On April 16, 2020, Italian Vice Minister Marina Sereni participated, by videoconference, in the ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism, organized by the Foreign Ministers of France, Jean Yves Le Drian, and Germany, Heiko Maas, to discuss the need for a coordinated response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to strengthen the work of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO). Recalling that multilateralism is a pillar of Italian foreign policy, the Deputy Minister confirmed Italy’s commitment to contribute to the consolidation of global health governance, in which the World Health Organization (WHO) plays a crucial leading role.

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.

La Directora de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), Carissa F. Etienne, dijo que las medidas de distanciamiento social están dando a nuestras sociedades la oportunidad de prepararse y responder a la pandemia de COVID-19, y que cualquier intento posterior de transición a medidas más flexibles debe tomarse con extrema cautela.

Un comunicado de prensa emitido por la OPS cita a la Directora Etienne indicando que: “El distanciamiento social debe ir acompañado de medidas integrales de apoyo social para garantizar que los más vulnerables puedan cumplir sin riesgo severo para sus medios de vida”.

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.

Este artículo de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) señala que, con independencia de la edad, el nivel de ingresos o el país, la emergencia en torno al COVID-19 está afectando a casi todos los habitantes del planeta. Sin embargo, es probable que la crisis económica golpee con especial dureza a los jóvenes. El artículo expone cinco factores determinantes.

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.

This briefing provides a snapshot of cybercrime 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.

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.

This article by The Dialogue claims that the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst shocks ever to affect Latin America and the Caribbean. Governments, firms, and workers are coping with a severe economic crisis with yet unknown human losses and potential for social disarray. The region is being hit by large demand shocks from sharp commodity price falls due to a slump in external demand, external capital flight, financial sector volatility, and a collapse in tourist flows due to border closures and immobility measures. These shocks have been exacerbated by output disruptions associated with mandatory social distancing which have paralyzed all non-essential economic sectors, with a high toll on the spending capacity of millions of firms and consumers. In view of this situation, there is an urgent need to build more resilient societies, with buffers to mitigate shocks and adequate delivery of public goods and services. This will test the capacity and determination of all relevant actors in the region.

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.