Global Health Crisis: Responding to the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Finance

Download Global Health Crisis: Responding to the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Finance in PDF only on Docsity! SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 March 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 II. SUPPRESS TRANSMISSION TO STOP THE PANDEMIC AND SAVE LIVES .......................... 3 III. SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL IMPACTS ................................................... 8 The effects on people and the formal and informal economy are devastating .................... 8 The impacts are complex and affect us all ............................................................................. 8 Implications for the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement ................................................11 Political leadership and cooperation to combat COVID-19 ...................................................11 IV. SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO COPE WITH THE IMPACTS ................................................ 13 A. Global measures to match the magnitude of the crisis ................................................... 13 B. Regional mobilization ......................................................................................................... 15 C. National solidarity is crucial to leave no one behind ....................................................... 17 V. PARTNERSHIPS TO ACCELERATE THE GLOBAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19 ....................... 20 VI. WE WILL OVERCOME THIS HUMAN CRISIS AND RECOVER BETTER ................................ 22 SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 3 II. SUPPRESS TRANSMISSION TO STOP THE PANDEMIC AND SAVE LIVES In just 12 weeks, the outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has gone from an initially discrete outbreak to a raging pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak has now affected over 199 countries and territories. As of 26 March, 416,686 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported to WHO, and 18,589 deaths, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The disease causes respiratory infections of varying severity and is easily transmitted. Once an outbreak has entered the community transmission phase, it can double in scale every 3 to 5 days. Hospitalisation needs grow in leaps and bounds – so fast that it can overwhelm a nation’s healthcare system. On average, 20 per cent of those infected develop severe or critical symptoms with case fatality rates well over 1 per cent, and much higher with older age and for persons with underlying conditions. The speed and scale of the spread, the severity of cases, and the societal and economic disruption has already been dramatic and could be more so as it takes hold in poorer nations. While there has been impressive progress with vaccine development for COVID-19, with first trials initiated just 60 days after the genetic sequence of the virus was shared by China, a broadly available vaccine is not expected for the next 12 to 18 months. Countries face different scenarios, requiring a tailored response depending on whether countries have no cases; sporadic cases; clusters; or community transmission. Many countries can still act decisively through effective physical distancing, including 0 0 40000 40000 80000 80000 120000 120000 160000 160000 200000 200000 240000 240000 280000 280000 320000 320000 360000 360000 400000 400000 440000 Cases China Deaths Outside China 440000 21-Jan 30-Jan5-Feb 13-Feb20-Feb 27-Feb6-Mar 12-Mar21-Mar 26-Mar Source: WHO Cumulative number of COVID-19 cases Daily new reported cases 416,686 as of 26 March 18,589 deaths FIGURE 1: A FAST SPREADING GLOBAL PANDEMIC SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 4 quarantines, isolation and even lockdowns, testing and contact tracing to limit the further spread, and quickly suppress the transmission of COVID-19. This must be the highest priority for all countries. It is the most effective way to save lives and protect the global economy. However, many countries do not have the resources to prepare themselves for the crisis. Decisive, urgent and coordinated action by all leaders of nations, businesses, finance, science and communities is needed to suppress transmission of the virus as quickly as possible and stop the pandemic. THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITS TO WORKING IN ALL COUNTRIES AROUND THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Act decisively and early to prevent the further spread or quickly suppress the transmission of COVID-19 and save lives All countries must immediately scale-up the necessary actions to prevent, suppress and break the transmission, including to: \ Prepare and be ready, especially for those countries who have no or sporadic cases. \ Test and detect all suspected cases as rapidly as possible. This is vital to ensure the possibility of suppressing transmission and to optimize life-saving actions. \ Introduce measures such as quarantine, strictly restricting the movement of people, reducing person-to-person contact overall via work and school closures and physical distancing and educating communities about reducing spread through hand washing. \ Provide safe and effective clinical care to effectively isolate all COVID-19 cases, protect Health Care Workers (HCWS) and maintain essential medical supplies through effective supply chain management. \ Share knowledge and develop and distribute new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. It is crucial to learn from other countries, constantly assess and regularly update national strategies and guidelines to new knowledge. FIGURE 2: COUNTRY PREPAREDNESS CAPACITY FOR COVID-19 UNITED NATIONS