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.

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

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.

The Foreign Ministers of Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Singapore, Sout Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland signed this document, where they establish: “The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for multilateralism. Trying to cope with the immediate devastating effects of the virus, nations have turned toward imposing unprecedented executive measures, including closing borders. However, a virus knows no borders. All countries are affected. We must remain united in our shared humanity. The fight against this global pandemic, which is taking so many lives and challenging our societies, requires more and enhanced international cooperation and worldwide solidarity.” The document addresses the health, financial, information, prevention and economic challenges the world currently faces.

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.

This article by the CATO Institute says that as the COVID-19 virus spreads across the U.S., some Americans have highlighted the economic consequences of the crisis, particularly the disruptive drop in production of goods destined for U.S. manufacturers. This has led to calls to use the crisis as an opportunity to decouple the two nations economically, one reason for such being to protect U.S. companies and consumers from supply disruptions.

There always is a case for diversification, says the CATO Institute article, as well as domestic production of narrowly defined essential goods. Yet autarky long has been recognized as a strategy of economic impoverishment. The benefits of international trade remain great, ensuring the ability to acquire goods that are better, cheaper, and varied. The diversity in product, process, and location offer important alternatives to sometimes limited domestic supplies. Further, the increased prosperity that results from economic specialization generates a long‐​term cushion to temporary disruptions. Countries forced to practice veritable autarky because of foreign sanctions, such as Iran, become desperate when faced with a healthcare crisis like the present.

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.

It is urgent to understand the future of severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. We used estimates of seasonality, immunity, and cross-immunity for betacoronaviruses OC43 and HKU1 from time series data from the USA to inform a model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We projected that recurrent wintertime outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 will probably occur after the initial, most severe pandemic wave. Absent other interventions, a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded. To avoid this, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022. Additional interventions, including expanded critical care capacity and an effective therapeutic, would improve the success of intermittent distancing and hasten the acquisition of herd immunity. Longitudinal serological studies are urgently needed to determine the extent and duration of immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Even in the event of apparent elimination, SARS-CoV-2 surveillance should be maintained since a resurgence in contagion could be possible as late as 2024.

This briefing provides a snapshot of anti-money laundering and terrorist-finance threats within the context of the COVID19 pandemic. It has been sourced from confidential debriefs of UNODC law enforcement, governmental, NGO, academic, media, open-source and private sector partners around the world during early April 2020.