DHAKA, April 28, 2020 (BSS) – The governments must dramatically overhaul
policies and invest in public health, economic stimulus, and social safety
nets, to help countries recover faster from the COVID-19 pandemic, said a new
report of the UNDP.
The economic report warns that a patchwork of preexisting solutions would
not work and points out that the governments must coordinate with each other
to hasten the recovery.
“This is a global crisis and working in silos is not an option,” said the
UNDP report.
The report titled “Position Note on the Social and Economic Impacts of
COVID-19 in Asia-Pacific” calls on countries in the region to avoid returning
to the pre-pandemic environmentally unsustainable development path, and to
capitalise on the opportunity to build a better future.
It argues for a new human rights-based, just and fair social contract
between governments and people, and advocates for social safety nets with a
broader reach, universal health insurance, and affordable access to digital
connectivity, as the new normal.
“While we must focus on the immediate needs of a health crisis, the
accompanying economic and social crises also need urgent attention. These
feed on pre-pandemic vulnerabilities that will be a fire hard to contain, if
not addressed together,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General
and UNDP Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
“Bold proposals in this report address the multiple shocks together, by
proposing a different set of choices today to build a different tomorrow,”
Wignaraja said.
While both crises are exacting a huge human toll, with a heavy burden and
crisis of care falling disproportionately on the shoulders of women, the
report calls on governments and businesses to invest in building more
sustainable and resilient supply chains and to foster circular and sharing
economies, which will allow us to tread lighter on the environment and
ecosystems, according to the report.
The report contributes to the UN’s work that supports the socioeconomic
recovery from the pandemic in the Asia and the Pacific. It calls for policies
and actions that immediately strengthen health systems, to save lives and
prevent the spread of the virus.
It also suggests for the rapid expansion of social protection measures, to
sustain incomes, especially for the most affected and vulnerable. Regular
public communication of measures taken is a must to strengthen trust of
people in government, the report says.
Governments will need huge resources to bolster public health, for the
economic stimulus, and for social safety nets, which will place an enormous
strain on budgets.
To meet that challenge, the report asks governments to revise priorities
reflected in budget revenue, spending and financing. Budget revisions may be
painful but are necessary, to meet this emergency and to contain fiscal
deficits and surges in public debt, at manageable levels.