died each day in the past week. A new target to vaccinate 70% of the population in all country income categories by September 2022 could provide the impetus needed to bring the pandemic under control. But as ONE‘s latest analysis...
Nearly a year and a half into the crisis, COVID-19 has taken as many as 12.7 million lives and cost the world economy trillions of dollars. It is threatening to push 115 million more people into extreme poverty, with women and girls fairing the worst. In Africa, the aftershocks of the pandemic are particularly profound. Throughout West Africa, the price of staples is up 40% over a five-year average. At one point, Nigeria was spending 99% of its revenues on...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the creation of safe and effective vaccines to fight the virus within a year of the first reported cases is a huge scientific achievement. It has shifted the conversation from “if” there will be an end to the pandemic to “when.” Even with vaccines being rolled out, we know that we won’t beat this disease fully until we beat it everywhere, so we need to ensure vaccines and medicines reach people at risk wherever they...
Yesterday the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) released the latest preliminary data on global aid spending in 2020. It showed that last year, donors provided $161 billion in official development assistance (ODA). This represents a 3.5% increase, in real terms, compared to 2019. It is especially encouraging to see that in a year where there was a global pandemic and economic downturn and even advanced economies suffered, they still managed to prioritise and increase global aid. More ambition required However, this...
While the pandemic is hitting all global economies around the world, African countries have been hit especially badly. In the lead-up to the pandemic, there was a decline in official development assistance (ODA) and an increase in debt. And since the pandemic hit, there have been huge declines in remittances, foreign investment, and revenues. The impact isn’t just economic, but it’s also on an individual level — access to vaccines, children not being able to go to school and learn,...
The World Bank estimates that COVID-19 could push between 143 and 163 million people into extreme poverty around the world in 2021, including nearly 50 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. And the pandemic could end up costing the global economy more than US$22 trillion by 2025 — roughly US$10 billion a day — compared to pre-pandemic projected growth. To combat the pandemic, advanced economies have moved fast to pre-order vaccines and pump trillions of dollars to shore up national economies....
COVID-19 is not just a health crisis, but a massive economic crisis costing the global economy more than US$300 billion a month — roughly US$10 billion a day — over six years. Government finances have been hit hard due to strict lockdowns, and dramatic declines in global trade, commodity prices, and tourism. While every country is affected, not every country has equal means to respond. Many wealthy countries moved swiftly to keep their economies afloat through stimulus packages worth...
Something amazing has happened. The World Trade Organization just appointed its first-ever woman director general and its first-ever African as director general, all in the person of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The new DG brings both energy and amazing experience to the table — former VP of the World Bank, former finance minister of Nigeria, past chair of the board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and former board member of the ONE Campaign. CV highlights aside, Dr. Ngozi brings...