Since Mumbai native Alex Johnson’s work contract in Saudi Arabia ended more than a month ago, the former cashier in a restaurant has been surviving on one meal a day to make his funds last while waiting to return to India.The 35-year-old, who did not want to use his real name out of concerns there might be repercussions from his former employer, is desperate to see his two-year-old son.In Singapore, Ramya Rekha Chola who is 29 weeks pregnant needs to return to Kurnool in southern India at least…

David Medine is Senior Financial Sector Specialist at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). He is also CGAP’s lead on data protection and security and works to develop novel, consumer-oriented approaches to data protection and to encourage the creation of cyber security resource centers for developing countries.

The post Financial Scams Rise as Coronavirus Hits Developing Countries appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Globalization has been a driver for increased prosperity world-wide, but it has been in reverse in the last years due to the growth of populism in the USA and Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic may well provide further momentum to increasingly national-interest oriented policies in the west. Nevertheless, a common response to COVID-19 is needed, where […]

The post COVID-19: Developing Countries Must Not be Left Behind appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement provides a roadmap for developing economies to increase trade while also increasing the benefits it provides to their citizens.

A tax on migrating workers compensates the exporting country for loss of the human capital created by its education and skills development programs.

Complex, carefully managed financing structures can provide the funding needed for island states and others seeking to develop energy projects.

As the pandemic continues, the supply chains producing vital personal protective equipment are starting to fail, causing shortages. Countries and international organizations can fill these gaps by working together.

A forward-looking, regional approach is needed for countries in Central Asia to respond to the pandemic and prepare for future public health threats.

Korea's exports of coronavirus test kits last month amounted to more than US$200 million, or eight times the month before, according to the Korea Customs Service on Thursday.They were exported to 103 countries.Brazil imported US$30 million worth of test kits, which is the biggest proportion of 13 pe...

Islamabad : Iran, China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines have the most cases of COVID-19 and related deaths in the Asia Pacific region.The COVID-19 situation of Asia Pacific was highlighted in the Second COVID-19 Situation Report Asia Pacific released by United Nations Population...

To better understand how ADB’s developing members are weathering the COVID-19 crisis, the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department launched the ADB COVID-19 Policy Database.

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations called on governments, companies and billionaires on Thursday to contribute to a $6.7 billion fund for immediate needs in fighting the coronavirus pandemic in vulnerable countries, warning that a failure to help could lead to a hunger pandemic, famine, riots and more conflict.

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said that Covid-19 has now affected every country and almost every person on the planet. He said the UN’s initial $2 billion appeal unveiled March 25 was being increased because there is already evidence of incomes plummeting and jobs disappearing, food supplies falling and prices soaring, and children missing vaccinations and meals. He added that the peak of the pandemic isn’t expected to hit the worlds poorest countries for three to six months.

Lowcock said in a video briefing launching the new appeal that the poorest countries face a double whammy the health impact of Covid-19 and the impact of the global recession and the domestic measures taken to contain the virus.

We must be prepared for a rise in conflict, hunger, poverty and disease as economies contract, export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear, and health systems are put under strain, he warned. Lockdowns and economic recession may mean a hunger pandemic ahead for millions.

The executive director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, said there are two keys to averting the possibility of 265 million people being on the brink of famine by the end of the year: providing money and keeping supply chains running smoothly.

The UN appeals to wealthy nations for funding all the time, he said, but the pandemic is a one-time phenomena, a catastrophe were hitting, so its not unreasonable to ask the wealthiest people and the wealthiest companies to give.

I don’t mean just a few million. I’m talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, billions, Beasley said.

He also urged action to address the breakdown of supply chains globally. Nations must ensure that we don’t have export-import bans, restrictions at borders, shutdown of ports, shutdown of distribution points, he said, saying that some countries have already imposed export bans that are having ripple effects on food supplies.

As an example, Beasley said that if young people in urban areas in Africa lose their jobs as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, they don’t have bank accounts to fall back on. And if they don’t have food, you’re going to have protests, riots, unrest and destabilisation. Its going to cost the world a hundredfold more to react after the fact, he warned.

He said that if the world doesn’t respond with sufficient funding, it will be catastrophic.

Were facing famine of biblical proportions,” he said. We can avert famine if we act and we act now.

The UN’s initial $2 billion appeal has so far raised $1 billion, including a lot from Europe Germany, Britain, the European Commission with contributions also from Japan, Persian Gulf countries, Canada and others, Lowcock said.

The updated appeal adds nine vulnerable countries to the 54 nations covered in the initial appeal Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe.

Lowcock said more countries are being monitored for possible addition to the list.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

ADB has provided several targeted interventions to support its developing member countries in combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic from its early stages. In support of ADB’s effort, the Government of Japan is...

To better understand how ADB’s developing members are weathering the COVID-19 crisis, the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department launched the ADB COVID-19 Policy Database.

Tech startups rely on an array of financing sources, and venture capital is not a common source.

