5 things you should know about the state of the global economy

5 things you should know about the state of the global economy IMF/Ernesto Benavides Goods are transported by hands in Lima, Peru. 10 May 2021 Economic Development Is this the year we overcome the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic? Are our jobs in danger? Who has lost the most in the crisis and what can be done to recover? As the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (DESA) prepares to launch the mid-year update of the 2021 World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report, here are five things you need to know about the state of the global economy. Dock workers unload fresh fish from a boat in Casablanca, Morocco.IMF/ Jake Lyell Dock workers unload fresh fish from a boat in Casablanca, Morocco. 1) US and China bounce back, but a slow recovery for developing countries While economic output in the United States and China is expected to grow robustly and lift global growth, many developing economies are not expected to return to pre-pandemic output levels anytime soon. The pandemic is far from over for most developing countries where vaccination is advancing slowly, and fiscal pressures have intensified. 2) The situation of the most vulnerable has become even more precarious Lockdowns and social distancing measures resulted in large job losses in contact-intensive and labour-intensive service sectors, which predominantly employ women. The pandemic has also exposed the vulnerability of informal employment, which is the main source of jobs in many countries and which offers less job security, social protection and access to healthcare. An egg vendor sits in her stall in Quiapo, Philippines.IMF/Lisa Marie David An egg vendor sits in her stall in Quiapo, Philippines. 3) Global trade recovery is strong, particularly in Asia Merchandise trade has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels, buoyed by strong demand for electrical and electronic equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other manufactured goods. Trade in services remains constrained by restrictions on international travel. While exports from Asian economies have soared, exports from Africa, Western Asia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States has stalled. 4) The COVID-19 crisis has inflicted more harm on women and girls This crisis disproportionately affected women, who suffered significant job and income losses, contributing to the worsening of gender poverty gaps. Burdened by increased home care duties, many girls and women gave up on schools, and the workforce altogether. Returning to school and work might take longer or may not happen at all for many of them, further widening gender gaps in education, income and wealth. Women textile workers perform quality control tests at a factoy in Izmir, Turkey.ILO/Kivanc Ozvardar Women textile workers perform quality control tests at a factoy in Izmir, Turkey. 5) Countries need to do more to address the uneven impact of the COVID-19 crisis There is an urgent need for countries to formulate better targeted and gender-sensitive policies to drive a more resilient and inclusive recovery from the crisis. Though on the frontlines of the pandemic, women have been under-represented in pandemic related decision-making and economic policy responses. The severe and disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women and girls call for more targeted policy and support measures for women and girls, not only to accelerate the recovery but also to ensure that the recovery is inclusive and resilient. A rice mill worker fills a sack with rice in Ratchathani province, Thailand.UN Women/Piyavit Thongsa-Ard A rice mill worker fills a sack with rice in Ratchathani province, Thailand. Courtesy:UN News

Yemen: millions of children facing deadly hunger, amidst aid shortages and COVID-19 Jabra is seven years old, she lives in Sana, Yemen. She is learning the correct way to wash her hands and how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

© UNICEF

Jabra is seven years old, she lives in Sana, Yemen. She is learning the correct way to wash her hands and how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

    

25 June 2020

Humanitarian Aid

Millions of children in the heart of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster could be pushed to the brink of starvation, due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the coronavirus pandemic, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday. 

Marking more than five years since conflict escalated in the country between Government forces and their allies, against Houthi rebel militias, the new UNICEF report warns the number of malnourished children could reach 2.4 million by end of year, almost half of all under-fives. 

An additional 30,000 children could develop life-threatening severe acute malnutrition over the next six months.

Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and COVID-19 warns that as Yemen’s devastated health system and infrastructure overall struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, the already dire situation for children is likely to deteriorate considerably. 

Systemic failure

UNICEF reported that an additional 6,600 children under five could die from preventable causes by the end of the year. With a health system teetering closer to collapse, only half of health facilities are operational, with huge shortages in medicine, equipment and staff. 

More than eight million people, nearly half of them children, depend directly on the agency for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), amid ongoing conflict, cholera outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We cannot overstate the scale of this emergency as children, in what is already the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, battle for survival as COVID-19 takes hold”, said Sara Beysolow Nyanti, UNICEF Representative to Yemen.

“As the world’s attention focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic I fear the children of Yemen will be all but forgotten. Despite our own preoccupations right now, we all have a responsibility to act and help the children of Yemen. They have the same rights of any child, anywhere”, Ms. Nyanti added. 

In the report, the agency alerts for almost 10 million children without proper access to water and sanitation, as well as for 7.8 million children without access to education, following school closures. 

Widespread absence from class and a worsening economy could put children at greater risk of child labour, recruitment into armed groups and child marriage, the report highlights. 

© UNICEF

Volunteers teach people living in settlements, in Sana'a, Yemen, instructing them on social distancing and other preventative measure against COVID-19.

‘Brink of starvation’

 “If we do not receive urgent funding, children will be pushed to the brink of starvation and many will die. The international community will be sending a message that the lives of children in a nation devastated by conflict, disease and economic collapse, simply do not matter”, Ms. Nyanti pointed. 

Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and COVID-19 warns that unless US$54.5 million is received for health and nutrition services by the end of August, more than 23,000 children with severe acute malnutrition will be at increased risk of dying; there will be shortages on the children’s immunization, and 19 million people will lose access to healthcare, including one million pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and their children. 

The report also highlights that crucial water and sanitation services for three million children and their communities will begin to shut down from the end of July, unless US$45 million is secured. 

“UNICEF is working around the clock in incredibly difficult situations to get aid to children in desperate need, but we only have a fraction of the funding required to do this”, conlcluded Ms. Nyanti. 

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Support Yemen or watch the country ‘fall off the cliff’ 

On Wednesday, the UN humanitarian chief warned that Yemen will “fall off the cliff” without massive financial support. 

Speaking to a closed virtual Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Mark Lowcock said that coronavirus was spreading rapidly across Yemen, and about 25 percent of the country’s confirmed cases, have died. 

“At a minimum, we can expect many more people to starve to death and to succumb to COVID-19 and to die of cholera and to watch their children die because they are not immunized for killer diseases”, he said. 

The UN relief chief warned that the coronavirus pandemic is “adding one more layer of misery upon many others”. Caling for funding, he told members that the choice was between “supporting the humanitarian response in Yemen and help to create the space for a sustainable political situation, or watch Yemen fall off the cliff.” 

Courte

COVID-19: UN chief calls for global ceasefire to focus on ‘the true fight of our lives’

UN News/Daniel Dickinson

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres appeals for a global ceasefire in a virtual press conference broadcast on UN Web TV.

    

23 March 2020

Peace and Security

In an appeal issued on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against  COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all of humankind. 

“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war”, he said.  “That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.  It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.” 

UN Spokesperson

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Replying to @UN_Spokesperson

The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war. That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world - @antonioguterres #COVID19

UN Spokesperson

✔@UN_Spokesperson

To warring parties: Pull back from hostilities. Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes.
This is crucial to help create corridors for life-saving aid, open windows for diplomacy & bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to #COVID19 - @antonioguterres

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The ceasefire would allow humanitarians to reach populations that are most vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, last December, and has now been reported in more than 180 countries. 

So far, there are nearly 300,000 cases worldwide, and more than 12,700 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

As the UN chief pointed out, COVID-19 does not care about nationality or ethnicity, or other differences between people, and “attacks all, relentlessly”, including during wartime. 

It is the most vulnerable - women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized, displaced and refugees - who pay the highest price during conflict and who are most at risk of suffering “devastating losses” from the disease. 

Furthermore, health systems in war-ravaged countries have often reached the point of total collapse, while the few health workers who remain are also seen as targets.  

The UN chief called on warring parties to pull back from hostilities, put aside mistrust and animosity, and “silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes”.  

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Readers can find information and guidance on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the UN, World Health Organization and UN agencies here.For daily news updates from UN News, click here.

This is crucial, he said, “to help create corridors for life-saving aid. To open precious windows for diplomacy.  To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.”   

While inspired by new rapprochement and dialogue between combatants to enable joint approaches to push back the disease, the Secretary-General said more still needs to be done. 

“End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world”, he appealed.  “It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now. That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.” 

The Secretary-General’s appeal was broadcast live over the Internet from a virtual press conference held at UN Headquarters in New York, where most staff are now working from home to help curb further spread of COVID-19.

He answered questions from reporters which were read by Melissa Fleming, head of the UN Department of Global Communications, the parent office of UN News.

The UN chief said his Special Envoys will work with warring parties to make sure the cease-fire appeal leads to action.

Asked how he was feeling, Mr. Guterres responded that he is “strongly determined”, underlining that the UN must be active at this moment.

“The UN must fully assume its responsibilities first doing what we have to do    our peacekeeping operations, our humanitarian agencies, our support to the different bodies of the international community, the Security Council, the General Assembly but, at the same time, it’s a moment in which the UN must be able to address the peoples of the world and appeal for a massive mobilisation and for a massive pressure on governments to make sure that we are able to respond to this crisis, not to mitigate it but to suppress it, to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic economic and social impacts of the disease”, he said.

“And we can only do it if we do it together, if we do in a coordinated way, if we do it with intense solidarity and cooperation, and that is the raison d’etre of the United Nations itself”.

Co

Yemen: UN envoy calls for 'immediate and unconditional' freeze on military activities

Ismini Palla

Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, talks to journalists during a visit to Marib

    

7 March 2020

Peace and Security

In a visit to northern Yemen on Saturday, UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths repeated his call for an immediate freeze on military activities and for warring parties to work towards a de-escalation in fighting.

Mr. Griffiths was speaking during  a one-day visit to Marib, which he described as a “haven” amid the ongoing conflict between government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Ansar Allah, also known as Houthis.  

