As COVID-19 hits the fossil fuel industry, a new UN report published on Wednesday shows that renewable energy is more cost-effective than ever – providing an opportunity to prioritize clean energy in national economic recovery packages and bring the world closer to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

En un contexto post COVID-19, podemos prever el crecimiento exponencial en las brechas de acceso a derechos y servicios, por lo cual los Estados deberán garantizar la equiparación de oportunidades, priorizando transversalmente, con un enfoque interseccional e inclusivo, a aquellos grupos de ciudadanos que antes, durante y todavía más después de la pandemia del COVID-19, quedan y quedarán excluidos de nuestras sociedades, atravesados por la estigmatización: los llamados grupos en situación de vulneración.

El Departamento de Inclusión Social de la Secretaría de Acceso a Derechos y Equidad de la OEA invita a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil a participar de esta consulta, que nos permitirá complementar la información sobre el impacto que ha tenido la pandemia en los diferentes grupos en situación de vulneración en las Américas, recoger sus recomendaciones, y contar con insumos para poder prestar un apoyo técnico más específico a los Estados Miembros para desarrollar programas y  políticas públicas inclusivas en el periodo post COVID-19.

Se enviará una consulta similar a los Estados Miembros de la OEA.
Esta encuesta estará abierta al público hasta el 30 de junio de 2020.
Agradecemos su valiosa participación!

When borders around the globe close, every country suffers, but those without territorial access to the sea are affected in unique ways, said a United Nations statement urging governments to provide smooth transit transport for landlocked neighbors.

Even in normal times, functioning and efficient transport networks and procedures are crucial to connect these vulnerable nations to world markets, as their exports and imports must transit through at least one neighbouring state and often have to change the transport mode – making trade much more complex and costly.

“In these unprecedented times, there is an even more urgent need to ensure smooth transport of goods to and from these countries,” the statement said.

UNCTAD and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reiterated calls for governments to promote crew well-being by allowing crew changes and ensuring seafarers and other maritime personnel have access to documentation and travel options so they can return home safely.

Maritime transport depends on the 2 million seafarers who operate the world’s merchant ships, which carry more than 80% of global trade by volume, including most of the world’s food, energy, raw materials and manufactured goods.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the most severe recession in nearly a century and is causing enormous damage to people’s health, jobs and well-being, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

As restrictions begin to ease, the path to economic recovery remains highly uncertain and vulnerable to a second wave of infections. Strengthening healthcare systems and supporting people and businesses to help adapt to a post-COVID-19 world will be crucial, it says.

Cuando los Gobiernos nacionales se ponen del lado de su pueblo y construyen una relación de confianza, pueden mitigar las peores amenazas de la información errónea y, a su vez, evitar más pérdidas de vidas y medios de vida.

El asesoramiento sobre COVID-19 cambia con rapidez conforme evolucionan los conocimientos médicos; es esta evolución veloz y los efectos paralizantes sobre la vida y los medios de subsistencia los que han despertado la sed pública de información. Las redes sociales, las fuentes informales de noticias y el periodismo marginal han llenado este vacío, a menudo sembrando miedo, estigmatización, discriminación y confusión.

Across the globe, Governments are now confronted with the major challenge of putting in place appropriate exit strategies to come out of COVID-19 pandemic. What is the role of trade unions during lockdowns, shutdowns and re-opening? Learn more here...

Investment flows are expected to slowly recover starting 2022, led by global value chains (GVCs) restructuring for resilience, replenishment of capital stock and recovery of the global economy.

The increasing spread of the coronavirus across countries has prompted many governments to introduce unprecedented measures to contain the epidemic. These are priority measures that are imposed by a sanitary situation, which leave little room for other options as health should remain the primary concern. These measures have led to many businesses being shut down temporarily, widespread restrictions on travel and mobility, financial market turmoil, an erosion of confidence and heighted uncertainty. In a rapidly changing environment, it is extremely difficult to quantify the exact magnitude of the impact of these measures on GDP growth, but is clear that they imply sharp contractions in the level of output, household spending, corporate investment and international trade. This note provides illustrative estimates of the initial direct impact of shutdowns, based on an analysis of sectoral output and consumption patterns across countries and an assumption of common effects within each sector and spending category in all countries.

Migrant workers can be vulnerable to abuse and exploitation during migration and employment due to factors including unethical recruitment, migration status, fear of deportation, or the inability to find alternative employment, particularly during the current COVID-19 crisis.

The Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment: A Roadmap towards Better Regulation provides clear guidance to policymakers on how to protect migrant workers during recruitment, migration, and employment. It is designed to help develop comprehensive, multi-faceted approaches to promote ethical recruitment, enhance transparency and accountability, and improve the migration and employment outcomes for all stakeholders.

The expanded facility includes both a one-time temporary coverage of COVID-19 given the unprecedented magnitude of the present outbreak, and a longer-term ex ante coverage for future pandemics and epidemics. The expanded facility seeks to improve countries’ public contingent liabilities management. For the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, countries can request up to $90 million or 0.6% of GDP, whichever is less. Beyond the present outbreak, countries can request coverage for future public health emergencies for up to $100 million or 1% of GDP, whichever is less.

Latin America’s criminal groups have leveraged the coronavirus pandemic to win the goodwill and support of local populations by delivering humanitarian assistance and co-opting public service provision in communities underserved by state institutions. Such levels of “criminal charity” could complicate the future efforts of Latin America’s weakest states to dismantle and defeat organized crime groups, whose power has grown in recent years.

Kremer conversará con el Director General del IICA, Manuel Otero, sobre las oportunidades que existen para aumentar la productividad del agro con base en la utilización de herramientas digitales, un camino fundamental para apoyar al sector en el contexto de la pandemia actual y para convertir a las zonas rurales en áreas de progreso y generación de empleos.

“El Covid-19 ha creado una crisis sanitaria, pero a largo plazo también una crisis económica y para muchas personas también está produciendo una crisis de seguridad alimentaria. Incluso en medio de esto y las medidas de emergencia que se toman, hay que mirar hacia adelante y encontrar oportunidades para moldear el futuro”, expresó.

“La igualdad es una declaración política. Tenemos que huir de la cultura del privilegio, que naturaliza las desigualdades y hace creer que las personas no son iguales. Necesitamos un nuevo pacto social, un nuevo Estado de bienestar que consagre la protección social universal, con acceso a sistemas de salud de calidad, y reconstruir con igualdad y sostenibilidad”, declaró Alicia Bárcena.

First, countries should designate food and nutrition services as essential, while also implementing protections for those who work in the sector.

“It means preserving critical humanitarian food, livelihood and nutrition assistance to vulnerable groups”, the Secretary-General continued, “and it means positioning food in food-crisis countries to reinforce and scale up social protection systems.”

Mr. Guterres added that relief and stimulus packages must reach the most vulnerable, including small-scale food producers and rural businesses.

"En América del Sur, nuestra respuesta a la pandemia se verá afectada por la llegada del invierno, mientras que la temporada de huracanes complicará nuestros esfuerzos en América del Norte y Central, y especialmente en el Caribe", vaticinó Carissa Etienne en una rueda de prensa.

“Este es un problema para los pacientes porque las enfermedades respiratorias los dejan en mayor riesgo de infección grave por COVID-19. También es un desafío para los sistemas de salud sobrecargados que tendrán que hacer frente a la doble carga de una pandemia de coronavirus y a un pico en otras enfermedades respiratorias. No ayudará que síntomas similares dificultaren aún más el diagnóstico de COVID-19”, indicó.

El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) aprobó un crédito de apoyo presupuestario a El Salvador de US$250 millones para fortalecer la eficiencia y eficacia de la política pública y la gestión fiscal para atender la crisis sanitaria y económica causada por el COVID-19.

El programa apoya la introducción de medidas temporales para la protección del ingreso de los hogares vulnerables y para incrementar la liquidez de las firmas durante la crisis sanitaria y económica, entre las que destacan la asignación de un aporte monetario a hogares de bajos recursos, la suspensión temporal del pago de servicios domiciliarios, y la postergación del pago de impuestos para ciertos grupos de empresas y comercios.

“Our increasingly unsustainable use of marine resources for economic activities has hurt the health of our oceans, seas and coasts,” said Pamela Coke-Hamilton, UNCTAD’s director of international trade. 

“The COVID-19 crisis offers an opportunity to turn this around as we rebuild sectors of the blue economy,” she added.

Back in September, the world committed to a landmark political declaration on universal health coverage. Now, in the throes of the COVID-19 crisis, the President of the UN General Assembly has reiterated the importance of investing in health as “an investment in human capital, social and economic development and the empowerment of all people”.

The PAHO guidance notes that these groups face singular challenges, such as higher poverty levels, lack of access to some basic services such as water and sanitation, and cultural barriers, including language barriers. Other factors that can increase their vulnerability include health service access barriers, a higher prevalence of chronic diseases, less access to social safety nets, mistrust caused by a history of racism, and high levels of informal labor among members of these communities.