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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.

Ukraine – Quarantine in Ukraine will be Extended Until June 22, While Relaxation Process Will Take Place in Five Stages

  • 20 May 2020

Quarantine measures introduced in Ukraine due to coronavirus COVID-19 will be extended until June 22. Adaptive quarantine will be in effect, ie restrictive measures will be gradually eased depending on the epidemical situation in each region. There will be a total of 5 stages of quarantine relaxation.

Indigenous Refugees Battle Coronavirus in Latin America

  • 20 May 2020

Many live in isolated or remote areas, where they lack access to health services, clean water and soap. Others live in cramped dwellings or in informal urban settlements without access to protective equipment. Most of the border indigenous groups are threatened by physical and cultural extinction because of insufficient food and severe malnutrition that can increase the risk of contagion. These areas have lacked adequate health services which can now exacerbate the current situation.

PAHO Director Calls to Protect Vulnerable Groups from Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic

  • 20 May 2020

“During a pandemic, we must overcome the structural inequalities that limit access to services. This means establishing mechanisms that support universal access to health regardless of income, pooling resources with the private and not for profit sector, eliminating payment at point of service and setting up emergency hospitals that add surge capacity where it is most needed.”

IDB-AFD Strengthen Partnership in Times of COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond

  • 20 May 2020

Towards this end, IDB and AFD have exchanged on the modalities of the support to be brought to Latin American countries both in their immediate to rather short terms responses to COVID-19, and on the medium to long-term recovery plans. These could be developed further, leading to a potential joint-cooperation aligned with climate and SDGs objectives, key drivers of the IDB-AFD partnership.

Alicia Bárcena Calls for Rethinking the Model and Consolidating the Economic, Social and Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Development so as to Leave No One Behind

  • 20 May 2020

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has exposed the economic model’s structural problems and the failings of social protection systems and welfare schemes. Hence, a “new normality” is not the way forward; we must rethink the development model and consolidate the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, leaving no one behind, Alicia Bárcena.

CDB to Provide Almost US$67 Million to Seven Caribbean Countries to Counter the COVID-19 Crisis

  • 20 May 2020

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is making available emergency loans to seven Caribbean countries, in the first instance, to finance the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a total of US$66.7 million for Antigua and Barbuda (US$13 million), Belize (US$15 million), Dominica (US$2.5 million), Grenada (US$5.9 million), Saint Lucia (US$10.8 million), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (US$11.3 million), and Suriname (US$8.2 million).

“The provision of support to the seven countries to respond to COVID-19 and keep critical government services and operations running is urgent to halt the economic decline and minimise social hardship, while giving focused attention to the most vulnerable people,” says CDB President Dr. Wm Warren Smith.

UN – Only Venezuelans Can Resolve Venezuela’s Deepening Crisis, DiCarlo Tells Security Council

  • 20 May 2020

“Venezuela is mired in a deepening protracted crisis that only Venezuelans can resolve,” said Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. “In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, an agreement that strengthens democratic governance, with full respect for human rights and the rule of law, is more urgent than ever,” she said, urging Member States to stand behind that call.

WHO - Tedros Hails WHO ‘Landmark Resolution’ to Accelerate COVID-19 Response

  • 20 May 2020

With  “unprecedented solidarity”, the World Health Assembly adopted a “landmark resolution” on Tuesday, which sets out a “clear roadmap” of the actions needed to sustain and accelerate the COVID-19 response at both national and international levels, the UN health agency chief told a press briefing on Wednesday, the day after the meeting concluded.

WEF - 'Millions Facing Starvation' - Global Political and Business Leaders on the Economic Impact of COVID-19

  • 20 May 2020

"Unless we open up our economy, we have millions facing starvation." That was the straightforward assessment of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on the impact of COVID-19 during a virtual meeting of the Forum's COVID Action Platform on 20 May.

Khan explained: "In Pakistan, we have 25 million workers who are either [on] daily wages or get paid weekly or are self-employed. When we locked down, like the whole of the world, to stop the spread of the virus, all these people became unemployed. When we're talking about 25 million workers, you're talking about 25 million families and it has affected almost 120-150 million people...unless the men and women work, they cannot feed their families."

UNDP - COVID-19 Sparks Urgency Around Justice for Women, New Report Calls for Action

  • 20 May 2020

Curtailed access to justice institutions, rising intimate partner violence, growing injustice for women workers – including those on the frontlines of the crisis –, and discriminatory laws are some of the major risks to women’s lives and livelihoods associated with COVID-19. Estimates suggest that roughly 2.73 billion women around the world live in countries where stay-at-home orders are in place, which sharply heightens the risk of intimate partner violence.