The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Mar 2020 Source: WHO, OCHA Country preparedness capacity level as of 6 March 2020 Country with a Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) 1 2 3 4 5No data Source: WHO, OCHA The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 5 \ Take into full account the differentiated impacts on segments of the population, incorporate disadvantaged groups across all societies and adhere to the highest human rights standards. \ Sustain the gains of the health systems, including the eradication of polio and the high immunization rates to prevent measles, polio and cholera. There is a need to shore up the movement of response-critical personnel and goods. New restrictions on national and international movement for response-critical people and goods are a unacceptable. Manufacturing and distribution of essential medical equipment such as disinfectants and sanitization products, masks, and ventilators needs to be coordinated and promoted internationally, beyond cooperation on vaccines and therapeutics. 2. Urgently strengthen the resilience of health systems. All countries should implement with the greatest urgency comprehensive health strategies aimed at suppressing transmissions and prevent them from spreading like wildfire. 3. Provide urgent support to developing countries with weaker health systems: The most vulnerable in the face of this crisis are those who are already at risk: those caught up in or fleeing war and persecution, those already living in highly concentrated and under-served areas, those whose lives have already been upended for other reasons and who lack access to basic social and political protections or to any support systems. Countries with large populations and significant informal sectors are especially vulnerable. The risk for the disease to take a deep foothold in fragile contexts and in poor and densely populated urban areas and slums, unable to self-isolate, would leave us all at risk as the virus continues to spread across the globe. In addition, more than 50 per cent of the world’s rural population and more than 20 per cent of the urban population lack legal health care coverage,2 while 2.2 billion lack access to water and 4.2 billion to basic sanitation, depriving people of the most basic and effective prevention measure against the virus: frequent handwashing. Here again, the poorest and more vulnerable are at a disadvantage. On average, developing countries spend only about 2 per cent of GDP on health, compared to the global average of 4.7 per cent. Without global solidarity 2 ILO World Social Report 2017-2019, available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_604882.pdf There needs to be immediate scaled-up development, availability, production and distribution of:  Laboratory testing kits, reagents and supporting materials and infrastructure to ensure all who need testing get it to drive down transmission and enable a tailored national response.  Essential medical supplies and ensure that supply chains are protected, prioritized and continue to function efficiently and that that these products are distributed on the basis of need.  New diagnostics, drugs and vaccines to all in need and ensure equitable access.  Generate and share global data, situation assessment, information, knowledge and lessons learned. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 8 III. SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL IMPACTS The effects on people and the formal and informal economy are devastating COVID-19 is hitting hard an already weak and fragile world economy. Global growth in 2019 was already the slowest since the global financial crisis of 2008/2009. COVID-19 has plunged the world economy into a recession with the potential of deep consequences and historical levels of unemployment and deprivation. Necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease through quarantines, travel restrictions and lockdown of cities have resulted in a significant reduction in demand and supply. Economic activities in transportation, retail trade, leisure, hospitality and recreation have been battered. And we have seen from plunging stock markets that public trust in the health response has direct and immediate economic effects. The supply chain disruptions halting the manufacturing industry and the falling commodity prices, in particular oil, further compound the economic impact of the pandemic. This has rattled the financial markets, tightened liquidity conditions in many countries, created unprecedented outflows of capital from developing countries and put pressure on the foreign exchange markets, with some countries experiencing dollar shortages. Weak local currencies will constrain the government’s ability for fiscal stimulus at the scale needed to stabilize the economy and to tackle the health crisis and human crisis. Figure 3 shows that according to ILO estimates, we could lose between 5 million and 25 million jobs and see losses in labour income in the range of USD 860 billion to USD 3,4 trillion. Small and medium enterprises, the self-employed, and daily wage earners are hit the hardest. The current crisis threatens to push back the limited gains made on gender equality and exacerbate the feminization of poverty, vulnerability to violence, and women’s equal participation in the labour force. Migrants account for almost 30 per cent of workers in some of the most affected sectors in OECD countries. Massive job losses among migrant workers will have knock on effects on economies heavily dependent on remittances, such as El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Tonga, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Effects are expected to be substantial in economies with a large informal sector, where often social protection systems do not exist or are limited, or, in the formal sector, exposed to market