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The United Nations has warned of the economic impact of the Corona outbreak on the Arab world, saying it will push more than 14 million people into poverty.
A United Nations report estimates that 17 million jobs have been lost in recent months.
According to the report, the economy of some countries will shrink by as much as 13%, while losses in the region will exceed $ 150 billion.
The report also says that efforts to deal with the pandemic will create opportunities to tackle long-standing issues, such as gender inequality.
“The Arab region, which has an estimated population of 436 million, kept early infection and death rates below the global average, but recent developments are alarming,” the United Nations report says .
The report says the impact of the outbreak is likely to be deep and widespread over time.
The report expects the region’s economy to contract by at least 5.7 percent.
“Solidarity is a key element in resolving and reducing the impact of COVID-19,” Rola Dashti, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, told reporters.
She indicated that this solidarity must be expressed within each country as well as between Arab countries.
The report said: “There is a need to provide economic and social support to individuals and families, and (also) to establish regional solidarity funds.”
The report added that countries should “reduce inequalities of opportunity through public investments in health, education, social security and technology.”
In a statement accompanying the report, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “the region has the largest gender gap in human development (in).”
“Recovering from Covid-19 is an opportunity to invest in women and girls, and to ensure equal opportunities, which will benefit everyone in the long term,” he added.
Dashti said poverty is likely to increase in the Arab world, so “one in four people may live in poverty.”
She added that the Corona outbreak threatens 55 million people in need of assistance, including 26 million refugees and internally displaced persons. Of these, around 16 million people are food insecure.
She said that among the positive steps taken by countries in the region to deal with the epidemic, there was the support of informal trade in Egypt and the provision of payment facilities by the banking sector to some countries.
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