In order to decrease the overall impact of the coronavirus, Italy has been active domestically with significant mitigation measures, a robust medical response and important collaborative scientific research – as well as economic recovery initiatives. At the international level Italy has also undertaken important measures through its development agencies.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is contributing financially and with relief supplies to help overcome the global COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, it is adapting existing programmes by redirecting CHF 56 million of funding. The SDC has also transferred CHF 18 million to international organizations.

La Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en El Salvador (CICIES) de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA) desplegó esta semana en terreno a un equipo inicial de treinta profesionales multidisciplinarios, para implementar un mecanismo de auditoria y seguimiento sobre el uso de fondos destinados para la emergencia nacional causada por la pandemia del COVID-19. Los profesionales fueron contratados bajo los requisitos y estándares de la OEA.

We have designed for the Colombian people a strategy consisting of the generation of digital cultural programming that allows them to enjoy art and culture from home for free. As a country, we put at your disposal that local agenda full of various artistic manifestations, which recalls the importance of culture in everyday life. Turning to our roots, myths, beliefs and folklore among others, will not only accompany us in the vigil, but will allow us to rediscover the common values that will strengthen our continental fraternity.

Austria has taken key public health measures that aim to prevent the further spread of the disease as well as measures in place to test and identify cases, trace contacts, and monitor the scale of the outbreak from different fronts: (i) ensuring sufficient physical infrastructure and workforce capacity; (ii) preventing transmission; (iii) providing health services effectively; (iv) paying for services; and (v) governance.

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.

CAF viene realizando una serie de acciones, financieras y técnicas, conducentes a fortalecer la capacidad de respuesta de los países frente a la pandemia de COVID-19, entre ellas promover la información y capacitación del personal de salud.

Health systems are facing the most serious global pandemic crisis in a century. Containing and mitigating the spread and infection rate of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2isthe first priority of public health authorities to distribute the number of infections over time and, if possible, reduce the incidence of the disease it causes (COVID-19). However, beyond containment, additional measures –operational, financial, and R&D –are needed to provide effective patient care and reduce the pressure on health systems to manageable levels. The main focus of this brief is on the policiesaimed at providing effective care and managing the pressure on health systems. Four key measures health systems are putting in place in response to the epidemic are considered: 1)ensuring access of the vulnerable to diagnostics and treatment; 2)strengthening and optimising health system capacity to respond to the rapid increase in caseloads; 3)how to leverage digital solutions and data to improve surveillance and care; and 4)how to improve R&D for accelerated development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. Access our COVID-19 OECD Health System Response Trackerto learn more about the latest in OECD countries' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.Beyond Containment: Health systems responses to COVID-19 in the OECD

The DRG Center has produced a paper on COVID-19: DRG Issues and Potential USAID Responses to help inform USAID strategies and programming from a DRG perspective. The paper outlines technical issues related to DRG and COVID-19 and details potential sector-specific and cross-sectoral USAID responses, including in the areas of governance, rule of law, human rights, elections and political transitions, inclusion, civil society, and media. 

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and their employees are an essential part of the social and economic fabric of daily life worldwide. This vital role is now under threat from the unprecedented effects of COVID-19. We face the real prospect that a global recession becomes a depression.

El Ministerio de la Mujer del Gobierno de la Provincia de Córdoba (Argentina) ha elaborado este plan con 25 medidas específicas para responder al aumento de la violencia contra Mujeres y niños/as en el contexto del COVID-19, incluyendo la declaración como servicio esencial a las prestaciones de denuncia, asistencia y protección a mujeres en situación de violencia de género, una línea telefónica de emergencia 24 horas, uso de telefonía para garantizar denuncias y asistencia, permiso de circulación especial para mujeres o personas LGTTBI+ y sus hijas/os que se encuentren transitando situaciones de violencia, refugios de emergencia para mujeres en situación de violencia y sus hijos/as, albergues para varones violentos con acompañamiento psicológico y Ayudas económicas de subsistencia y asistencias alimentarias para víctimas de violencia de género, entre otras.