Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States - National Focal Points

A Diversity of COVID-19 Responses for SIDS in a Diverse Region

HSASS — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 21:14:00 +0000

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São Nicolau, Cabo Verde.

Daniella van Leggelo-Padilla / World Bank

NEW YORK 4 August, 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant health and economic risks to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) across the world. Island nations which already face challenges pertaining to their limited financial resources, dependence on trade, tourism, remittances, and high vulnerabilities to external shocks and climate change, bear a disproportionate impact.

In a meeting organised by OHRLLS, SIDS from the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS) region met with senior representatives from the United Nations and shared experiences on the fall-out of the pandemic on vulnerable island nations.

While the region was already experiencing major economic challenges prior to the pandemic, the impacts of COVID-19 have heightened existing problems.

The nine AIS-region SIDS are spread across the Atlantic Ocean (Cape Verde, GuineaBissau, São Tomé and Principe), the Indian Ocean (Comoros, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles), the Persian Gulf (Bahrain), and the South China Sea (Singapore).

While the region is geographically dispersed and culturally diverse, these SIDS share many common features and challenges. While they vary in levels of human and economic development, all rely heavily upon natural resources for livelihoods, especially fish, and some face significant economic and environmental challenges.

As the crisis hit, each country implemented health and economic programmes tailored to their needs.

In the Maldives, health emergency preparedness began as early as December 2019 and has included the establishment of a National Emergency Operation Center to coordinate and monitor daily operations. This has played a huge part in keeping the national death toll low.

But, as in many SIDS, the tourism industry in the Maldives has been decimated and 45,000 employees in that sector have been affected. To tackle the impacts of the pandemic, the country has provided support to both large and small businesses and a strong monetary policy has been put in place including exchange rate stabilisation.

The Maldives has now begun to ease restrictions and is cautiously re-opening its economy.

Ten thousand kilometres away, off the west coast of Africa, Cabo Verde also moved quickly. In adopting socio-economic measures at the outset of the crisis, the government prioritised not just health but social protection, employment and food security.

A stimulus package was also put in place alongside an Educational Recovery Plan to ensure the continuity of the academic year.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, said “Over the past few months, SIDS have experienced an unprecedented decline in economic activity, with rapidly plummeting tourism and remittance flows, and the disruption of global supply chains.”

She added, “It is clear that these SIDS will also need targeted and effective international support, in order to innovate and implement bold changes that would boost economic resilience to exogenous shocks, including COVID-19, and to build diversified economies.”

COVID‐19 is also generating a further liquidity crisis, with major negative socioeconomic impacts. SIDS revenue sources including remittances and tourism are badly hit – a devastation to SIDS economies some of whose tourism sector accounts for almost 30 per cent of GDP.

Due to sharp falls in tourism revenues and remittances flows, SIDS are likely to experience a pronounced contraction in 2020, further exacerbating their vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks.

The SIDS National Focal Points (NFP) Network, established in 2018, strengthens coordination at the national, regional and global levels on SIDS-related issues. It is designed to foster peer-learning and the exchange of best practices on the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global frameworks.

The network is convened by the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).

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2020 SIDS National Focal Point Meeting - Pacific Region

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 20:52:00 +0000

Tuesday, 21 July 2020 - 5:00pm to 7:00pm

INTRODUCTION

The SIDS National Focal Points Network (NFP), established and inaugurated in 2018, facilitates the strengthening of coherence and coordination at the national, regional and global levels on SIDS-related issues and fosters peer-learning and exchange of best practices on the implementation and follow up of the SAMOA Pathway, the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global frameworks.

As the COVID-19 response will continue to constrain the fiscal space of SIDS and exacerbate their vulnerabilities to natural disasters brought about by climate change, international support is critical. This also requires a concerted effort to promote coherence and coordination at the national, regional and global levels of the COVID-19 response, in line with the objectives of the SIDS national focal point network.

OBJECTIVES

To share experiences and best practices on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the national, regional and global levels; and;
To continue to share experiences and best practices on mainstreaming the SAMOA Pathway and SDGs into national development processes as well their implementation and follow up, in the context of COVID-19, in line with the principle to “build back better.”

