In ‘dire’ plea, Brazil’s Amazonas state appeals for global COVID assistance
In a letter describing pandemic conditions as “dire,” the government of Brazil’s Amazonas state is pleading for urgent medical assistance from the international community. The authenticated letter apparently bypassed the Bolsonaro administration which critics say has been ineffectual in dealing with COVID-19.
Manaus, the Amazonas state capital, was overwhelmed by the coronavirus last April, but this second wave, according to state authorities is far worse, impacting not only the city, but increasingly, the state’s rainforest interior. The soaring number of cases and deaths statewide is yet to be fully tallied.
World Bank approves First Amazon Fiscal and Environmental Sustainability Program
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WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 11
The project will support fiscal reforms aimed at promoting fiscal sustainability while integrating forest conservation and development, as part of the state’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan. The project will also promote social inclusion by increasing the number of vulnerable families covered by the Bolsa Forest Program from 9,600 to 12,000.
Since the first case of the novel coronavirus was registered in Brazil this past February, the state of Amazonas has been severely affected by the pandemic, recording more than 4,500 deaths. It is currently the state with the fourth highest rate of deaths due to the disease. The economic shock was also large, with the World Bank estimating a drop of 5.6 percent in state gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, with widespread implications for employment, poverty, and inequality.