Category: Economic Development

ILO study finds migrants earn much less than locals, and the gap is widening

IOM/Muse Mohammed – Tents have been provided for migrants in Beirut, Lebanon, who no longer have a place to live.     The gap between wages paid to migrant and national workers is big and growing, and may widen further because of the pandemic, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a report published on Monday. The report, “The […]

Equality, sustainability should guide COVID-19 recovery, say governments at regional forum

WFP/Morelia Eróstegui Indigenous women in Bolivia speak to a WFP official about the coronavirus pandemic and healthy nutrition.  Countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region have called for COVID-19 recovery to be guided by the principles of inclusive development, equality and sustainability.  Gathered virtually for the thirty-eighth session of the UN Economic Commission for Latin […]

Illicit capital robbing Africa and its people of their future: UN trade and development chief

Unsplash/Jason Leung UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2020 states that illicit financial flows rob Africa of $89 billion each year.     Every year, an estimated $88.6 billion, which is equivalent to 3.7% of Africa’s GDP, leaves the continent in the form of illicit capital, according to UN trade and development agency UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report […]

Impact on workers of COVID-19 is ‘catastrophic’: ILO

ILO/KB Mpofu Martha Maocha runs a detergent manufacturing company but has recently started making hand sanitising gel which protects against COVID-19.    COVID-19 has had a “catastrophic” impact on workers, the head of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday, with lost working hours higher than originally forecast, and equivalent to 495 million full-time jobs globally in the second quarter of the year.  The bleak news from ILO Director-General Guy […]

Uncomfortable bedfellows: balancing health and economics in a global crisis

COVID-19 threatens the health and wellbeing of millions of people the world over, through malnutrition, preventable disease, delayed diagnoses and psychological hardship. All these threats co-exist with the threat of the virus itself, and are consequences of economic and social ‘lockdowns’ imposed by governments to curb the spread of COVID-19.  Understanding the intimate link between […]