The United Nations has warned that by the end of the coronavirus pandemic developing countries will have lost income of more than Sh22 trillion ($220 billion) and nearly half of all jobs in Africa lost.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says the growing Covid-19 crisis will disproportionately hit developing countries in every sector and will also lead to a devastating social and economic crisis over months and years to come.
“With an estimated 55pc of the global population having no access to social protection, these losses will reverberate across societies, impacting education, human rights and, in the most severe cases, basic food security and nutrition,” UNDP stated on Monday.
The United Nations agency fears that there are under-resourced hospitals and fragile health systems that will most likely be overwhelmed. “This may be further be exacerbated by a spike in cases, as up to 75pc of people in least developed countries lack access to soap and water,” the statement adds. “Without support from the international community, we risk a massive reversal of gains made over the last two decades, and an entire generation lost, if not in lives then in rights, opportunities, and dignity.”
UNDP is already working to support health systems in countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Djibouti, El Salvador, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Nigeria, Paraguay, Panama, Serbia, Ukraine, and Vietnam.