The Caspian region still has some alternatives that can develop it into a cohesive area.

The global financial architecture should focus on providing short-term lending facilities to improve the efficiency of developing projects.

Tech startups rely on an array of financing sources, and venture capital is not a common source.

Countries must return to "basic principles" of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert Mike Ryan said on Friday (May 8).

Countries must return to "basic principles" of public health surveillance if they are to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, the World Health Organization's (WHO) top emergency health expert Mike Ryan said on Friday (May 8).

Many countries are focusing coronavirus testing on people who have covid-19 symptoms. But regularly testing all essential workers would have more of an impact

Title: Hypertension Takes Huge Toll in Developing Countries
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2008 2:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2008 12:00:00 AM

A geopolitical battle is being played out in orbit as countries vie for the best satellite navigation system

New Dlehi, May 09: Several Indians, who are stranded in at least seven countries due to coronavirus outbreak, is all set to fly back to their home country on Saturday in special flights under Vande Bharat Mission. According to officials,

Chennai, May 09: About 359 people arrived in Tamil Nadu early on Saturday from Dubai in two Air India flights as part of the government's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various countries. Among the passengers

Many countries are focusing coronavirus testing on people who have covid-19 symptoms. But regularly testing all essential workers would have more of an impact

More than a dozen countries have taken advantage of temporary rules to tackle disruption in official control systems in Europe because of the coronavirus pandemic. As of May 6, 15 nations had informed the European Commission that they are applying the measures in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466. Countries wishing to use them have to tell... Continue Reading

Read our live updates on coronavirus HERE Coronavirus: The symptoms

Follow our live Covid-19 updates HERE

The World Health Organisation's chief has warned that most countries are still in the early stages of their coronavirus epidemics and others are starting to see a resurgence in cases.

Coronavirus has hit at least 185 countries and territories around the world, making it a truly global pandemic.

With coronavirus spreading rapidly in countries across the world, we look at how the situation in the UK compares to that in other countries.

People in countries across Europe are gradually regaining some old freedoms as governments start to lift their coronavirus lockdowns after many weeks.

Boris Johnson is set to urge countries to "pull together" in the fight against the global coronavirus pandemic.

The UK has fallen behind many other European countries in its response to coronavirus, a public health expert has said.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has been praised for her realism and flexibility when it comes to using her country's reproduction rate to inform lockdown policies. During a press conference on April 16 she explained: "The whole evolution (of the rate) is based on the fact that we assume that we have an infection figure that we can monitor, that we can track and that we have more protection concepts and that, thanks to those, we can loosen restrictions. "But it is thin ice," as Mr Tschentscher (the Hamburg Mayor) said, "or a fragile situation, or really a situation where caution is the order of the day and not overconfidence". The Robert Koch Institute, the government’s health agency, provides regular updates on the country’s rate. On May 5, it stood at 0.71, slightly declining two days later to 0.65. Mrs Merkel’s caution is reflected across the border in France, where the R has fluctuated as the country began easing lockdown measures. On May 1, Jerome Salomon, France's public health chief, said it had risen to between 0.6 and 0.7 on average from 0.5, due to the “progressive return to activity”. But officials are not solely relying on the R, instead reviewing several indicators to decide when to loosen restrictions. At the end of April Spanish authorities said almost all areas of the country had a reproduction number below one, but that they would not consider easing restrictions unless this continues.

The United Nations said a "smart strategy" is to contain coronavirus in the world's most vulnerable countries to stem a "further phase of the pandemic."

Sir Keir Starmer has urged the Government to publish an exit strategy for the coronavirus lockdown amid warnings the country could "fall behind" without one.

The tech giants shared details Monday about the tools they’ve been developing to help governments and public health authorities trace the spread of the coronavirus.

Covid-19 has spread around the planet, sending billions of people into lockdown as health services struggle to cope. Find out where the virus has spread, and where it has been most deadly

• Coronavirus map of the UK
• Coronavirus map of the US
• Coronavirus cases in Australia

Visa-free entry for travellers from UK, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden halted until further notice

Imperial College London experts also shoot down hopes that large parts of the population have already recovered from coronavirus.

While Trump's criticism of the WHO is being shared by others, US allies disagreed with a suspension of payments.

New research show that Beijing’s engineers appear to have directly caused the record low levels of water in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

India continues to be on the 'Priority Watch List' of the US Trade Representative (USTR) for lack of…

According to court documents submitted today, BNP Paribas S.A. (BNPP), a global financial institution headquartered in Paris, agreed to enter a guilty plea to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) by processing billions of dollars of transactions through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian, and Cuban entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions

Mar 26, 2020

In this paper, a quantitative Waste to Energy Recovery Assessment (WERA) framework is used to stochastically analyze the feasibility of waste-to-energy systems in selected cities in Asia.

Mar 26, 2020

In this paper, a quantitative Waste to Energy Recovery Assessment (WERA) framework is used to stochastically analyze the feasibility of waste-to-energy systems in selected cities in Asia.