U.N. Increases COVID-19 Pandemic Appeal; SG Guterres Calls For End To Hate Speech Globally; Poor Struggle To Work, Access Food Amid Lockdowns

AP: Amid pandemic, the world’s working poor hustle to survive
“From India to Argentina, untold millions who were already struggling to get by on the economic margins have had their lives made even harder by pandemic lockdowns, layoffs, and the loss of a chance to earn from a hard day’s work. … How the world’s poor get through this pandemic will help determine how quickly the global economy recovers and how much aid is needed to keep countries afloat…” (Batrawy et al., 5/8).

AP: U.N. chief says pandemic is unleashing a ‘tsunami of hate’
“U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Friday the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing ‘a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering’ and appealed for ‘an all-out effort to end hate speech globally’…” (Lederer, 5/8).

Al Jazeera: ‘We’re facing a double pandemic’: U.N. body warns of ‘mega-famines’
“The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the world faces ‘mega-famines’ if enough funds are not pledged to combat the ripple effects of coronavirus pandemic on the world’s most fragile countries, which are already grappling with food insecurity…” (5/7).

Devex: U.N. triples COVID-19 appeal, calls for ‘extraordinary response’
“The United Nations is tripling its appeal to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the world’s poorest countries, asking for $6.7 billion in a crisis requiring an ‘extraordinary response,’ according to U.N. Emergency Coordinator Mark Lowcock…” (Lieberman, 5/7).

New York Times: This Is the Future of the Pandemic
“…A single round of social distancing — closing schools and workplaces, limiting the sizes of gatherings, lockdowns of varying intensities and durations — will not be sufficient in the long term. In the interest of managing our expectations and governing ourselves accordingly, it might be helpful, for our pandemic state of mind, to envision this predicament — existentially, at least — as a soliton wave: a wave that just keeps rolling and rolling, carrying on under its own power for a great distance…” (Roberts, 5/8).

U.N. News: Migrants stranded ‘all over the world’ and at risk from coronavirus
“Thousands of migrants have been stranded ‘all over the world’ where they face a heightened risk of COVID-19 infection, the head of U.N. migration agency, IOM, said on Thursday…” (5/7).

VOA: U.N. Appeals for Nearly $7 Billion in Coronavirus Aid for Poorest Nations
“…The U.N. has repeatedly warned that if COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, wreaks havoc in the poorest places, the entire planet will remain at risk…” (5/7).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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