“Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants.”
“In some countries, lockdowns can produce net increases in mortality. The optimal lockdowns are shorter and milder in poorer countries than in rich ones and never produce a net mortality increase.”
“A study commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation has found that the global economy stands to lose as much as US$9.2 trillion if governments fail to ensure developing economy access to COVID-19 vaccines.”
“The main finding from our research is that governments are falling short of managing their fiscal policy response to the crisis in a transparent and accountable manner. More than two thirds of the governments we looked at, across many regions and income levels, have only provided limited or minimal levels of accountability in the introduction and implementation of their early fiscal policy responses.”
“The Nigerian government has responded notably to address the pandemic’s impact on the economy. So far, $ 1.4 billion in additional spending has been executed, which is estimated at 0.3% of GDP. This paper examines the macroeconomic landscape and policy interventions in Nigeria with the objective of developing lessons not only for Nigeria but for other developing economies.”
“The paper shows that while Chinese diplomats have experimented with many innovative public diplomacy tools, the Guangzhou incident occasioned a retreat to more conventional methods.”
“Evidence from this sample of LMICs suggests that prioritizing vaccine distribution to the Global South should yield high returns in advancing global immunization coverage. Vaccination campaigns should focus on translating the high levels of stated acceptance into actual uptake.”
“Although the dropout rate has remained stable, repetition rates have increased significantly in Senegal. The high repetition rate is concerning, first because it translates to a lack of learning, and second because it will increase the age range of students in the next cohort.”
“With the pandemic far from over, financing conditions could shift rapidly and bring many governments knocking on the World Bank’s door for budget support. The World Bank should rethink its approach to crisis response budget support operations going forward and pursue a policy agenda that directly advances governments’ pandemic response and recovery frameworks.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disastrous impact on the global economic and social fabric. Zoonotic disease spill-over from other species has become a familiar phenomenon, and the need for a more proactive approach to minimise exposure to and opportunities for spill-over is widely recognised.”
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