volatility. The situation in developing countries, LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS in particular, is of special concern. The spreading of the virus to these countries will further weaken an already fragile macroeconomic picture, where debt accumulation has outpaced the growth of income even before the crisis. In addition, in some of these countries, the required hygiene and sanitation standards and social distancing measures are hard to implement. The impacts are complex and affect us all Tragically, the COVID-19 crisis risks reversing decades of progress in the fight against poverty and exacerbating already high levels of inequality within and between countries. Volatility, combined in some countries with market tampering and stockpiling, is starting to impact the prices of food, with deleterious effects on nutrition of the most vulnerable. Unless measures are promptly put in place, the disruptions imposed by the pandemic and the measures adopted to suppress the virus will dramatically worsen the situation. This is especially important in large least developed countries, where the degree of complexity of the crisis is likely to be further compounded by the significant size of the vulnerable population and the extent of the informal sector. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 9 In the education sector, 166 countries have implemented country-wide school and university closures. More than 1.52 billion children and youth are currently out of school or university, representing 87 per cent of the world enrolled school and university student population. In addition, nearly 60.2 million teachers are no longer in the classroom. School closures have a wide range of adverse impacts on children and young people, including interrupted learning and forgone human interaction, which is essential to social and behavioural development. When schools close, many children lose the meals provided at school and a zone of safety. This impact on their nutrition has knock on effects on family income, which in turn adds to the demand for women and girls’ unpaid work. The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that more than 320 million primary schoolchildren in 120 countries are now missing out on school meals. School interruption also causes gaps in childcare, which puts pressures on work and life balance, especially for women, and parents when asked to facilitate the children’s learning at home. Sustained disruption of education could lead to a rise in child labour and child marriage, placing a further brake on developing countries growth. A recent IMF paper showed that child marriages reduces low-income country GDP by 1 per cent. low 5.3 13.0 24.7 0.7 1.5 2.8 1.7 4.1 7.4 2.9 7.4 14.6 World Point estimate Lower bound Upper bound Lower-middle income Upper-middle income High income low low lowmid 40 30 20 10 0 mid mid midhigh high high high In cr ea se in u ne m pl oy m en t r at e (m ill io ns ) Source: ILO FIGURE 3: IMPACT OF DECLINING GLOBAL GROWTH ON UNEMPLOYMENT BASED ON THREE SCENARIOS, WORLD AND INCOME GROUPS (MILLIONS) SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 10 Digital technologies have become a positive enabler in this crisis, facilitating business continuity and connecting people more than ever and helping them maintain good mental health. However, inequality of access to broadband connectivity and inaccessibility of ICTs hinders effective remote participation and access to remote schooling arrangements, health information and telemedicine by all. According to ITU, an estimated 3.6 billion people remain offline, with the majority of the unconnected living in the least developed countries. The response to the virus is also having a differentiated impact on segments of the population. The fact that women make up 70 per cent of the global health workforce puts them at greater risk of infection. Additionally, accompanying the crisis has been a spike in domestic violence reporting, at exactly the time that services, including rule of law, health and shelters, are being diverted to address the pandemic. With families isolated in their homes, children are also facing the rapid increase of online child abuse. Older persons are not just struggling with greater health risks but are also likely to be less capable of supporting themselves in isolation. Homeless people, because they may be unable to safely shelter in place, are highly exposed to the danger of the virus. Persons with disabilities could be left without vital support and advocacy due to social distancing. Persons in prisons, in migrant detention centres or in mental health institutions could face higher risk of contracting the virus due to the confined nature of the premises. FIGURE 4: COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY SCHOOL CLOSURES (AS OF 26 MARCH 2020) Country-wide school closures Localized school closures 166 countries had shut schools nationwide, impacting almost 1,52 billion children and youth who would normally attend pre-primary to upper-secondary classes 738.9 million girls and women 785.5 million boys and men Nearly 60.2 million teachers are no longer in the classrom Source: UNESCO Th e bo un da rie s an d na m es s ho w n an d th e de si gn at io ns u se d on th is m ap do n ot im pl y offi ci al e nd or se m en t o r a cc ep ta nc e by th e U ni te d N at io ns . SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 13 IV. SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO COPE WITH THE IMPACTS Given the rate of infection expected, the final death toll of COVID-19 could take on dramatic proportions. The economic and social effects of the pandemic are likely to be well in excess of those of the latest global crisis in 2008. Only international coordination can prevent a worst-case scenario. Overarching principles Keeping all people, households and businesses afloat is the main objective. We need to focus on people — families, women, children, youth, persons with disabilities and the elderly, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises and the informal sector. Important steps have already been taken in this direction. This must be scaled up. