|
|

Repository

The topics for discussion on this portal have already been analyzed by multiple actors. In this repository, the GS / OAS brings together some of them, as one more contribution to the discussion. This repository has two sections: In the Policy section, we will integrate information on policies relevant to the issues under discussion that are being implemented by Member States, Observer States and other States of the world. In Studies we will include analyzes, reports and reports published by academic institutions, think tanks, international and multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations and private entities, all of them of recognized prestige, which are relevant to the conversation. The OAS will publish these articles and reports in their original language.

The COVID-19 Response: Getting Gender Equality Right for a Better Future for Women at Work

  • 31 May 2020

Of the 740 million women working in the informal economy,11 42 per cent are found in the abovementioned high-risk sectors, compared to 32 per cent of men.12 Lockdowns and curfews, compounded by limited, if any, access to social protection provisions – including health care, income and food support, and maternity protection – worsen their social and economic situation. For instance, women homeworkers who produce for global supply chains are particularly affected by COVID-19, as their incomes depend heavily on now suspended orders from high-income countries.13 In this context, when gender intersects with other personal characteristics, such as ethnicity, nationality, age, disability or HIV status, there is a risk that both gender disparities and intra-women inequalities will widen further.

Foreign Direct Investment Flows in the Time of COVID-19

  • 31 May 2020

FDI flows are expected to fall by more than 30% in 2020 even under the most optimistic scenario for the success of the public health and economic support policy measures taken by governments to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting recession. FDI flows to developing countries are expected to drop even more because sectors that have been severely impacted by the pandemic, including the primary and manufacturing sectors, account for a larger share of their FDI than in developed economies.

COVID-19 Is Also a Reallocation Shock

  • 31 May 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain the virus are exacting a staggering economic toll in countries around the world. China’s economy shrank 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020 on a year-on-year basis, and Eurozone economies shrank at a14.8 percent annualized rate. In the United States, nearly 28 million persons filed new claims for unemployment benefits over the six-week period ending April 25. 1 The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, and many analysts project it will shrink at a rate of 25% or more in the second quarter.2 Yet, even as much of the economy is shuttered, some firms are expanding in response to pandemic-induced demand shifts. As noted in a recent Wall Street Journal article, “The coronavirus pandemic is forcing the fastest reallocation of labor since World War II, with companies and governments mobilizing an army of idled workers into new activities that are urgently needed.”3 In other words, Covid-19 is also a major reallocation shock.

THE COVID-19 Pandemic: Shocks to Education and Policy Responses

  • 31 May 2020

This report presents a set of policies to mitigate the impacts and groups them in three overlapping phases: Coping, Managing Continuity, and Improving and Accelerating. The guiding principle are to use every opportunity, in each phase, to do things better. This includes the provision of incentives, such as school feeding and school health programmes, to maximize reenrolment and attendance as schools reopen. By learning from innovations and emergency processes, systems can adapt and scale up the more effective solutions. In doing so, they could become more effective, more agile, and more resilient. A vision and proactive action will help not only mitigate the damage from the current crisis, but could turn recovery into real growth.

Coyuntura laboral en América Latina y el Caribe. El trabajo en tiempos de pandemia: desafíos frente a la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19)

  • 31 May 2020

Durante 2019 la escasa dinámica de la economía regional se puso de manifiesto en la debilidad de la generación de empleo asalariado —específicamente, de empleo registrado— y en el leve aumento interanual de la tasa de desocupación como promedio ponderado a nivel nacional. Los primeros meses de 2020 están marcados por la irrupción de la pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19), que hizo necesaria la aplicación de políticas de confinamiento. Esta situación redundó en la interrupción de las actividades económicas a una escala nunca antes vista a nivel mundial. Los países de América Latina y el Caribe deberán enfrentar grandes caídas de su producto interno bruto con importantes consecuencias en sus mercados laborales, en un contexto de debilidad y vulnerabilidad macroeconómica.

BELIZE – Statutory Instrument NO. 78 OF 2020

  • 30 May 2020

Regulations made by the Governor-General in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 18(9) of the Belize Constitution, Chapter 4 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2011, and all other powers thereunto him enabling.

Expertos analizan riesgos emergentes de LA/FT en el contexto del COVID – 19

  • 29 May 2020

La directora general de la Unidad de Análisis Financiero (UAF) y presidenta Pro Témpore del Grupo de Acción Financiera de Latinoamérica (GAFILAT), Wendy Lora Pérez, participó en el Foro Virtual “Riesgos emergentes en el contexto de los sistemas Antilavado de Activos y contra la Financiación del Terrorismo”.

COVID-19 is increasing the power of Brazil’s criminal groups

  • 28 May 2020

Data from various states suggest that COVID-19 lockdowns have done little to reduce the use of violence by criminal groups in Brazil. What has changed is governance, with criminal actors adapting to coronavirus by imposing curfews, restricting movement, promoting public-health messages, and discouraging price gouging – alongside their usual practices of extortion and drug trafficking. Such changes in violence and governance indicate that Brazil’s non-state armed groups continue to augment their power, and these gains may well persist once the pandemic has receded, write Ryan Berg (American Enterprise Institute) and Andrea Varsori (Urban Violence Research Network).

Handwashing is Saving Lives - but for too many People, it Remains a Luxury

  • 28 May 2020

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.

UN Seeks to Build Transport and Trade Resilience in Wake of COVID-19

  • 28 May 2020

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.

A Second Wave Could Lead to a 'Public Outcry' for Digital Tracing - Government and Business Leaders on Managing the Coronavirus Crisis

  • 28 May 2020

"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

BID aprueba crédito para enfrentar la pandemia del COVID-19 en El Salvador

  • 28 May 2020

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.

Ansiedad, miedo e incertidumbre en América Latina y el Caribe

  • 27 May 2020

41.000 personas en 9 países respondieron a una encuesta remota sobre cómo la COVID-19 ha afectado sus medios de vida, seguridad alimentaria y acceso a mercados. Las principales preocupaciones de las personas que aceptaron completar la encuesta realizada en línea fueron: incapacidad para cubrir sus necesidades alimentarias, pérdida parcial o total de ingresos debido a la crisis generada por la pandemia, y miedo a la propagación del virus.

Why a 17% Emissions Drop does not mean we are Addressing Climate Change

  • 27 May 2020

The global COVID-19 quarantine has meant less air pollution in cities and clearer skies. Animals are strolling through public spaces, and sound pollution has diminished, allowing us to hear the birds sing.

But these relatively small and temporary changes should not be mistaken for the COVID-19 pandemic actually helping to fix climate change. Quite the contrary: the pandemic that made the world stop offers a glimpse of the deep changes in lifestyles and economic structures that we need to implement if we are to effectively mitigate the worst of climate change.

WORLD BANK – We’re Moving to the Next Stage’

  • 27 May 2020

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?

Cooperatives and Associations are Vital in Strengthening the Contribution of Family Farming to Food Supply

  • 27 May 2020

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: A ‘New and Deadly Threat’ for Civilians Caught up in Violence

  • 27 May 2020

“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.

UNCDF and UNDP Join Forces to Improve Flow of Remittances and Counter Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19

  • 26 May 2020

“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.”

COVID-19: UNDP Urges Swift Action to Address Violence Against Women and Girls During Pandemic

  • 26 May 2020

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.

5 Reasons Costa Rica is Winning Plaudits for Fighting COVID-19: a Resident Coordinator’s blog

  • 26 May 2020

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.

First1415161719212223Last