Stronger UN Leadership Needed to Cope with Coronavirus Threat

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame SundaramSYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 24 2020 (IPS) The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is hard to predict as events are still unfolding, and estimates vary dramatically. UNCTAD estimates lost output in the order of US$1 trillion, just over a third of Bloomberg’s expectation of US$2.7 trillion in losses. The OECD expects global economic growth to halve from already anaemic levels. Dire consequences for achieving the already failing Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are inevitable. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable, with meagre resources available for the new threat and its consequences. As resources are urgently needed to cope with the pandemic, their ability to spend on other development priorities will be even more constrained. As with previous economic and health crises, poor and vulnerable sections of the population will be worse affected. Ahead of the forthcoming G20 leaders’ virtual emergency meeting, the UN Secretary-General warned that current national responses to the coronavirus pandemic “will not address the global scale and complexity of the crisis”. Anis ChowdhuryMillions could die without a more “coordinated global response, including helping countries that are less prepared to tackle the crisis”, as “global solidarity is not only a moral imperative, it is in everyone’s interests”. Impact on developing countries Besides the direct socio-economic impacts of th...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Development & Aid Economy & Trade Global Headlines Health Labour Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Trade & Investment Jomo Kwame Sundaram & Anis Chowdhury Source Type: news