The COVID-19 pandemic and emergency measures to control it, such as lockdowns and travel restrictions, have put public health systems under stress and caused hundreds of millions around the world to lose their livelihoods overnight.
To articulate a large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive multilateral response, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, along with the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica launched the Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond initiative on 28th May 2020. Since then, six discussion groups composed of Member States of the United Nations and various international institutions have been launched to address the following topics: external finance and remittances, jobs and inclusive growth; recovering better for sustainability; Global liquidity and financial stability; debt vulnerability; private sector creditors engagement; and illicit financial flows.
Jobs and inclusive growth during this pandemic are a direct complementarity with the core mandate of UN Development Business. Viewed through the lenses of SDG 3, Good Health and Wellbeing, SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 9, Industries, Innovation, and Infrastructure, multilateral development banks have mobilized hundreds of billions of dollars in their multiscalar response to combat COVID-19 across the globe. View the COVID-19 Procurement Notices and Contract Awards on UN Development Business to learn more.
On 29th September 2020, on the margins of the 75th United Nations General Assembly, following opening remarks by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica, the outcomes of the work on all six topics will be presented. Heads of State and Government and High-Level speakers of the international financial institutions, the private sector and civil society, and selected experts, will intervene. After the announcement of next steps, the meeting will conclude with closing remarks from the co-conveners. To learn more about this initiative, please visit the High-Level Event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond.