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. Economic policy should meet peoples most immediate health, food and other basic needs, protect social cohesion and maintain political and economic stability. Since the crisis is evolving rapidly, careful monitoring of the direct and indirect effects of all interventions are crucial to ensure policy responses are, and stay, relevant. A sense of urgency must prevail. Specific measures are needed at different levels. International organizations, international financial institutions and leadership groups such as the G20 all have levers that must be activated to full effect and in a coordinated manner. A coordinated regional approach will enable collective examination of impacts, coordination of fiscal, monetary, and social measures and sharing best practices and the lessons learned. National actions are perhaps the most crucial, but they are dependent on context, including geographic context, type of government and level of development. Developed and developing countries do not have the same resources to respond quickly to the pandemic and, among developing countries, there are significant differences between different categories of countries, such as Small island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Land Locked countries. Local governments are at the frontline of the epidemic but their capacity to respond rapidly depends heavily on the governance context and the financial health of the local government and its budgetary authority. A whole-of-society approach is needed. COVID-19 is menacing all of humanity and all of humanity must fight back. An effective response needs to be multidimensional, coordinated, swift and decisive. It needs to be result of strong political leadership and buy-in of the population. It needs to foster public trust; be focused on human values; and supported by solid institutions, technical skills and financial resources. Everyone needs to play their part in the response. No individual country can do this alone. ANIMATED BY THESE PRINCIPLES, THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITS TO WORKING IN ALL COUNTRIES AROUND THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS: A. Global measures to match the magnitude of the crisis 1. Advocate and support implementation of a human-centred, innovative and coordinated stimulus package reaching double-digit percentage points of the world’s gross domestic product. The global nature of the economic shock we are facing, with simultaneous collapses in both supply and demand, calls for the first truly global fiscal stimulus in history. Such a package would inject massive resources into economies and go a long way to restore confidence in the future. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 14 That stimulus should be channelled not only to the business sector and lead firms, but to the workers and SMEs worldwide that underpin the global economy. It is not enough to protect major businesses: we need to protect their suppliers, and the global consumer demand – the household income – that will usher the global economy back to life. These need to be complemented with coordinated monetary and financial policy measures. To be effective, the stimulus package will need to focus on direct and targeted transfer of resources to the most vulnerable households and scaling up health emergency preparedness, social protection, tax abatement, low interest rates, access to credit, insurance and wage support schemes. Support must be provided to countries that lack capacity to implement these measures. Countries must commit to do their utmost to protect the labour force, including workers who depend entirely on daily earnings and those in the informal sector and support their employment and income. This must be the goal of all coordinated fiscal and monetary actions. The International Organisation of Employers, representing more than 50 million companies, and the International Trade Union Confederation, representing more than 200 million workers, emphasise the importance of social dialogue and social partners in the control of the virus at the workplace and beyond, but also to avoid massive job losses in the short and medium term. Joint responsibility is needed for dialogue to foster stability. 2. Resist the temptation to resort to protectionist measures This is the moment to dismantle trade barriers, maintain open trade, and re-establish supply chains. Tariff and non-tariff measures as well as export bans, especially those imposed on medicinal and related products, would slow countries’ action to contain the virus. Import taxes or restrictions on medical supplies need to be waived. It is vital to ensure that such medicines, medical equipment and supplies and other essential goods and services needed to fight the pandemic reach the most vulnerable countries. Solidarity is crucial at this time. 3. Take explicit measures to boost the economies of developing countries Developing countries need international support, given that their ability to fund expansionary stimulus is already limited, and has been further limited in recent days by currency instability. This will require debt relief for many countries to create the domestic fiscal space. This will also require creative thinking about how to mobilize large injections of concessional finance – not only from multilateral development banks but also from private lenders such as pension funds, who will be in a hunt for low-growth investment opportunities. Forty-four per cent of least developed and other low-income developing countries are