Category: Covid-19

Disadvantaged groups in the pandemic. How to respond inclusively to COVID-19 in the interests of the common good
Covid-19 / DIE

Disadvantaged groups in the pandemic. How to respond inclusively to COVID-19 in the interests of the common good

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all of us, but to differing extents. Overstretched health care systems, curfews, unemployment and school closures are posing challenges and pushing people beyond their ability to cope. The consequences of the pandemic will be felt in both, the short and long term. However, the longer term health, economic and social impact can only be estimated at present.

UN reform and the COVID-19 pandemic – what role for the UN to better serve the world?
Covid-19 / DIE

UN reform and the COVID-19 pandemic – what role for the UN to better serve the world?

The Covid-19 pandemic not only threatens to undo development gains and reverse progress in achieving the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda. It also presents an early and serious test for the reform of the UN development system (UNDS), where major reform decisions were taken in 2018 to reposition the UNDS for improved, integrated and strategic support in line with the 2030 Agenda’s interlinked nature.

Towards a sustainable European food system: for a successful operationalisation of the "Farm to Fork" strategy
Covid-19 / IDDRI

Towards a sustainable European food system: for a successful operationalisation of the “Farm to Fork” strategy

European Commission published its Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system, one of the Green Deal’s 11 components. In its general principles, the strategy sets an ambitious course for the transformation of the entire sector, in line with recent scientific findings modelling sustainable food systems. Achieving the drafted objectives will, however, require going a step further by making this strategy the reference framework for the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the deployment of industrial strategies in the food sector (particularly in the context of the negotiations of the post-Covid-19 crisis recovery plans) and the (re)negotiation of international trade agreements.

Covid-19 and democracy - Tackling the pandemic without doing away with democracy
Covid-19 / DIE

Covid-19 and democracy – Tackling the pandemic without doing away with democracy

Governments around the world have restricted basic democratic rights such as freedom of assembly, stepped up state monitoring of citizens, muzzled the media with new laws and arrests, and expanded their own powers as part of their Covid-19 policy. Those making foreign and development policy must monitor this carefully. The Covid-19 pandemic is a catalyst for democracy’s demise.

Power Shifts and the Risk of a "Crisis Within the Crisis": COVID, Oil and the MENA Region
Covid-19 / IAI

Power Shifts and the Risk of a “Crisis Within the Crisis”: COVID, Oil and the MENA Region

COVID-19 triggered a collapse in oil prices from approximately 60 to 20 dollars per barrel between January and April 2020. Signs of a rebound are visible but prices remain well below the breakeven for many producers. If prices stay this low for long, or if they fall again after a partial rally in a relapse scenario, the world may witness a crisis within the crisis, with even further adverse effects on the world economy.

Building trust, not tracking, should be the cornerstone of Covid-19 debt relief
Covid-19 / ODI

Building trust, not tracking, should be the cornerstone of Covid-19 debt relief

Debt relief is back. Again. The “once-in-a-generation” debt cancellation of 15 years ago has returned to the agenda as indebted countries struggle to finance their response to Covid-19. Suspending collection of debt repayments is one practical thing – among others – that rich countries can do relatively quickly to free up money for poor countries during this crisis.

One Health and COVID-19: Global leadership, territorial investment and food systems
Covid-19 / ECDPM

One Health and COVID-19: Global leadership, territorial investment and food systems

The One Health approach is particularly relevant to tackle threats like COVID-19 because it links the health of humans, animals, plants and their shared environments. The current health emergency highlights the importance of these links, and offers an opportunity to place food systems at the centre of One Health actions.

Now more than ever: European businesses and due diligence in times of Corona
Covid-19 / ECDPM

Now more than ever: European businesses and due diligence in times of Corona

Because of COVID-19, many European companies are understandably focusing on their financial figures and the safety and wellbeing of their direct employees. Given the gravity of the crisis, the larger supply chain and the human rights and environmental due diligence therein risks falling off their agenda. But do these difficult times absolve companies from their due diligence responsibilities?

The ‘youth burden’ needs a new narrative and how we respond to Covid-19 in conflict zones can change it
Covid-19 / ODI

The ‘youth burden’ needs a new narrative and how we respond to Covid-19 in conflict zones can change it

In fragile and conflict-affected settings, Covid-19 is increasing vulnerabilities and tensions caused by unequal access to already strained (and often inexistent) social and medical services. This is particularly true for young people – one in every four of whom live in such areas.

Responsibility for the poorest countries - How the international financial institutions are responding to the pandemic
Covid-19 / DIE

Responsibility for the poorest countries – How the international financial institutions are responding to the pandemic

World Bank Group President David Malpass expects the corona crisis to result in a deeper global recession than the Great Depression of the 1930s. The pandemic will hit the world’s poorest countries even harder than industrialised nations, especially as the former have barely any fiscal leeway. Their social-security and healthcare systems are not sufficiently robust.