UN Special Envoy for Yemen

✔@OSE_Yemen

The UN Special Envoy for #Yemen, Martin Griffiths, visits #Marib today to reiterate his call for calm and the resumption of the political process. Mr. Girffiths is scheduled to meet local authorities, tribal chiefs, civil society, women and youth as well as displaced Yemenis.

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Thousands of people have arrived there following  recent fierce fighting in neighbouring Al Jawf governorate.

“Last week I issued a public call for a freeze on military activities. Today, I am reiterating that call for an immediate and unconditional freeze and the start of a comprehensive and inclusive and accountable de-escalation process”, he told journalists.

While in Marib, Mr. Griffiths met with the Governor and other senior officials, and with local authorities, tribal chiefs, civil society, women, youth, and displaced people.

“Marib has been an island of relative stability and calm amid the insanity of the war”, he said. “The parties need to ensure that Marib will remain a haven and not become the next epicenter of the fighting and of the war.”

The envoy underscored the UN position that the conflict cannot be solved on the battlefield.

He said Yemen is at a critical juncture: “We will either silence the guns and resume the political process, or we will slip back into large-scale conflict and suffering that you have already seen here in Marib.”

Courtesy:UN News
 

Deliver ‘significant results now’, UN General Assembly President tells COP25 climate conference

WMO/Injoo Hong

Storm clouds forming over Banghwa-ri in Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea.

    

10 December 2019

Climate Change

It is “imperative” that the COP25 climate conference underway in Spain delivers “significant results now”, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the UN General Assembly (PGA), said on Tuesday.

“Science is unequivocal on the urgency to act, both at global and national levels”, he told the conference to address the climate crisis - officially known as the 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The official opening ceremony of the high-level segment of the 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP 25. (10 December 2019), by UN Climate Change/James Dowson

Mr. Muhammad-Bande recalled the consensus reached through the Paris Agreement to limit the rise in temperature to 2ºC above pre-industrial levels and efforts to hold it to 1.5ºC. 

And yet, if current trends in global emissions continue, they will cause further warming; and humans will face increasingly severe and extreme weather events.

“Lands are being degraded. Forests, ecosystems and biodiversity are being lost. Our oceans are facing pollution, acidification and loss of coastal habitats”, he spelled out.

Recurrent climate disasters are becoming global and borderless; causing unprecedented human and socioeconomic costs; and threatening progress in reducing global poverty and improving people’s lives.

Let’s not ‘go down with the ship’

Risk reduction measures have the potential to “safeguard up to 280 million people at risk of displacement due to sea level rise”.

“It is our decision: to go down with this ship or to change course immediately”, he underscored. “This is the time to act”.

“We are defined by our actions, and every day we have a moral obligation to take action in favour of the next generation and beyond”, Mr. Muhammad-Bande concluded. “I am confident we will rise to this challenge”. 

Nuclear energy solutions

UN Climate Change

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Join us live from Madrid for the opening of the High-Level Segment of #COP25 https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1rmGPXeRzYdGN …

Opening of the High-Level Segment of #COP25

UNFCCC @UNFCCC

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On his first official trip as the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi highlighted the role that nuclear power can play in the global transition to clean energy.

“Variable renewables, such as solar and wind, are vital to the clean energy transition, but they alone cannot meet countries’ growing energy needs”, he maintained, adding that nuclear energy can “provide the continuous, low-carbon power to back up increasing use of renewables”.

Moreover, nuclear power can be “the key that unlocks their full potential by providing flexible support – day or night, rain or shine”, upheld the IAEA chief.

And many States believe that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve sustainable development and meet global climate goals without significant use of nuclear energy.

He pointed out that “nuclear power provides around one-third of the world’s low-carbon electricity and already plays a significant role in mitigating climate change”.

Out of time

“Each year at COP we are told that the window of opportunity could close soon”, UN Climate Change Executive SecretaryPatricia Espinosa said on the urgency of climate action.

“The window of opportunity is closing now,” she warned. “My message is this. We need your decisions. We need your leadership. We are out of time.”

Action for the most vulnerable

People around the world are being affected by one extreme weather event after another. But refugees, stateless people, and internally displaced often reside in climate change "hotspots", leaving them exposed to secondary displacements, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

So Tuesday saw the timely launch by 12 international organizations of the Alliance for Hydromet Development, agreeing to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to deliver high-quality weather forecasts, early warning systems and hydrological and climate services.  

The window of opportunity is closing now – UN Climate Change chief

Pointing out that “the science is clear”, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, told COP25 that “ambitious climate action requires countries to be equipped with the most reliable warnings and best available climate information services”.

“The Alliance is the vehicle to collectively scale-up our support to the most vulnerable”, he concluded.

For her part, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Laura Tuck underlined the important role of the Alliance.

“It’s good to see everyone formally coming together through this Alliance and committing to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries in the provision of hydromet and early warning services,” she said. “This will help ensure we are coherent, consistent, and efficient in the way we are supporting countries to prepare for climate risks and protect people.”

COP25 will lay the groundwork for next year’s defining climate change conference, when countries must submit new climate action plans under the Paris Agreement.

SOURCE;UN NEWS