Children in need, no return to ‘old normal’ and blue recovery is needed. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
Over 3 million Somali children in need of humanitarian assistance
An estimated 5.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including over 3 million children, due to the combined devastating impact of floods, the locust invasion, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Somalia is one of the most fragile nations in the world, a country that has experienced decades of conflict, cyclical drought, and floods,” said Jesper Moller, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Somalia. “Now, to compound the situation, the impact of the locust invasion and the COVID-19 pandemic means the international community has to act fast to help save the lives of millions of Somali families, especially the most vulnerable – the children.”
Children are often the hidden victims of any emergency and are more susceptible to waterborne diseases as a result of the flooding and severe malnutrition due to food shortages.
COVID-19: No return to ‘old normal’, says UN health chief, as cases top 15 million
COVID-19 cases worldwide have surpassed 15 million, and nearly 620,000 deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) urged people everywhere to play a part in preventing further spread of the disease, warning that there will be no return to “the old normal”.
Most cases, or 10 million, were in just 10 countries, with the United States, Brazil, and India accounting for nearly half. On July 22, afternoon, the US passed the milestone of four million infections.
“We’re asking everyone to treat the decisions about where they go, what they do, and who they meet with, as life-and-death decisions – because they are”, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking from Geneva.
“It may not be your life, but your choices could be the difference between life and death for someone you love, or for a complete stranger.”
COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of billions across the globe, and Tedros said it is understandable that people want to get on with their lives.
Why a sustainable blue recovery is needed
The world’s seventh-largest economy based on GDP doesn’t belong to a single country and isn’t even on land, yet it’s valued at around $3 trillion annually and supports the livelihoods of more than 3 billion people. It’s the ocean.
Worryingly, the ocean, and the blue economy it supports are not only in severe decline, the current mode of operating is no longer sustainable. We all rely on the ocean, which covers two-thirds of our planet, to regulate our climate, provide us with food, medicine, energy, and even the very air we breathe. Put simply, without a healthy ocean, there is no life on Earth.
But the natural assets that the blue economy depends on are fast eroding under the pressure of human activities.
This means that we have reached a celling, as 94% of all wild stocks are already being fully utilized, with about one-third exploited in an unsustainable manner.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
UN calls for basic income to protect the world’s poorest people
Working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic is not an option for the many people around the world, even when going to work means potentially becoming ill. A temporary basic income for the world’s poorest 2.7 billion people could slow the current surge in COVID-19 cases by enabling them to stay at home, according to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report released on the 23rd of July.
IFC signs partnership with Pacific Islands Investment Forum and embarks on survey of funds amid COVID-19
Sydney, Australia, July 1, 2020 – IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement with pension, provident and sovereign funds who are members of the Pacific Islands Investment Forum (PIIF) with the aim of helping to bridge the infrastructure investment gap in the region which it is estimated will amount to US$45 billion over the next 12 years.
Here’s what else has happened
UK: New UK-aid support will be used to tackle this year’s unprecedented locust outbreaks across Africa and Asia, where millions of insects are destroying thousands of hectares of crops.
South Asia floods: A humanitarian crisis is deepening in South Asia as new figures reveal that more than 9.6 million people have been affected by monsoon floods, devastating large areas of India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
EBRD: Investments by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) leapt to a record high in the first half of 2020 as the Bank responded rapidly to the needs of emerging economies grappling with the impact of the coronavirus.
EIB: The EU bank is backing the Autonomous Province of Trento for all sustainable public sector projects and the economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reports
Global tourism sector should continue fight against plastic pollution during and after COVID-19
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hit the tourism sector hard, putting more than 100 million jobs at risk; as countries begin to recover, new UN recommendations advise that the tourism sector builds back better, continuing its push to fight plastic pollution.
Leading experts offer new ideas for sustainable COVID-19 recovery
As world leaders in government, business, and civil society grapple to contend with the urgency of the global COVID-19 pandemic, leading experts and thinkers are offering fresh new ideas that can prevent new pandemics while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a new volume of policy briefs issued by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
Read the full volume: “Recover Better: Economic and Social Challenges and Opportunities”.
Events
Webinar | Media Development and Freedom of Expression: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in West and Central Africa
?29 -30 July 2020 ? 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Webinar
Within the realm of its “COVID-19 Labs” initiative, the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for West Africa-Sahel is organizing, jointly with the UNESCO Regional Offices in Abuja and Yaoundé, an online Regional Consultation entitled: “Media Development and Freedom of Expression: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in West and Central Africa”.
Webinar | Older Persons and COVID-19: Strengthening rights and health through collective action
? 28 July 2020 ? 16:30 – 17:30 (CET)
Webinar
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the rights and health of older persons in our societies. While the infection spreads among persons of all ages, older persons and those with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19.
Webinar | Environment and Emergencies in the Face of COVID-19
? 29 July – 16 December 2020 ? 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM (EEST)
Webinar
The COVID-19 pandemic has only been the latest, very powerful wake-up call on the links between environment and emergencies. Disasters, crises, and the environment are intrinsically interconnected. Therefore, a key element of emergency response is the rapid identification and mitigation of environmental risks.
