U.N. News: Collective, conflict-sensitive responses vital to address COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout
“The coronavirus pandemic has not only exacted a terrible toll on human lives, health, and economies, it has also exacerbated existing conflicts, a U.N. forum heard on Thursday, with top officials urging global solidarity in the fight against COVID-19. At a joint virtual meeting of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), ECOSOC President Munir Akram pointed to the impact on the poorest countries and the poorest people…” (11/19).

U.N. News: Development funding and trade transparency needed, to stop COVID-19 dividing the world
“The pandemic has redefined the world economy in ways that will deepen inequality and can only be reversed if a global transformation in attitudes towards trade and development allows the whole world to recover together, the U.N. trade body UNCTAD said in a report published on Thursday. The report, Impact of the Pandemic on Trade and Development: Transitioning to a new normal, said the pandemic had accelerated existing trends in trade, investment, and technology, but its impact was ’tilted towards the most vulnerable, both within and across countries’ and it would leave many developing countries with unsustainable debt burdens…” (11/19).