Boldly Finance Recovery to Build Forward Better

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame SundaramSYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 22 2021 (IPS) COVID-19 has become a “developing country pandemic”, retreating from the North’s mass vaccination. With developing countries heavily handicapped, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns of a “dangerous [new] divergence”. Anis ChowdhuryRenewed North-South divide The Economist believes death rates in developing countries are much higher than officially reported – 12 times more in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and 35 times greater in low-income countries (LICs)! Rich countries’ ‘vaccine nationalism’ and protection of patent monopolies have only made things worse. After “passing round the begging bowl”, recent G7 promises by the world’s largest rich countries – including a billion vaccine doses – are “too little, too late”, as emerging details confirm. Rich countries’ aid cuts during the pandemic have only rubbed salt into an open wound. Without meaningful debt relief by lenders, developing countries are falling further behind once again. Borrow domestically Now, developing countries must mobilise funds domestically for relief and recovery as foreign exchange is only needed to finance imports. Central bank governors have long agreed that “the scope for relying more on domestic markets, and less on international markets, is considerable”. Government bonds issued for domestic borrowing are widely considered safe savings instruments. They thus a...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Aid Economy & Trade Financial Crisis Global Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies Labour TerraViva United Nations jomo kwame sun Source Type: news