On Tuesday, 21 April 2020, the PAHO/WHO Office in Barbados presented Barbados with equipment to support its response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

CAF – Banco de desarrollo de América Latina- y la revista Compromiso Empresarial unen sus esfuerzos para identificar propuestas de innovación social que permitan atender algunas de las necesidades más urgentes de las poblaciones vulnerables de Latinoamérica durante la crisis del COVID-19.

La convocatoria “Todos con los más vulnerables” pretende destacar aquellas propuestas de innovación social más innovadoras y con mayor capacidad de impacto para luchar contra el coronavirus, especialmente las dirigidas a los sectores más vulnerables de la sociedad.

Previa solicitud de apoyo de los Gobiernos de los países del SICA al Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE), en reunión de cumbre de presidentes del 12 de marzo del 2020 y preocupados por la difícil situación que enfrentan los países en sus sistemas de salud para hacerle frente a la pandemia provocada por el COVID 19, el BCIE con el acompañamiento técnico del COMISCA (Consejo de Ministros de Salud de Centroamérica) como entidad regional que representa a los ministerios de salud del SICA, decidió donar la cantidad de 182 mil Pruebas para detección del COVID19, denominado PowerChekTM 2019-nCoV Real-time PCR Kit proveniente de una empresa debidamente certificada.

En medio de la pandemia de COVID-19, el Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE) oficialmente incrementó el 20 de abril de 2020 su Capital Autorizado en US$2,000.0 millones, desde US$5,000.0 millones a US$7,000.0 millones. Este incremento del 40% en el Capital Autorizado del BCIE garantiza nuevos pagos de capital en efectivo por al menos US$255.0 millones por parte de los países fundadores de la Institución.

La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), con apoyo del UNICEF, colaborarán con las empresas de telecomunicaciones para enviar directamente a los teléfonos móviles mensajes de texto con información vital de salud para ayudar a las personas a protegerse frente a la COVID-19. Estos mensajes llegarán a miles de millones de personas que no pueden conectarse a internet para obtener información.

Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has today officially increased its Authorized Capital by US$2 billion, from US$5 billion to US$7 billion. This 40% increase in CABEI’s Authorized Capital guarantees new paid-in capital installments for at least US$255 million by the Institution’s founding member countries

Public integrity is key to a resilient response to the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring that government action benefits those in need. This crisis creates opportunities for many integrity violations and could intensify fraud and corruption, particularly in public procurement, economic stimulus packages and public organisations. This could significantly undermine government action. Both short-and long-term measures are needed to address these risks, focusing on procurement strategies, the resources of internal audit functions, and integrity strategies in public organisations, among others. This policy brief discusses the key integrity challenges and recommends measures that can help governments ensure an effective response and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 emergency will affect the lives of many people around the globe. There are a number of ways that policy makers, public authorities and financial services providers can safeguard the interest of financial consumers who may be experiencing financial difficulties and help them to manage their personal finances. These options are not recommendations but can assist policy makers in their consideration of appropriate measures to help financial consumers, depending on the contexts and circumstances of individual jurisdictions, during this difficult period. These options are consistent with the G20/OECD High Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection that set out the foundations for a comprehensive financial consumer protection framework

El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) ha puesto a disposición de los países de Centroamérica y República Dominicana cerca de US$1.700 millones adicionales a los programados inicialmente para 2020 para hacer frente a la pandemia del COVID-19.

Mediante proyectos nuevos para atender la emergencia y la redefinición del programa de préstamos de 2020, en total el BID destina más de US$2.800 millones para enfrentar la crisis sanitaria y sus efectos en la economía en cuatro ejes: respuesta inmediata para salud pública, asistencia a la población más vulnerable afectada, ayuda a las empresas y sus empleados para minimizar las pérdidas económicas, y apoyo a la política fiscal.

Ministros encargados de Agricultura de 13 países del Caribe y el Director General del Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) mantuvieron una videoconferencia en la que trataron estrategias para fortalecer la actividad agropecuaria y asegurar el abastecimiento de alimentos ante la crisis sanitaria, en una región altamente dependiente de las importaciones de alimentos y del turismo.

The Development Committee, which is the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, met virtually on April 17, 2020, in the context of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the WB.

The final Communiqué of the Development Committee talks about the devastating effects of the pandemic across the globe as the human and economic toll continues to rise, and the  need for decisive, collective action and innovation. The statement reminds that multilateral cooperation is needed to contain the pandemic and mitigate its health, social, and economic consequences, and it claims that the World Bank Group (WBG) is uniquely positioned to tackle these complex issues and to play a leading role via its lending, investments, knowledge, and convening capacity.

The Committee encouraged the WBG and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), within their respective mandates, to continue helping all clients, in partnership with the World Health Organization, other UN agencies, international financial institutions, and bilateral partners, in order to collaborate in addressing the pandemic, supporting economic recovery, and safeguarding progress toward the twin goals and the SDGs.

The United Nations presented this statement to the Development Committee, which is the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, in the framework of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the WB.

The statement indicates that: the pandemic has reminded us, in the starkest way possible, of the price we pay for weaknesses in health systems, social protections and public services. It has underscored and exacerbated inequalities, above all gender inequality, laying bare the way in which the formal economy has been sustained on the back of invisible and unpaid care labour. It has highlighted ongoing human rights challenges, including stigma and violence against women.

