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Today, Thursday (23 July 2020), the United Nations asked the Arab countries for greater mutual support in the face of the deep and lasting consequences of the Corona pandemic, providing mutual aid, proposing the establishment of “regional solidarity funds”.
“The Arab region, which includes 436 million people, initially kept infection and mortality rates below the global average, but recent trends are of concern,” said a UN document detailing the impact of the Covid-19 over the region.
The document included UN recommendations for overcoming crises associated with the outbreak of the new Corona virus.
The United Nations has suggested that the consequences of the epidemic will be profound and lasting, predicting that the region’s economy will contract by at least 5.7%.
Rola Dashti, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), told reporters: “Solidarity is an essential element in resolving and limiting the impact of Corona.” He made it clear that this solidarity must be expressed within the countries themselves, as well as between the Arab countries.
The document states that “providing economic and social support to individuals and families is essential (in addition to) establishing regional solidarity funds.” He added that Arab countries should “reduce inequality by investing in health, inclusive education, social protection and technology”.
“The region is home to the largest inequality in the world between men and women in terms of human development,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement accompanying the publication of the document. In his statement, he called on Arab countries to reinvent “the region’s economic model in favor of more diversified green economies”.
In turn, Dashti said poverty could get worse in the Arab world, explaining: “One in four can end up living in poverty.” It noted that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens 55 million people in need of vital assistance, 26 million of whom are refugees and displaced persons, and 16 million of them suffer from food insecurity.
He said countries in the region have taken positive steps to combat the epidemic, including supporting informal trade in Egypt and extending banking sectors to some countries, deadlines for dues payments.
PM / AH (AFP)
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