COVID-19 presents a development and a health crisis. 鈥檚 network of Accelerator Labs works with its partners to prepare, respond and recover, to the new world we live in.
Economic Development
Learn about the definition of and explore how different countries are taking on the critical role of investing in education, health, and resilience.
The economic consequences of the pandemic are already impacting the United States with unprecedented speed and severity. In the last two weeks in March almost 10 million people applied for unemployment benefits. Such a sharp increase has never been seen before, not even at the peak of the crisis 2009 crisis. Disruptions caused by the virus are starting to ripple through emerging markets. To overcome this pandemic, we need a global, coordinated health and economic policy effort.
UNDP makes a call to action to the international community to think beyond the immediate impact of COVID-19. Income losses are expected to exceed $220 billion in developing countries. With an estimated 55 per cent of the global population having no access to social protection, these losses will reverberate across societies, impacting education, human rights and basic food security and nutrition. Working in close coordination with the , is helping countries to prepare for, respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing particularly on the most vulnerable.
How to Minimize the Impact of Coronavirus on Food Security
The spread of the coronavirus is first and foremost a public health emergency, but it鈥檚 also a significant economic threat. The COVID-19 shock will cause a recession in some countries and depress global annual growth this year to below 2.5%, the recessionary threshold for the world economy. Even if the worst is avoided, the hit to global income, compared with what forecasters had been projecting for 2020, will be capped at around the trillion-dollar mark. But could it be worse? UNCTAD published on 9 March that suggests why this may be the case.
Decades of instability have caused untold suffering for people across the Central African Republic. One of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, more than one million people remain displaced and over half of the country鈥檚 five million population requires humanitarian assistance. The small landlocked country has been ravaged by conflict and civil war, which has resulted in countless deaths and forced displacements, and has prevented the country from developing. As part of efforts to alleviate people鈥檚 hardship, is working with the government and the to deliver a multifaceted project that is helping to lay the foundations for peace and improve living conditions for displaced communities.
Despite increases in life expectancy, the rise in chronic and non-communicable diseases has become a global threat. Every year across the globe, 15 million people die before age 70 from these diseases, which include cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and obesity. Obesity is one of the known risk factors for non-communicable diseases and a disease in itself. A new report 鈥溾 sheds light on the growing obesity epidemic and its negative impacts.
The report looks at major global and regional economic trends and indicators, and examines the prospects for sustainable economic growth in the face of rising financial, political, social and environmental challenges. The World Economic Situation and Prospects Report is the UN鈥檚 flagship publication on the state of the world economy. This year's edition focuses on the impact of the climate crisis, as well as the increasing political polarization and skepticism about globalization. Follow the global on 16 January at noon EST.
The world economy has barely had the time to recover from a string of shocks that began with the 2007 financial crisis, and we can already see another global slowdown looming large.
Keeping Montenegro鈥檚 flavours alive
New equipment worth over 鈧600,000 provided to the Government of Madagascar by the , means the country again has a functioning gamma camera for nuclear imaging, and its experts in many fields from soil science to isotope hydrology and mining research can pursue state-of-the-art research in support of the country鈥檚 development objectives.
Wool and mohair form the bedrock of Lesotho’s rural economy. The Wool and Mohair Promotion Project works with farmers to improve the quality and quantity of wool and mohair produced. The ultimate goal of the project is to boost the economic and climate resilience of poor, smallholder wool and mohair producers to the adverse effects of climate change in the mountain and foothill regions of Lesotho.
South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) is the sharing and exchange of development solutions – knowledge, experiences, good practices, innovative policies, technology and resources – between countries in the global South, in order to help each other to meet their development goals. As a facilitator of SSTC, unites countries that have development solutions with countries that are interested in applying them and ensures the technical quality of these exchanges.
With UNDP support the women of the small village of Pajam, Kaledupahave breathed new life into the traditional tenun weaving technique. It gives women an economic alternative to fishing and working in tourism, and protects something much more valuable: their unique way of telling stories in fabric.