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On Thursday, July 23, 2020, the United Nations called on Arab countries for more mutual support in the face of the deep and lasting consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, by providing mutual assistance, by proposing the creation of “ regional solidarity funds “.
“The Arab region, which comprises 436 million people, initially kept infection and death rates below the global average, but recent trends are cause for concern,” said a United Nations document detailing the impact of the COVID-19 in the region.
The document included United Nations recommendations for overcoming crises associated with the novel Corona virus outbreak.
The United Nations has hinted that the consequences of the epidemic will be deep and long-lasting, with hopes that the region’s economy will contract by at least 5.7 percent.
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 Covid.”
She specified that this solidarity must be expressed within the countries themselves, as well as between the Arab countries.
The document stated that “providing economic and social support to individuals and families is essential (in addition to) the creation of regional solidarity funds”.
She added that Arab countries should “reduce inequalities by investing in health, inclusive education, social protection and technology.”
“The region is home to the world’s largest disparity between men and women in terms of human development,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement accompanying the publication of the document.
Dashti said poverty could worsen in the Arab world, explaining: “One in four Arabs may end up living in poverty.”
She noted that the Covid-19 pandemic threatens 55 million people in need of life-saving assistance, of which 26 million are refugees and forcibly displaced people, and 16 million of them are food insecure.
She said countries in the region have taken positive steps to tackle the epidemic, including supporting informal trade in Egypt and expanding banking sectors in some countries, with dues payment deadlines.
In his statement, Guterres called on Arab countries to reinvent “the region’s economic model in favor of more diverse green economies.”
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