at high risk or in debt distress, making debt restructuring a priority —including immediate waivers on interest payments for 2020, debt deferral, debt reduction, debt swaps, and other debt reduction instruments. For fragile countries and conflict-affected countries debts may need to be cancelled. These resources should be immediately channelled towards the human and health response through budget support facilities, including to scale social protection. The IMF, the World Bank and other international financial institutions will be critical partners in this endeavour. This will also require additional concessional financing. The IMF Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust can help the poorest countries with immediate debt relief, but would need resources to be boosted by the support of the developed countries. The cost of remittances — a lifeline in the developing world — should be brought as close to zero as possible. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 15 4. Strengthen international public finance provision International financial institutions and regional development banks can play an important role in addressing the impact of the crisis and financing the recovery. A post-crisis coordination mechanism must be created to provide the resources to all countries to have adequate fiscal space. Coordination among major central banks and the support of international financial institutions could help facilitate swap lines and provide liquidity in the financial system, especially in emerging economies and developing countries. At the same time, the resources available to the IMF need to be increased, by leveraging Special Drawing Rights to rapidly inject resources into countries. 5. Waive sanctions in this time of solidarity Sanctions imposed on countries should be waived to ensure access to food, essential supplies and access to COVID-19 tests and medical support. This is the time for solidarity not exclusion. B. Regional mobilization Some of the regional measures that can be taken, adjusted for regional specificity, are highlighted below. 1. Adopt “Do No Harm” trade policies, preserve connectivity, and ensure regional monetary-fiscal coordination The free flow of goods and services within and across all regions is essential. Removal of tariffs and non-tariff measures affecting imports of FIGURE 6: REGIONAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 Central America and the Caribbean will be affected by US economic trends. Weaker tourism inflows expeced. South America’s large commodity exporters (Chile, Peru, Argentina) will face several shocks from reduced global demand. The coming winter raises the risk of prolonged epidemic in the Southern Cone. Low number of cases High number of cases A downturn in the oil and commodities markets will affect the Middle East and Africa. China’s slowdown caused oil prices to fall, impacting oil- exporting states. Tourist destinations will also be negatively affected. In Asia, all economies will be affected, including due to high disruption to industrial supply chains and weaker tourism inflows. Source: WHO, OCHA, EIU as of 27 March 2020 The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 18 for people with specific needs, including for the visually- and hearing-impaired. While Governments have to take difficult decisions in response to COVID-19, including the use of exceptional state powers in many settings, leaders must take every measure to preserve civic and democratic space and help to build and preserve trust in institutions, and to stem rising xenophobia, discrimination, racism and stigmatisation. Internet companies have a responsibility to address disinformation in the first instance by themselves, providing reliable information. The use of tools of surveillance technology to track the spread of the coronavirus must be non-intrusive, limited in time and purpose and abide by the strictest protections and international human rights standards. 3. Support to SMEs Direct support to enterprises, particularly to SMEs, is urgent. Governments can provide assistance to firms to maintain the flow of essential inputs, final products and services. Furthermore, special emergency public procurement procedures can be introduced, with dedicated attention to business opportunities for women and youth, and temporary assistance and transfers can be made to sub- national and municipal governments to support SMEs. In addition, consideration should be given to temporary reductions of payroll and social security charges, value-added taxes, and tax rebates. Finally, grants and subsidies, can facilitate the payment of rents and utilities, payment of wages and other essential services. Measures will need to be taken to support the informal sector, constituting 80 per cent of enterprises worldwide, who are generally out of reach of public policies. 4. Support decent work Economic recovery goes hand in hand with social justice and decent work. International labour standards provide a tried-and-trusted foundation to inform policy responses that are coherent, respectful of human dignity and place recovery on the Young people, seriously affected, are joining the global response Millions of young people work in global health workforce and the percentage is higher in the global south, in line with the overall demographics. Young people are already among the most affected by the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 response: \ More than 1.5 billion young people, or 87 per cent the world’s student population, are kept away from school and universities in more than 165 countries. \ Young people are particularly at risk of increased anxiety and mental health concerns. \ Young women and girls are at higher risk of intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence during the pandemic. \ Young people will suffer greatly from a global