Taif emerges as a sanctuary for Arabian horse heritage    International Year of Camelids 2024 under Saudi Presidency concludes    Elm, One sign MoU to enhance strategic partnership and support local content in communications and marketing sector    Commerce Ministry recalls over 88,000 Anker portable chargers over fire risk    Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for 60-day ceasefire in Gaza    New evidence suggests Russian forces shot down Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243    Iran's president halts cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog, reports say    Inquiry finds British committed genocide on Indigenous Australians    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Saudi FM receives message from Iranian counterpart    Cabinet reaffirms Saudi position of resolving conflicts through diplomatic means    Foreign Trade Authority leads Saudi negotiating team in second round of GCC-Japan FTA Talks    Inzaghi hails 'historic' Al Hilal win over Man City: We climbed a mountain with no oxygen    Milinković-Savić says Al Hilal proved critics wrong after historic win over Man City    Al Hilal stuns Man City and stirs the world: 'One of the greatest nights in Saudi club football'    AlUla becomes favorite global summer destination for photography enthusiasts    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    Al Hilal stun Manchester City in seven-goal thriller to reach Club World Cup quarterfinals    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Historic Jeddah's visual identity re-imagined through global art installations at Al-Arbaeen Lagoon    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



No winners but fewer losers in global economy from COVID-19 than expected: UNCTAD report
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 03 - 2021

Access to water is not just about "liquid in a bottle" but instead touches on universal issues such as dignity, opportunity and equality, the UN General Assembly President said on Thursday, in opening a high-level meeting on ensuring water and sanitation are available to all.
According to trade and development body UNCTAD, the global economy posted its sharpest annual drop in output since records began to be aggregated in the 1940s, "with no region spared".
"Multilateralism has essentially lost its mojo", said Richard Kozul-Wright, head of the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies at UNCTAD, in a year that saw an estimated 3.9 percent drop in global output – 0.4 percent better than the forecast in mid-2020 - that was largely owing to stronger performances in China and the United States.
'Weak' support for the poorest
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, the UN economist maintained that debt-relief initiatives for poorer countries expected by the G20 group of advanced economies had been "extremely weak", at a time when developing countries feared losing much-needed foreign direct investment.
Efforts to organize a fair and equitable COVID-19 vaccine rollout had also shown "serious weaknesses in the global health architecture", Kozul-Wright maintained, while the first year of the coronavirus crisis saw "destruction of income on an unprecedented scale, an estimated $5.8 trillion, and with already vulnerable parts of the population bearing the brunt", according to UNCTAD's Trade and Development report.
In concrete terms, the coronavirus crisis triggered an effective loss of 255 million full-time jobs worldwide, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), cited by UNCTAD.
Second wave dashes revival
Although the global economic recovery began in the third quarter as countries started to lift restrictions, UNCTAD noted that the second wave of the virus hit earlier than expected in the final quarter of 2020 which dampened the recovery, most notably in Western Europe.
Countering this downward pressure on growth were vaccine breakthroughs and improved management of lockdown measures, both of which offset COVID-19's overall economic impact, the UN report said.
Latin American resilience
Regionally, UNCTAD data indicates that East Asia and Latin America fared "a little better than expected" — likely shored up by Brazilian growth —but Europe, India, and South Africa did worse.
"Positive surprises" were Brazil, Turkey and the United States, thanks to large relief measures that acted as a shock-absorber for a recession, while rising commodity and asset prices spurred growth.
The rebound in raw materials prices also benefited "several" developing African economies, UNCTAD continued, while the region as a whole saw lower-than-expected pressure on public health systems from COVID-19, UNCTAD said.
Food insecurity concerns
The UN body cited concerns nonetheless that more volatility may be emerging, particularly in markets of some agricultural commodities, with a threat to food security in several countries
It also noted that losses in global growth 'will persist as even the most optimistic projections for the bounce-back of growth will not cover the shortfall of income for several years".
For 2021, UNCTAD announced global growth of 4.7 percent - 0.6 percent better than its previous mid-2020 forecast.
But this "more optimistic scenario" depends on the international support for three things, UNCTAD insisted: "improved vaccination and disease containment in advanced and middle-income countries, a speedy transition from economic relief policies to recovery-policies in the largest economies of the world; and no financial crash of global significance". — UN news


Clic here to read the story from its source.