UN’s Guterres Warns of Pandemic ‘Nightmare’ in Developing Sector, but Offers No Serious Solutions

April 1, 2020 (EIRNS)—United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres released a new UN document on March 31, “Report on the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19.” In remarks to the press, he warned about the depth of the crisis facing the planet and the special dangers posed to the developing sector. But he then presented an unworkable, pragmatic, and frankly silly set of economic proposals, including increased funding through the IMF and more central bank swaps.

On the crisis, Guterres stated:

“The world is facing an unprecedented test. And this is the moment of truth. Hundreds of thousands of people are falling seriously ill from COVID-19, and the disease is spreading exponentially in many places. Societies are in turmoil and economies are in a nose-dive.... We face the nightmare of the disease spreading like wildfire in the global South with millions of deaths and the prospect of the disease re-emerging where it was previously suppressed. Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world. I am particularly concerned with the African continent.”

And then his proposals as to what to do:

“We must massively increase the resources available to the developing world by expanding the capacity of the International Monetary Fund, namely through the issuance of special drawing rights, and the other international financial institutions to rapidly inject resources into the countries that need them. Coordinated swaps among central banks can also bring liquidity to emerging economies. Debt alleviation must be a priority including immediate waivers on interest payments for 2020.”