recession. After the 2008 crisis, youth un- employment rates in the UK reached around 21 per cent; around 18 per cent for the US; and in Italy, a record of 43 per cent in 2014. The expansion of the “gig economy” since 2008 has further increased youth vulnerabilities. \ Young people make up more than 30 per cent of the world’s migrants and refugees who also stand to suffer disproportionately both from the pandemic and its aftermath – whether due to limited movement, fewer employment opportunities, increased xenophobia etc. Young people all over the world are joining the global response against COVID-19 in many ways. Young people are running awareness campaigns, handwashing campaigns, volunteering to support the elderly and vulnerable populations, contributing as scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 19 trajectory set out in the 2030 Development Agenda. Subsidized short-time working, in the short-run, and hiring subsidies in the longer term must consider populations likely to be most adversely affected. Supporting young women and men can help combat the dangers of creating a lost generation of young people. 5. Support education It is crucial that the international community support governments not only in providing distance learning solutions that use multimedia approaches to ensure learning continuity, but also in supporting teachers, parents and caregivers in adapting to home schooling modalities. Inclusion and equity must be the guiding principles to avoid a further deepening of inequalities in access to education, with special measures taken to jointly meet the health, nutrition and learning needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized children and youth, as well as policies to address connectivity and content challenges. The scale of the challenge calls for a coalition of public and private partners to design and develop innovative and equitable solutions adapted to a wide diversity of contexts. It also provides an opportunity to leapfrog, through these solutions, in addressing the significant challenges confronting countries while keeping in sharp focus the Sustainable Development Goals. 6. Prioritize social cohesion measures Preserving and boosting social cohesion through free access to educational and cultural resources can be used to overcome social isolation. Investing in social cohesion is of special importance for countries experiencing fragility resulting from protracted conflict, recurrent natural disasters or forced displacement. Preserve Quality Education for Children and Youth \ Distance education through: (i) access to loans or equipment transfers for students and/ or households; provision of internet connection; and (iii) public-private partnerships to make platforms and tools for distance learning available free of charge. \ Public and private efforts to guarantee and expand the capacity of the networks and prevent demand surges. Governments and operators must have network demand analysis and contingency plans. \ Digital learning resources for teachers and parents: online multilingual free educational applications to facilitate learning, provide social care and interaction during periods of school closure. \ Publicize country efforts to maintain the provision of inclusive education in different contexts. \ If schools are open: ensure that social distancing measures, hygiene and food safety and quality standards are followed. \ If schools are closed, providing take-home rations in lieu of the meals, home delivery of food and provision of cash or vouchers. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 20 V. PARTNERSHIPS TO ACCELERATE THE GLOBAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19 Local and National Authorities Local governments are at the frontline of the pandemic. The capacity of local governments to respond rapidly with the needed health and socioeconomic measures depends heavily on the governance context of the country and the financial health of the local government and its budgetary authority). Effective dialogue and coordination between local and national authorities are critical for implementing effective measures. Women and youth will be key to these dialogues at local levels. If well resourced, local governments have significant power to catalyse and lead preparedness, rapid response and anticipate recovery policy actions for urban and rural populations. In the pre-outbreak phase, local governments and city officials can reference the lessons learned from governments that have responded to the outbreak and anticipate needs to prepare populations and systems. Although the vast majority of national and local governments are currently focusing on pre-outbreak and outbreak planning, the most successful preparedness and response plans will have exit strategies and recovery plans in mind. Global research and innovation This is as much a crisis of confidence – occasioning a risk of panic and irrational behaviour – as it is a public health crisis. Evidence-based innovation will illuminate the path out of this crisis, and that requires rapid action by researchers and innovators worldwide. Medical and technological research and innovation is needed to accelerate the production of key medical materials and tests, and to discover the vaccines and therapeutic treatments that are needed to protect people’s right to health. Governments and leading research actors should come together to scale up cooperation with the WHO-sponsored solidarity trials, share data and information in the public interest, and deploy new AI tools to accelerate. At the same time, the wider global research community – in government, academia and the private sector – also has a vital role to play, across the social and natural sciences, in policy formulation. It can generate, share and explain in lay terms the evidence that publics and policy actors need to take effective