How to Minimize the Impact of Coronavirus on Food Security
Economic Development
The spread of the coronavirus is first and foremost a public health emergency, but it’s also a significant economic threat. The COVID-19 shock will cause a recession in some countries and depress global annual growth this year to below 2.5%, the recessionary threshold for the world economy. Even if the worst is avoided, the hit to global income, compared with what forecasters had been projecting for 2020, will be capped at around the trillion-dollar mark. But could it be worse? UNCTAD published an analysis on 9 March that suggests why this may be the case.
Decades of instability have caused untold suffering for people across the Central African Republic. One of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, more than one million people remain displaced and over half of the country’s five million population requires humanitarian assistance. The small landlocked country has been ravaged by conflict and civil war, which has resulted in countless deaths and forced displacements, and has prevented the country from developing. As part of efforts to alleviate people’s hardship, UNOPS is working with the government and the World Bank to deliver a multifaceted project that is helping to lay the foundations for peace and improve living conditions for displaced communities.
Despite increases in life expectancy, the rise in chronic and non-communicable diseases has become a global threat. Every year across the globe, 15 million people die before age 70 from these diseases, which include cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and obesity. Obesity is one of the known risk factors for non-communicable diseases and a disease in itself. A new World Bank report “Obesity: Health and Economic Consequences of an Impending Global Challenge” sheds light on the growing obesity epidemic and its negative impacts.
The report looks at major global and regional economic trends and indicators, and examines the prospects for sustainable economic growth in the face of rising financial, political, social and environmental challenges. The World Economic Situation and Prospects Report is the UN’s flagship publication on the state of the world economy. This year's edition focuses on the impact of the climate crisis, as well as the increasing political polarization and skepticism about globalization. Follow the global launch on 16 January at noon EST.
The world economy has barely had the time to recover from a string of shocks that began with the 2007 financial crisis, and we can already see another global slowdown looming large.
New equipment worth over €600,000 provided to the Government of Madagascar by the IAEA, means the country again has a functioning gamma camera for nuclear imaging, and its experts in many fields from soil science to isotope hydrology and mining research can pursue state-of-the-art research in support of the country’s development objectives.
Wool and mohair form the bedrock of Lesotho’s rural economy. The Wool and Mohair Promotion Project works with farmers to improve the quality and quantity of wool and mohair produced. The ultimate goal of the project is to boost the economic and climate resilience of poor, smallholder wool and mohair producers to the adverse effects of climate change in the mountain and foothill regions of Lesotho.
South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) is the sharing and exchange of development solutions – knowledge, experiences, good practices, innovative policies, technology and resources – between countries in the global South, in order to help each other to meet their development goals. As a facilitator of SSTC, FAO unites countries that have development solutions with countries that are interested in applying them and ensures the technical quality of these exchanges.
With UNDP support the women of the small village of Pajam, Kaledupahave breathed new life into the traditional tenun weaving technique. It gives women an economic alternative to fishing and working in tourism, and protects something much more valuable: their unique way of telling stories in fabric.
The global economy is in a synchronized slowdown and the IMF is, once again, downgrading growth for 2019 to 3 percent, its slowest pace since the global financial crisis. The October World Economic Outlook is projecting a modest improvement in global growth to 3.4 percent in 2020.
Not Waiting for Handouts: 5 Stories of Resilience From One of the World’s Largest Refugee Camps
New quality infrastructure in Kosovo funded by the European Union and implemented by UNOPS is helping to connect people throughout the Western Balkans – fostering economic development, and supporting regional cooperation, peace and stability.
Soccer offers Algeria four lessons to improve its economy
In Algeria soccer has triggered passions, capturing dreams and unifying nations. Rabah Arezki, Chief Economist of the World Bank's Middle East and North Africa region, shares 4 lessons that soccer can offer for economic development in Algeria.