UN, developed nations urged to help poor countries during pandemic

Developing nations lack infrastructure, health facilities to provide relief to poor, notes economist

KARACHI: The United Nations and developed countries need to step forward and extend support to developing nations, so as to save as many lives as possible during the pandemic, emphasised Dr Ahmed Nawaz Hakro, the associate dean of Middle East College's research and innovation department in Oman, on Sunday.

Speaking during an online video seminar, Dr Hakro noted that developing countries were unable to meet the health and economic needs of their populations due to the lack of basic infrastructure and healthcare facilities, among other factors.

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"While developed nations, like the United Stated, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, have taken measures such as the provision of unemployment allowance to citizens facing the [economic] impact of the pandemic, developing countries like Pakistan are faring far behind in providing substantial relief to the poor," he said.

Calling for the UN and developed nations to support poor countries at this critical time, Dr Hakro maintained, "It is the duty of the UN and developed countries to provide financial assistance to poor countries so that more people can be saved from falling prey to the virus."

The academic also observed that not just financial difficulties but lifestyle, too, hampered containing the spread of the virus in developing countries.

"Most people there live in joint families in small houses, which makes social distancing difficult," he explained. Pointing out that most of them, belonging to low-income backgrounds, were facing economic hardships and unemployment due to pandemic lockdown, he urged for the governments of developing nations like Pakistan to focus on providing aid to vulnerable sections of society.

"Besides, policymakers need to go back to the basics of making an economy work and then devise a response to reboot the economy and maintain economic growth, employment and price stability, as required," he added.

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Speaking in a broader perspective, Dr Hakro projected that the world economy would suffer huge losses due to the economic shock induced by the pandemic and would take years to recover from it.

"The health crisis is likely to create a domino effect on business, economy and all other aspects of our lives," he warned. "Hence, serious efforts need to be made for reducing conflicts and disputes between countries and rather, the resources should be spent on the welfare and wellbeing of people," he stressed.