The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest crisis since the end of the Second World War which has caused immense human suffering and the deepest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Thus, the world particularly the rich countries need to allocate $500 billion to cope up with the crisis. This is the message which the prime minister has delivered to the UN General Assembly.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has proposed a ten-point agenda to avert an economic collapse in the developing world. He has called for debt suspension until the end of the crisis for most stressed countries, cancellation of debt of least developed countries, and restructuring of public sector debt. He has also called for the provision of loans at lower costs and halting illicit financial outflows to rich countries.
He argued that developed countries have provided an economic stimulus of $12 trillion which other countries cannot simply afford. For example, Pakistan was only able to provide $8 billion economic package to support the worst affected people and keep the economy going. This will lead to greater global equalities and there is a need for a collective response to recover from the crisis. G20 countries have delayed by only six months and countries like Pakistan are expected to return to the IMF.
The coronavirus crisis has infected nearly 65 million people and killed 1.5 million. On a weekly average 10,000 people have died every day which is one every nine seconds. The world is clinging to optimism over a vaccine but rich countries have already booked all stocks. The prime minister hoped that whenever a vaccine is available, it must be offered to everyone.
It can be argued that there are few leaders who have demanded the equitable distribution of a vaccine to all countries. The prime minister also wants $100 billion per year for climate action and mobilising $1.5 trillion required for sustainable development. The global community should consider these demands to avert the adverse effect of the coronavirus pandemic.
The UN chief has said that it time to reset the global response to a crisis like this and as we build strong recovery, we must seize the opportunity for change. The crisis is a moment of reckoning as none of us could have imagined this time last year what was to come and now the world could change drastically.
