The Covid-19 virus has caused a convulsive shock to the global economy. There remains considerable uncertainty around the pathway of the pandemic, the means and speed of any economic recovery and what structural changes â particularly to the globalisation of trade and capital â it will bring in the longer-term.
Debt relief is back. Again. The âonce-in-a-generationâ 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 â among others â that rich countries can do relatively quickly to free up money for poor countries during this crisis.
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 â one in every four of whom live in such areas.
The pandemic offers an opportunity to shape climate-friendly recovery packages that both boost shorter-term job creation and incomes, and generate long-term sustainability benefits. Polling shows large popular support for recovery packages to prioritise climate change.
Europeans are incredibly lucky to largely not know what it feels like to fear for their lives due to war and violence. Yet suddenly, communities in Europe share characteristics with people who live in countries with violent conflict: coronavirus makes lives precarious and incomes unstable. It shows what itâs like when public services are underfunded, unreliable and insufficient.
To improve gender justice, ODI’s experts explore multiple dimensions of gender and Covid-19 concerns to better understand the gendered impacts of the threat and embed gender concerns into every aspect of the response.  Â
The experts discuss gender, Covid-19, and issues of leadership and intimate partner violence. They also cover womenâs economic empowerment and security, education, health and social protection. Finally, they share ODIâs latest thinking on issues around youth and data, conflict and humanitarian contexts and learning from history.