CO-ORGANISERS

The event was organized by UN-OHRLLS

DOCUMENTS

Background Materials

Presentations

Ms. Fekita ‘Utoikamanu (Opening Remarks)
Papua New Guinea
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Pacific Sustainable Development Steering Committee
Ms. Fekita ‘Utoikamanu (Closing Remarks)

Meeting Summary

Photo: Students make the most of new high-speed broadband in Tonga. Tom Perry / World Bank

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Small Island Developing States

National Focal Points

SAMOA Pathway

COVID-19

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Officials From Africa’s Least Developed Countries Stress Major Challenges But Also Bright Spots in Tackling COVID-19

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 19:42:00 +0000

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COVID-19 in Mali

World Bank / Ousmane Traore

NEW YORK 16 June 2020 – Tackling health crises is not a new experience for Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs), but the COVID-19 pandemic is presenting larger-scale socio-economic challenges few of these vulnerable countries are prepared for.

In determining the extent to which the pandemic has impacted Africa’s thirty-three LDCs, government officials* acting as focal points for their respective governments, as well as United Nations officials met virtually on 11 June to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 and the mitigation measures being employed to stem the spread of the disease.

African officials shared lessons learned from treating past epidemics such as Ebola, which has led some countries to reactivate emergency response centers previously established to address that disease. However, with COVID-19, many LDCs on the continent are experiencing socio-economic impacts far beyond their capacity to manage. Projections for Sub-Saharan Africa alone, according to the IMF this past April, indicate a negative real GDP growth rate of -1.6 per cent in 2020.

From disrupted supply chains and high debt burdens to weak healthcare systems, lack of food security and less global trade demand the scale of the pandemic has put already vulnerable countries into a more fragile state of affairs.

Furthermore, African LDCs have had to make major compromises in the extent to which measures can be implemented and for how long. In implementing lockdowns, many LDCs face – in contrast to richer countries – a trade-off between protecting lives and saving livelihoods. As a result, some LDCs have only implemented partial lockdowns and some have implemented cash transfers and food assistance.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States said “We know already that the least developed countries particularly African LDCs will feel disproportionately the impacts of the pandemic. COVID-19 has compounded existing development challenges. For all to see, it has laid bare the lags and utter fragility of sustainable development of African LDCs on so many fronts.”

While the pandemic is posing large scale systemic challenges, Africa’s LDCs are making major national efforts, albeit with limited resources, to quell the impacts.

Senegal has trialed the development of a $1 COVID testing kit that produces results in less than 10 minutes. Uganda, Ethiopia and other LDCs have responded to their first reported cases with aggressive contact tracing and isolation. Ethiopia completed a door-to-door survey in Addis Ababa in just three weeks. Meanwhile, in Zambia ethanol from drought resistant cassava has been turned into ethanol for hand sanitizers sold locally and to neighboring countries.

UNDP’s Chief Economist for Africa, Raymond Gilpin, stressed that strategic interaction is essential to allow African countries to build back better and attain the Sustainable Development Goals. Assistance with health support systems, building integrated crisis management and response systems as well as responses based on socio-economic impact assessments are crucial components of UNDP’s work.

The UN Resident Coordinators in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Malawi highlighted the UN’s work in those countries to ensure a rapid health response and a sustainable economic recovery based on socio-economic impact assessments.

A major UN conference, the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which was due to take part in March 2021 in Doha to adopt a new ten-year programme of action for LDCs, has been postponed due to the pandemic. The Director for the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS), Heidi Schroderus-Fox stressed that while a new timeline for the conference has had to be adopted, the Office is undertaking efforts to ensure momentum is maintained in spite of delays forced by the pandemic.

*National Focal Points are government officials from line ministries and government agencies of LDCs that are responsible for formulation of national economic development strategies and overseeing their implementation. The NFPs are tasked to coordinate with governments in the monitoring, follow-up and review of the Istanbul Programme of Action at the country level, and are a major communication channel between the LDCs and UN-OHRLLS.

Photo: COVID-19 in Mali. World Bank / Ousmane Traore

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Statement at the Virtual Meeting of the National Focal Points of African LDCs on Response to COVID-19

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 17:32:00 +0000

Statement by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

11 June 2020
New York, USA

Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you ALL for joining this virtual meeting of the National Focal Points for Implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA).

As someone once said “the show must go on.” Not that this is a show, but I appreciate your effort to be together virtually.

I especially thank the UN Resident Coordinators for your participation.

We are here truly as one United Nations. We do our best when we do it together. So, this is a good first step in the right direction to forge synergy between all of us for one goal we all want to achieve: promote implementation of the programme of action of LDCs.

Yes, we all experience an unprecedented situation with the global COVID-19 pandemic.

A virus not visible to the naked eye has put the world on pause. It has put into question how and where to go from here.

Everybody, every continent grapples with the immediate needs of this public health crisis.

We probably only just have seen the tip of the iceberg of the many shifts this pandemic will trigger in terms of the socio-economic fallouts and so much more.

We know already that the least developed countries particularly African LDCs will feel disproportionately the impacts of the pandemic.

