Covid-19: Poor countries staring at a debt crisis, says UN report

Many workers in the gig economy, dominated by service sector start-ups, are poorly protected against income losses in a recession

Coronavirus cases have globally touched 1,699,631, with over 102,734 deaths. The United States has become the first country to record more than 2,000 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest number of fatalities recorded in a day.

According to a UN report, billions of people living in countries teetering on the brink of economic collapse are being further threatened by a looming debt crisis.

The UN-led Inter-Agency Task Force in its report on Financing for Development suggested measures governments must take to avert debt overload and address the economic and financial havoc caused by the pandemic.

"The global community was already falling behind in efforts to end poverty, take climate action and reduce inequalities," UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said.

"We have one chance to build back better together for people and for the planet."

With recommendations based on joint research and analysis from more than 60 UN agencies and international institutions, the 2020 Financing for Sustainable Development Report outlines measures to address the impact of the unfolding global recession and financial turmoil particularly in the world's poorest countries.

The Covid-19 crisis has shaken global financial markets with heavy losses and intense volatility that has prompted investors to move nearly $90 billion out of emerging markets the largest outflow ever recorded.

Particularly alarming for many Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is the prospect of a new debt crisis. To mitigate this, 2020 Financing for Sustainable Development calls, among other things, suspending debt payments from LDCs and other low-income countries; strengthening the global financial safety net; and reversing the decline in official development assistance.

We are far from having a global package to help the developing world to create the conditions both to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic consequences in their populations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during the recent launch of his report on the Socioeconomic Impact of the COVID-19.

What is needed is a large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive multilateral response amounting to at least 10 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product, he added.

Beyond the immediate crisis response, the coronavirus pandemic should prompt the implementation of long-overdue measures to reset the world on a sustainable development path and make the global economy more resilient to future shocks.

To do this, the report recommends accelerating investment in resilient infrastructure; strengthening social protections; enhancing regulatory frameworks; and strengthen the international financial safety net and framework for debt sustainability.

While highlighting gaps, new challenges and risks, the current crisis also provides a timely example of the potential of digital technologies.

But many workers in the so-called gig economy, dominated by service sector start-ups, are poorly protected against income losses in a recession. 2020 Financing for Sustainable Development addresses these gaps and other opportunities and challenges of digital finance.

Governments, development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders must work together to combat COVID-19 and support every effort to address its social and economic impacts, he said. 

Humanity's darkest hours

International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Georgieva fears that the coronavirus pandemic will push the global economy into the deepest recession since the Great Depression, with the world’s poorest countries suffering the most. 

“We anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression,” Georgieva said in remarks previewing next week’s virtual meetings of the 189-nation IMF and its sister lending organization, the World Bank. 

Emerging markets and developing economies have been hard hit by the crisis, Georgieva said, noting that nearly $90 billion in investments had already flowed out of emerging markets, far more than during the financial crisis.

More than 90 countries - nearly half the IMF's 189 members - have asked for emergency funding from the IMF to respond to the pandemic, she said.

We are reviewing our toolkit to help countries meet their financing needs. We are also working with donors to raise rapid relief resources to $1.4 billion to give immediate debt relief to low-income countries, Georgieva said