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

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

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.

The unprecedented conditions created by the spread of the coronavirus call for exceptional policy responses from the regional monetary authorities. Besides traditional tools such as interest rate reductions, central banks have been pursuing unconventional measures to avoid permanent consequences from a transitory, but potentially severe, negative shock. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, central banks have developed new tools that they can deploy to help firms and households weather the storm. Not only do central banks find themselves in a different situation than before the previous financial crisis, the shock they are facing is also of a different nature. This article lays out several policies that some central banks may already be implementing and others may want to consider, and explains some of the limitations of other policies.

An increasing number of countries have begun to impose containment measures in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections and, in turn, introduce significant financial support packages to mitigate the impact on firms and people.
Many of the firms are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)1, which are particularly vulnerable to a prolonged lockdown. A 10 March survey by the business finance platform MarketFinance2, before the UK introduced containment measures, revealed that two-thirds of SMEs in the UK were already reporting severe cash-flow problems and one-third claimed they were likely to fold within weeks without support.

Sustainable Development Bond Raises Awareness for Health and COVID-19 Response

The World Bank Group is committed to providing a fast, flexible response to the coronavirus pandemic. We are offering financing, policy advice and technical assistance in every region, across every area from healthcare and education to trade and technology. In this blog series we explore how different teams around the World Bank Group are responding to the challenges ahead.

UNDP and Hackster, the largest online open-source hardware community, have mobilized some of the biggest names in the technology world, with support from Amazon Web Services, Arduino, Arm, Avnet, Edge Impulse, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, NVP, Nordic Semiconductor, Soracom, and The Things Industries. In partnership, we are launching the COVID-19 Detect & Protect Challenge.

Many governments are taking unprecedented measures to track, trace and contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), by turning to digital technologies and advanced analytics to collect, process and share data for effective front-line responses.  •While the exceptional measures implemented or envisaged in some countries may ultimately prove effective in limiting the spread of the virus, some approaches have proven controversial in  terms  of  their  risk  of  violating  privacy  and  other  fundamental  rights  of  citizens,  particularly  when such measures lack transparency and public consultation. •Privacy enforcement authorities have generally endorsed a pragmatic and contextual approach at times of crisis or a state of emergency, and exercised enforcement discretion recalling that respect  for  fundamental  data  protection  and  privacy  principles  do  not  stand  in  the  way  of  necessary and proportionate front-line responses to COVID-19.•Policy makers, in consultation with privacy enforcement authorities, must assess the possible trade-offs in data utilization during this crisis (reconciling the risks and benefits), but must ensure that  any  extraordinary  measures  are proportionate  to  the  risks  and  are  implemented with  full  transparency,  accountability  and  a commitment  to  immediately cease  or  reverse  exceptional  uses of data when the crisis is over.

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues, governments and emergency services are focusing on immediate needs: boosting capacity in hospitals, addressing hunger, and protecting firms and families from eviction and bankruptcy. The majority of the funds flowing so far from the World Bank, the IMF, other regional development banks, or central banks seek to provide funds for protective gear at hospitals, stabilize financial institutions, pay companies to provide goods and services to essential workers, or provide direct cash support to households.

The fight against COVID-19 is at a crucial tipping point, so the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Hackster.io, an Avnet company and the largest online open-source technology hardware community, are taking action. The two organizations have partnered to launch the COVID-19 Detect and Protect Challenge to create open-source technology that developing countries can leverage in the fight against this global pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has reminded us all of the vital importance of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, and, above all, to remind us that we have a pending task to ensure that these services reach all of our citizens.

The impact of COVID-19 could accentuate already existing inequalities in countries like Peru. For this reason, although this country is still only at the initial stage of the emergency, it is necessary to look towards the indigenous world as soon as possible. This includes the communities that live closest to the cities, those living in isolation and those who have had initial contact.  

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns and aggressive social-distancing measures are required to save lives and countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have put them in place.
As a result of the changing macroeconomic conditions, financing costs for emerging markets have risen and commodity prices have fallen.
There will be large drops in GDP, but this is not a normal recession, so typical countercyclical demand management, both fiscal and monetary, is likely inconducive. Policies should be aimed to provide relief, maintain economic stability and the core of the economy intact for the recovery.

With the global spread of COVID-19, businesses are facing bankruptcy at an unprecedented scale, resulting in job losses for millions. In this context, confidence in the durability of the global economy, and by extension the norms and institutions that support it, are being tested like never before. How businesses respond to the crisis—especially those firms who receive state support to continue operations—will shape public attitudes towards the private sector for years to come.

Tackling CORONA Virus, contributing to a global effort

Desde el DGPE/SHA, como Secretaría Técnica de la Red Interamericana de Compras Gubernamentales (RICG), se están impulsando esfuerzos para que los países de la región puedan acceder al Mecanismo de Negociación y Compra Conjunta de medicamentos, dispositivos médicos y otros bienes implementado por el Consejo de Ministros de Salud de Centroamérica (COMISCA), a partir de las gestiones desarrolladas conjuntamente por la OEA, BID, CDB y COMISCA. De esta forma, se espera que los países puedan tener acceder a mejores precios y condiciones para adquirir los materiales que necesitan para combatir el COVID-19. Ver comunicado. Así mismo, se está en proceso de construir un plan de acción que permita apoyar a los países miembros a fortalecer las capacidades de los funcionarios de las agencias nacionales de contratación pública para que cuenten con herramientas clave para incrementar la transparencia, integridad, rendición de cuentas e innovación en las contrataciones de emergencia que realicen.