Economic recovery can't be at the expense of the poorest
26 July, 2021 00:59
As countries in the West take steps to kick-start their economies following the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, it is going to be critical that we do not lose sight of the global nature of this crisis.
Tough decisions will inevitably be made by national governments as they respond to the economic realities of Covid-19 – a precipitous fall of 3.3 per cent in global GDP last year included – but these cannot be made at the expense of the world’s poorest.
The UN Development Programme estimate that over 100 million people have entered the ranks of the extreme poor in the past year, while that figure could double, bringing the total number to more than a billion, before the end of this decade.