Building a better, post-pandemic future will require social and economic interventions today that build greater resilience tomorrow. To be resilient, COVID-19 recovery efforts must be part of the solution to climate change – the ‘other’ global crisis facing this generation. They must accelerate rather than undermine decarbonization, the protection of natural capital, social equality and inclusion, the realization of human rights for everyone, and strong, capable governments and institutions – all critical, systemic elements to avoiding such an outbreak again.

Rather than being put aside as aspirational in a time of crisis, the SDGs offer a framework for a fair and sustainable transition, as they recognize the interconnected nature of all life on this planet. Beyond the socio-economic frame of the current response, the role the environment and natural capital will play in the path to recovery is a policy choice that warrants further elaboration, as do good governance, gender equality and empowerment, and the protection and promotion of human rights for all.

Varios países están considerando emitir una “tarjeta de inmunidad” para sus ciudadanos para permitir que aquellos que ya han sido infectados con el coronavirus puedan regresar a una vida normal, sin embargo, los expertos de la agencia de salud de la ONU afirman que aún no hay evidencia de que no sea posible una reinfección, y que las pruebas de anticuerpos deben ser estandarizadas y validadas primero.

Los expertos de la Organización Mundial de la Salud advirtieron que, hasta ahora, la evidencia no ha demostrado que una persona que de positivo para anticuerpos del coronavirus COVID-19 desarrolle una inmunidad ante la enfermedad.

Las declaraciones fueron hechas por el director de emergencias Mike Ryan y la experta Maria Van Kherkove durante la conferencia de prensa habitual de la OMS.

Los expertos respondían a una pregunta sobre la decisión del Gobierno de Chile, que anunció que planea emitir los primeros “carnés de inmunidad” del mundo para las personas que se hayan recuperado del coronavirus, para que éstas puedan regresar a su trabajo y vida normal. Otros países, como Estados Unidos, también han mencionado la posibilidad de implementar estas “credenciales de inmunidad”.

On April 17, 2020, the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund convened African leaders, bilateral partners, and multilateral institutions to spur faster action on COVID-19 response in African countries. 

Together, official creditors have mobilized up to $57 billion for Africa in 2020 alone—including upwards of $18 billion from the IMF and the World Bank each—to provide front-line health services, support the poor and vulnerable, and keep economies afloat in the face of the worst global economic downturn since the 1930s. Private creditor support this year could amount to an estimated $13 billion. This is an important start, but the continent needs an estimated $114 billion in 2020 in its fight against COVID-19, leaving a financing gap of around $44 billion.

The World Bank Group and the IMF suggested a range of financing options and policy tools as part of the pandemic response, many of which African countries are looking to implement as they plan for the medium and long-term impacts of the crisis. These include further financing from official and private sector creditors.

El Director General de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), Guy Ryder, ha pedido una respuesta inmediata a la pandemia del COVID-19 centrada en las personas y basada en la solidaridad mundial.

En sus declaraciones escritas a las Reuniones de primavera del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) y el Banco Mundial, Guy Ryder definió la dimensión humana de la pandemia como devastadora, y sus repercusiones sanitarias, sociales y económicas combinadas como la peor crisis desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

El Director General de la OIT instó al FMI y al Banco Mundial a centrar su respuesta en “una ayuda inmediata a los trabajadores y a las empresas, a fin de proteger sus actividades y sus medios de subsistencia, sobre todo en los sectores más afectados y en los países en desarrollo”. Afirmó además que es necesario prestar atención prioritaria al impacto sobre las pequeñas empresas, los trabajadores no protegidos y los trabajadores de la economía informal.

Counterfeit goods sold during the corona crisis do not meet the required quality standards and pose a real threat to public health and safety. People who buy these fake products have a false sense of security, while they are in fact left unprotected against the virus. Therefore, we should not only go after the criminals behind these scams but also, through prevention work, inform potential victims who are putting themselves and others at risk by using such fake goods.

This discussion invites government representatives, employers’ and workers’ organizations, education and training providers, NGOs, and individuals, among others, to share and discuss how to maintain continued learning and skills building for students and workers in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic which we all now face. It also aims to explore relevant and timely innovative practices in distance and online education and training.

Summary of Development Committee Communiqué

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people may be particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. People living with compromised immune systems, including some persons living with HIV/AIDS, face a greater risk from COVID-19. Homeless persons, a population that includes many LGTBI people, are less able to protect themselves through physical distancing and safe hygiene practices, increasing their exposure to contagion

In an article by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, the situation is analyzed on the assumption that the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed disruption and devastation around the globe, bringing into sharp focus our global connectedness and the interdependencies between economic, social and environmental outcomes. Economies have slowed to a trickle; daily routines are suspended; enterprises are in hibernation; millions of people are unemployed; and more than a hundred thousand lives have been lost. As is often the case, the most disadvantaged are expected to be the most affected. The UNDP points out that this international health crisis is only the latest in a series of events to expose how vulnerable poor and marginalized communities are and how fragile our planet’s ecosystem is.