New OECD projects paint a grim picture for economic growth and recovery in the world’s biggest economies. The projections focus on two scenarios, one in which there is a second outbreak of COVID-19 infections before the end of 2020, with global lockdowns reinstated, and the other where a new wave is avoided.
But our Executive Director of Policy David McNair asked a different question: how will the aftershocks of COVID-19 affect the world’s poorest countries?
https://twitter.com/David_McNair/status/1271393245365522434
Government measures around the world have...
Policy
What policy measures have African governments taken so far during the COVID-19 pandemic? How many ventilators, hospital beds, and intensive care units do countries currently have? What have the economic shocks from COVID-19 meant for food security and remittances?
While the virus itself has been slower to impact Africa than other parts of the world, the drastic declines in global trade and travel — combined with measures like quarantines — are significantly impacting economies and well-being across the continent.
To better...
In just three months, COVID-19 has upended life in Africa. Around 70,000 people have been infected and over 2,000 have died.
Statistically, the African continent has been spared from the high concentration of cases seen elsewhere. Politically, in a world where there is a deficit on global leadership, we have seen the African Union step up to ensure a coordinated response across the continent, particularly in supporting countries with weak health systems and pushing for debt restructuring.
However, the reality remains...
The costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are going to be monumental. Africa alone is estimated to need US$100-$200 billion to address the impact. In higher income countries, governments have stepped forward with trillions in economic stimulus packages. But the majority of developing countries do not have the money to cover the costs of this pandemic.
Debt relief is one of the fastest, most effective means of freeing up cash in developing country budgets. The recent G20 agreement to suspend debt...
Developing a vaccine is key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are currently almost 100 COVID vaccine candidates under development.
During a recent press briefing, Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, explained that “in an extraordinary time like this is the world coming to fully appreciate the need for vaccines … people understand more why it’s so important.”
“If we want to end this pandemic, minimise the loss of life, and return to some semblance of normality …...
The world has made massive strides in ending extreme poverty over the past two decades. Since 2000, over a billion people have escaped extreme poverty. At that rate, the global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 could be possible.
But the problem is far from solved. Today, 592 million people worldwide are living on under US$1.90 a day. While extreme poverty is decreasing on the whole, more people are entering extreme poverty in the countries most affected by poverty....
As part of its COVID-19 action plan, the G20 has agreed to suspend debt repayments for the poorest countries who request relief, for the rest of 2020. They estimate this could free up to US$12 billion in government debt payments. The G20 also calls on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and private lenders to provide comparable debt relief.
This decision follows calls from the ONE Campaign and 200 other organisations to support the world’s most vulnerable nations during...
Dear G20 Finance Ministers,
It’s been over three months since the first COVID-19 case was reported in China. Since then, the health, economic, and geopolitical impacts of the pandemic have brought the world to a standstill.
Two weeks ago, leaders pledged to do “whatever it takes” to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. As we await to see your action plan ahead of the next G20 financing meeting on 15 April, it’s imperative that you spell out your commitments to the most vulnerable...
COVID-19 is impacting our lives, our communities, and our economies. While the virus is affecting everyone, it will have the most significant impact on those most vulnerable, whether they live across the street or across the ocean.
Viruses don’t pay attention to borders — and neither can the world’s response plan. We need to mobilise resources for a humanitarian response not seen in decades. We need to make sure that new medicines and a vaccine, once available, are distributed equitably....
After the #MeToo movement pulled back the curtains on sexual assault and harassment, gender equality efforts are on the rise. It’s the year of the woman, there are viral “feminist” videos and gendered media campaigns — and even in donor countries development strategies are catching on: women, girls, gender equality, female, and feminism are popping up everywhere in government’s foreign aid strategies.
Following trendsetters Sweden and Canada with their 2014 Feminist Foreign Policy and 2017 Feminist International Assistance Policy respectively,...