The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today released two new data dashboards that highlight the huge disparities in countries’ abilities to cope with and recover from the Coronavirus crisis.
The pandemic is more than a global health emergency. It is a systemic human development crisis, already affecting the economic and social dimensions of development in unprecedented ways. Policies to reduce vulnerabilities and build capacities to tackle crises, both in the short and long term, are vital if inpiduals and societies are to better weather and recover from shocks like this.
Preparedness of countries to respond to Coronavirus
UNDP’s Dashboard 1 on Preparedness presents indicators for 189 countries – including the level of development, inequalities, the capacity of a healthcare system, and internet connectivity– to assess how well a nation can respond to the multiple impacts of a crisis like Coronavirus.
While every society is vulnerable to crises, their abilities to respond differ significantly around the world.
For example, the most developed countries – those in the very high human development category- have on average 55 hospital beds, over 30 physicians, and 81 nurses per 10,000 people, compared to 7 hospital beds, 2.5 physicians, and 6 nurses in a least developed country.
And with widespread lockdowns, the digital pide has become more significant than ever. 6.5 billion people around the globe – 85.5 percent of the global population – still don’t have access to reliable broadband internet, which limits their ability to work and continue their education.
Vulnerabilities of countries in crisis like COVID-19
Preparedness is one thing. But, once a crisis hits, how vulnerable are countries to the fallout? UNDP’s Dashboard 2 on Vulnerabilities presents indicators that reflect countries’ susceptibility to the effects of this crisis.
Those already living in poverty are, particularly at risk. Despite recent progress in poverty reduction, about one in four people still live in multidimensional poverty or are vulnerable to it, and more than 40 percent of the global population does not have any social protection.
The Coronavirus pandemic also reminds us that disruptions in one place are contagious, triggering problems elsewhere. For example, in some countries, like Kyrgyzstan, a significant part of their GDP comes from remittances. While places as perse as Montenegro, Malpes and Cabo Verde, rely heavily on tourism (almost 60% of GDP in the Malpes for example), which is being hit very hard by travel bans and lockdowns.
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