COVID-19 Pandemic Worst Crisis after World War II: UN Chief

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonia Guterres has defined the COVID-19 pandemic as the worst crisis after World War II. The ongoing health crisis has been threatening public health across the world while also bringing a global economic recession.

At the report launch of the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19, the UN chief stated that the combination of this disease along with its economic impact will contribute to enhanced instability, enhanced conflict, and enhanced unrest.

Declaring the current situation as a human crisis which is much more than a health crisis, the UN chief talked about the impacts COVID-19 pandemic and how it is attacking the societies at its core.

Key Highlights:

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that we are still very far to fight COVID-19 pandemic effectively.
• He pointed out that there are still many countries who are not following the guidelines defined by W
• Guterres highlighted the need for assistance from developed countries to the developing ones, especially in health care.
• Highlighting the mobilization of USD 5 trillion, the UN Chief mentioned that most of the money was by the developed world to support their own economy
• Giving massive support to the developing world, he mentioned the lack of a global package that will help in suppressing the disease and its dramatic consequence.
• He also talked about the International Labor Organization Report that has reported an estimate of job loss between 5 million and 25 million in 2020

UN Secretary-General suggested the following measures to overcome COVID-19 crisis:

• To overcome the crisis, there must be no political games.
• There is a need for a large-scale response that is coordinated and comprehensive and they must be guided by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Announced COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support low and middle-income countries.
• Hope for a positive response from the international community for tens of millions of refugees and internally displaced people.
• There must be an expansion of IMF capacity to issue special drawing rights for the countries that need them.
• Supported an idea from French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to start a G-20 initiative to support Africa.