This note has been prepared by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) for discussion by the OECD Tourism Committee1. The Tourism Committee analyses and monitors policies and structural changes affecting the development of domestic and international tourism. It also serves as an important repository of tourism policy responses in times of crisis

“I would certainly characterize that Central and South America in particular have very much become the intense zones of transmission for this virus as we speak, and I don’t believe that we have reached the peak in that transmission. And at this point, I cannot predict when we will”, he said.

The biggest rise in caseloads can be found in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Haiti, Argentina and Bolivia.

“While the numbers are not exponential, in some countries we are seeing a progressive increase in cases on a daily basis”, said Dr. Ryan.

“And countries are having to work very hard to both understand the scale of infection, but also health systems are beginning to come under pressure across the region.”

Coronavirus: What are our experts saying

In light of the loss of revenue by CI practitioners due to the effects of COVID-19, CDB has allocated USD 50,000 for the Music sub-sector and USD 50,000 for the Festivals and Carnivals sub-sector for CIIF Emergency Relief Grants. This grant is targeted at CI entrepreneurs who can demonstrate loss of income for music, festival and carnival events that have been cancelled as a result of COVID-19.

It has taken a global pandemic to raise the world’s awareness of the importance of handwashing and access to clean water – basic services that more than 2 billion people in the world still lack.

Humble handwashing has gone mainstream because it is the first defence against COVID-19. It literally saves lives. But, the simple act of handwashing is unachievable for far too many people. For the more than one-in-three on the planet who lack basic water access, handwashing is not just a lifesaver, it is a privilege.

The project launched this month will implement UN solutions, standards, guidelines, metrics, tools and methodologies to help developing countries build transport, trade and logistics resilience in the wake of COVID-19.

It seeks to equip governments in developing and least developed countries to adapt to new post-COVID-19 conditions by tapping into UN expertise, standards, tools and guidance, while considering their specific and local conditions.

"We’ve pulled back on some of the digital tracing because of our concerns with privacy…. But that’s because the disease is receding. My guess is that if the disease continues to go forward, we’ll try as fast as we can to get voluntary compliance with these apps - but if we hit a second wave, my guess is that there will be public outcry calling for the use of broader digital tracing", said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a virtual meeting of the Forum's COVID-19 Action Platform on 27 May

Crédito de apoyo presupuestario de us$250 millones contribuirá a financiar los esfuerzos del país para hacer frente a los efectos sanitarios y económicos de la pandemia del covid-19.

El crédito también contempla compromisos de las autoridades para reducir el déficit fiscal, focalizar la inversión pública en áreas de alta relevancia para la reactivación económica y mantener una economía competitiva y transparente, una vez que se supere la emergencia sanitaria.

Over the past three months, the World Bank Group has mounted the fastest crisis response in its history. We are now financing emergency operations in over 100 countries – home to 70% of the global population.

In this virtual interview, David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, discussed the path ahead for developing countries. What will a robust and resilient recovery look like? How can we promote economic growth, support the poorest, and sustain businesses and jobs?

The President of Cooperatives of the Americas indicated that, “This sector can offer many contributions, for example, inter-cooperation among savings and loan cooperatives that provide financing to farmers’ cooperatives and to individual small farmers to get ahead and to stay afloat in this complex climate. Consumer cooperatives can also assist farming cooperatives to place their products in the market”.

“COVID-19 is not only spreading sickness and death; it is pushing people into poverty and hunger,” he explained, adding that in some cases, “it is reversing decades of development progress”.

Meanwhile, as access to services is curtailed and repressive measures are adopted by some nations, protecting the most vulnerable, particularly in conflict zones, has become even more difficult.

“The hardship of COVID-19 felt by migrants in the form of lost wages and employment – often without government safety nets – is a large part of this crisis in remittances. The decline also results from a host of issues caused by the coronavirus that impact the services migrants use to send money home – including the restrictions placed on remittance services providers and their agents. The loss of this crucial financing lifeline is devastating for both the migrant households and receiving countries,” said Judith Karl, Executive Secretary for UNCDF. “UNCDF, together with UNDP, is committed to supporting the Member State-led call to action and to ensuring that every measure is available to facilitate migrants in sending remittances home.”

Guidance from UNDP, Gender-based violence and COVID-19, also recommends developing new protocols to provide support via phone or online platforms rather than in person, expanding immediate response services in order to save lives, and most ensuring that steps to prevent gender-based violence are in every COVID-19 response plan and budget.

The data and facts are extremely promising: Costa Rica has the lowest COVID-19 case fatality rate in the region, and the country currently has more recovered cases than active cases. There is no registered community transmission, and daily infections have fallen significantly (they have remained below 10 cases in recent weeks). At the beginning of May, there were less than half a dozen infected patients in Intensive Care Units throughout the whole country.

How has Costa Rica achieved these impressive results? Here are five key reasons.

IOM is able to provide vital assistance to these vulnerable returnees with support from the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration financed by the European Union, in the framework of the Migrant Resource and Response Mechanism supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the United States Department of State, and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.

Dr. Mossi explained that, "This is the first part of a US$300 million financing, which will allow the country's entrepreneurs to face the difficult moments resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, it is a tool with which MSMEs can solve financial problems, avoiding personnel layoffs, while maintaining operations."

As countries continue to scale up and adjust eligibility criteria of current support measures, there are concerns about how to reach those SMEs that have missed the boat and ensure the support actually goes to the businesses that need it the most. Concerning loans, the big elephant in the room remains how to manage future SME debt, not only to avoid the pre-mature closure of viable SMEs, but also since a further deterioration of SMEs’ financial situation could have systemic effects on the banking sectors as a whole. Although some countries have pledged unlimited support, it seems difficult to maintain the breadth of current support much longer without compromising the sustainability of public debt.

En este blog mantendremos registro de la evolución de los tipos de cambio y sus efectos sobre el sector agroalimentario. 

“Hemos analizado el avance de 72 series estadísticas de los indicadores de los 17 ODS para la región: 4 alcanzaron la meta; 15 van en la tendencia correcta; 8 necesitan más intervención de políticas públicas; 13 requieren una fuerte intervención de políticas públicas; 27 están estancadas y 5 en retroceso”, afirmó hoy Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).

Agregó que la pandemia del COVID-19 visibilizó los problemas estructurales del modelo económico y las carencias del sistema de protección social y brechas del régimen de bienestar, confirmando la necesidad de repensar el desarrollo y formular respuestas para un mundo post COVID.

La crisis del COVID-19 plantea el desafío de asegurar que los gobiernos atiendan las necesidades de la emergencia con eficiencia, transparencia e integridad. Los desastres naturales, las crisis humanitarias o epidemias generan la necesidad de desembolsar recursos de forma extremadamente rápida. En este contexto, hay mayores riesgos de que los recursos públicos sean utilizados indebidamente.