1.65 Bln Workers Likely to Lose Jobs by End of 2020

The International Labor Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed, in a joint statement, that the COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented situation and a challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work.

The UN agencies have warned that tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at 690 million, could rise by as much as 132 million by the end of the year.

"Nearly half of the global workforce of 3.3 billion workers are at risk of losing their livelihoods," the statement added.

The four UN organizations have also warned that countries dealing with existing humanitarian crises or emergencies are particularly vulnerable to the more negative effects of COVID-19.

The United Nations has issued a report that drew a dreadful image of the world economy.

The report warns of precedent rates of unemployment and poverty in the world during the period to come as an expected fallout of the Coronavirus which threatens the planet now.

Experts of the UN stressed that economic crisis related to the COVID-19 pushes the world economy towards depression like the Great Depression that hit the world economy at the end of the 30s of the 20th century.

On the other hand, observers expect that the G20 economies will extend billions of dollars in debt freeze for the poorest countries in the world to help them cope with the repercussions of the Corona pandemic.

The group may adopt a common approach in dealing with longer-term debt restructuring.

On her part, Kristalina Georgieva, Director-General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said last week that African countries alone faced a financing gap of 345 billion dollars until 2023 to confront the pandemic and its economic repercussions.

Also, a new World Bank study revealed that foreign debt burdens increased among countries eligible for debt relief applied by the G20 by 9.5 percent in 2019 to $ 744 billion even before the pandemic.