preventive measures and to shape a safe and equitable recovery. Many governments rely on new or established research advisory bodies bringing rapid evidentiary analysis to government response efforts. Major national and international research funders and philanthropic organizations should support the networking of these organizations to generate a reliable global research base to inform cooperative action at the international level. Civil society and community-based organizations Civil Society and grassroots organizations, community Based Organizations (CBOs) and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) play a vital role at the local level. In assisting the most vulnerable populations, these groups are active in bringing economic and livelihood opportunities and adapting responses to the community context. These organizations, in many locations in the world, are the first, or only, point of reference for individuals and families about COVID-19. They serve as the main communication conduits about health mandates, hygiene practices based and quarantine measures. They are performing public services, including delivering food and medical services to SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, GLOBAL SOLIDARITY: RESPONDING TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19 23 the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world remains on a dangerous 3 degrees pathway. Even at present levels of warming, the world is witnessing unprecedented super charged tropical storms, record-breaking temperatures, accelerated deforestation, droughts and wildfires and ever more grim predictions of sea level rise. This has resulted in significant loss of lives and livelihoods, and hundreds of billions in damage with the poorest and most vulnerable bearing a disproportionate burden. The irony that the current crisis is resulting in lower emissions and cleaner air is not lost on anyone – not least because deforestation, pollution, biodiversity loss are all contributory factors to the spread of the virus. Governments should not respond to the COVID-19 crisis by making policy and investment decisions that exacerbate existing crises such as air pollution and the climate emergency. The New Climate Economy4 report estimates that investing in bold climate action could deliver at least 26 trillion USD in net global economic benefits between now and 2030, including creating more than 65 million new jobs. While these figures may be adjusted on account of the impact of the pandemic, the prospects of this opportunity must be seized in stimulating the recovery. This year remains crucial for making progress on the climate emergency and in halting the loss of biodiversity. Lastly, this crisis has for the most part, unearthed a human spirit, a level of solidarity, a new unity of purpose that has ebbed in this 21st century – within countries and communities and across our diverse world. The post-COVID world needs to take that spirit and energy forward. It needs to become the zeitgeist of our times. Not because it is preferable to unilateralism or isolationism, but because it is the only way we can stay together in this world – safe, free, healthy, prosperous and in harmony with the planet. 4 The New Climate Economy, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, 2020. CALL TO ACTION The COVID-19 Pandemic is a defining moment for modern society, and history will judge the efficacy of our response not by the actions of any single set of government actors taken in isolation, but by the degree to which the response is coordinated globally across all sectors to the benefit of our human family. The United Nations global footprint at the national level is an asset for the global community to be leveraged to deliver the ambition needed to win the war against the virus. With the right actions, the COVID-19 pandemic can mark the rebirthing of society as we know it today to one where we protect present and future generations. It is the greatest test that we have faced since the formation of the United Nations, one that requires all actors -governments, academia, businesses, employers and workers’ organizations, civil society organizations, communities and individuals- to act in solidarity in new, creative, and deliberate ways for the common good and based on the core United Nations values that we uphold for humanity. The United Nations Sustainable Development Group, through coordinated action and in solidarity with countries, come together to implement this UN response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. DPPA United Nations Department of Political Affairs FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development ILO International Labor Organization IMF International Monetary Fund IMO International Maritime Organization IOM International Organization for Migration ITC International Trade Centre ITU International Telecommunications Union OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights UN DESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs UN ECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa UN ECLAC United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean UN Environment United Nations Environment Programme UN ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UN ESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia UN PBSO United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women UN-Habitat United Nations Human Settlements Programme UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNCDF UN Capital Development Fund UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNDRR United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNV United Nations Volunteers UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization UPU Universal Postal Union WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WMO World Metereological Organization