Guterres warns of potential for 'devastating' famine and poverty amid coronavirus outbreak
The UN Secretary-General has warned world leaders that if they do not act immediately, the Covid-19 pandemic will cause famine, poverty and hunger, leading to "unimaginable devastation and suffering" around the world.
On June 28, Antonio Guterres was speaking at the largest summit of world leaders since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
He says 1.6 billion people on Earth may no longer be able to even afford their living expenses, and 60 million people have fallen below the absolute poverty line.
Mr. Guterres said that the current crisis will have severe consequences for countries with low- and middle-income populations, and that these countries need the most help.
The world will face its worst economic contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s, with an $8.5 trillion loss in global output, the UN's top official has estimated.
The UN Secretary-General has called for urgent and collective action in six areas: increasing financial liquidity; forgiving debts; engaging with private lenders; promoting external financing; closing the channels that lead to tax evasion, money laundering and corruption; and improving inequalities, tackling injustices and climate change.
Mr. Guterres emphasized that dealing with the consequences of the global Covid-19 pandemic requires financial resources and money, but without these resources, the costs will be much higher: "This is a global crisis, and the way out of it depends on all of us."
Nearly 50 world leaders shared their views at Thursday's videoconference, co-hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The meeting was also attended by the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
However, there was no news from the leaders of major economies and international powers, the presidents of the United States and China. The Russian president also did not attend the meeting.
Source: Radio Farda