ILO - Small Matters More Now Than Ever Before

  • 20 May 2020

I have many friends who run their own small businesses, in Europe, Australia, and Asia. They include dental clinics, restaurants, small travel agencies, and manufacturing businesses. All have been forced to close.

Small businesses are incredibly important, both socially and economically. In 2019 the ILO published a report, Small Matters which showed that small economic units with up to 49 employees account for approximately 70 per cent of global employment. Their contribution to GDP is significant. So small really does matter.

ILO Support for Employers During COVID-19 Crisis

  • 20 May 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has put extraordinary pressure on employers and private sector businesses, to survive and continue to provide decent work. Deborah France Massin, Director of the ILO’s Bureau for Employers’ Activities, explains how they have been helping with services and tools, and ensuring that the views of enterprise are represented to decision-makers.

IMF - Trade as a Tool for an Efficient Recovery

  • 19 May 2020

As economies now look for paths to recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, new evidence reaffirms that policies for more open and trade-integrated economies could significantly benefit domestic competition and ultimately may help lower costs for consumers in emerging and developing economies.

Italy - Italy’s “Phase 2” Officially Starts. PM Conte’s Press Conference (in IT)

  • 19 May 2020

“Phase two starts now. Let us face it with a desire to restart, but also with caution (...) this is a 'calculated risk'”. Please find provisions regulating entry to Italy here.

Eureopean Union - Coronavirus: Latest News on EU Actions, Repatriation Efforts and Solidarity Stories from Around the World

  • 19 May 2020

In Europe and in the world, all minds are focused on actions to tackle the outbreak of COVID-19 and mitigate the effects of the crisis. The European Union works on all fronts to support these efforts. We take this opportunity to thank all those who are working tirelessly to contain the pandemic and care for those in need, anywhere in the world.

Gauging the Impact of COVID-19 on Market-Based Inflation Expectations/VOX-EU

  • 19 May 2020

The decline in market-based inflation measures has accelerated markedly since the outbreak of COVID-19. Inflation-linked swap (ILS) rates are useful for deriving market-based measures of inflation expectations. In an inflation-linked swap contract, one participant pays a fixed rate cash flow on a notional principal amount while the other participant pays a floating rate that is linked to an inflation index. Thus, the euro 5y5y ILS rate measures current five-year inflation expectations five years ahead in time by taking a long position in a ten-year inflation-linked swap contract and a short position in a five-year contract. This measure reached an historic low on 23 March 2020 of 0.71%. Although market-based inflation measures have rebounded somewhat following efforts by central banks and governments to stem the economic downturn, with a current level of 0.9% the market-based inflation measure is still well below the ECB’s target for medium-term inflation of below, but close to 2% .

World Bank Group: 100 Countries Get Support in Response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

  • 19 May 2020

The World Bank Group today announced its emergency operations to fight COVID-19 (coronavirus) have reached 100 developing countries – home to 70% of the world’s population. Since March, the Bank Group has rapidly delivered record levels of support in order to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, reinforce health systems, maintain the private sector, and bolster economic recovery. This assistance, the largest and fastest crisis response in the Bank Group’s history, marks a milestone in implementing the Bank Group’s pledge to make available $160 billion in grants and financial support over a 15-month period to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and the economic shutdown in advanced countries.

Budget Execution Controls to Mitigate Corruption Risk in Pandemic Spending

  • 19 May 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in countries ramping up spending and contingent spending to address urgent needs related to saving lives and livelihoods. To ensure the effectiveness of such spending, it is crucial to be mindful of vulnerabilities to misuse and corruption. Emergency spending responses have differed markedly across countries and ensuring the effectiveness of such spending require different specific approaches in each country. Yet there are some common lessons, particularly for countries in which institutional capacities are constrained and fiscal governance is weak—notably in public financial management (PFM) systems and fiscal transparency practices. Drawing on lessons from the 2014–16 Ebola crisis, this note identifies measures that could mitigate corruption vulnerabilities, with a particular focus on budget execution controls.

Bridging the Skills Gap for Informal Economy Workers – How Can Skills and Lifelong Learning Help Mitigate the Consequences of the Crises?

  • 19 May 2020

Promoting the employability and income opportunities of people working in the informal economy is highly critical for inclusive societies, and more so in times of crisis. Innovations to facilitate outreach, the recognition of prior learning or digital solutions are highly needed, requiring new financing models and partnerships with employers and workers’ organizations.

Portugal: Study to Monitor the Evolution of the Portuguese Population’s Immunity Took Off

  • 19 May 2020

The National Serological Survey is a study promoted by the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA). This study aims at "monitoring the evolution of immunity against the new Coronavirus in the Portuguese population", as explained by the State Secretary for Health, António Sales.

All blood tests for antibody determination and data analysis will be carried out by INSA, through its Department of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases.

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