COVID-19 has compounded existing development challenges. For all to see, it has laid bare the lags and utter fragility of sustainable development of African LDCs on so many fronts.

Chronically underfunded health systems are ravaged. There were and are few ventilators and insufficient medical workers.

Inequalities are driven even deeper.

Confinement measures have aggravated the already desolate situations of women, children, refugees and migrant workers.

The often very important informal sector is severely affected by the lockdowns.

The expected drops in exports, the plummeting oil price, and the halt of tourism have further exacerbated the economic vulnerability of African LDCs.

Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to experience its first recession in 25 years.

If this were not enough, in the Horn of Africa, LDCs are battling a locust infestation, which is estimated to leave 25 million people in East Africa in food insecurity in 2020.

The limited fiscal space and a mounting debt crisis mean limited LDCs ability to roll out stimulus packages to protect people and the economy and boost health system to save lives.

Yet, the COVID-19 reality is not just that in African LDCs.

With swift actions and global collaboration, African LDCs did not suffer explosive transmission rates and even outperformed in some aspects.

We could see some good practices and successful policy initiatives adopted by African LDCs giving all of us much needed optimism and hope for a recovery.

Take Senegal’s trials to develop a $1 COVID testing kit that produces results in less than 10 minutes. This is inspiring.

Take Uganda, Ethiopia and other LDCs responding to their first cases with aggressive contact tracing and isolation and putting considerable resources into checking. Ethiopia completed a door-to-door survey in Addis Ababa in just three weeks.

Several African countries applied the lessons learned from their experiences in Ebola preparedness. They deployed rapid-response teams, trained contact tracers, had logistics routes and public health protocols ready to contain community spread.

In Zambia, the drought resistant cassava has become a cash crop. Cassava ethanol is turned into ethanol for hand sanitizers sold locally and exported to neighboring countries.

In the middle of the pandemic, Rwanda tapped into an online trading platform to sell 1.5 tonnes of Rwandan coffee beans internationally and this saw the profits of farmers almost double.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Yes, we have a picture of both tremendous challenges but also one of hopeful signs.

The COVID-19 virus knows no boundaries nor race, nor religion.

It teaches us that only a global solution underpinned by solidarity and swift action can counter its force.

We have a choice now: let inequalities run even deeper with all the risks we know this triggers for all of us or we act in solidarity to leave no one behind.

At the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, once more the great vision of the Charter and the declaration of Universal Human Rights take on great meaning that should inspire us all to act!

Let me now turn to what OHRLLS has done so far.

Since the outbreak, we intensified our advocacy efforts to amplify the voices of LDCs for global solidarity and support.

We reached out to LDCs to listen to their pressing needs and facilitate coordination of UN system wide support and mobilize resources.

Regular briefings included a briefing session by the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, and meetings with the Global Coordination Bureau of LDCs in New York.

We regularly exchange with the Friends of LDCs and UN inter-agency consultative groups and will continue to do so.

We worked with the LDC Bureau with Malawi as the Chair to issue a statement on a global stimulus package for LDCs. This has been shared across the UN development system.

Last week, I presented the 2020 report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the LDCs to UN ECOSOC.

The report highlights major setbacks of LDCs in achieving sustainable development further aggravated by the pandemic, and appeals for immediate actions to help LDCs mitigate the pandemic’s impacts.

It is encouraging that across the UN system and development partners, we have broad consensus on the urgency to help LDCs with targeted support and enhanced financial assistance.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the preparatory process for the Fifth UN Conference on LDCs.

Major meetings and consultations have been postponed. They include the African regional review meeting on the implementation of the IPoA in Malawi.

What is important though is that the momentum to promote the cause of LDCs and our efforts to map out an ambitious and robust new programme of action has never stopped.

I take this opportunity to urge those who have not yet submitted your national reports to ensure your unique challenges are addressed in the next programme of action.

I would also once more like to thank the UN Resident Coordinators for providing the necessary support for preparation of national reports.

Unprecedented crises also present opportunities for transformation.

We must turn COVID-19 into a unique opportunity for African LDCs to recalibrate their development goals and design national development frameworks that can fast-track sustainable development in the next 10 years of programme of action.

OHRLLS, the UN system we are with you in every step of your recovery towards inclusive, resilient and sustainable development.

I look forward to hearing your discussions and learning from your insights.

Thank you.

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Closing Remarks at the Virtual Meeting of the National Focal Points of African LDCs on Response to COVID 19 and Way Forward

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 17:21:00 +0000

Closing Remarks by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

11 June 2020
New York, USA

Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you all for an engaging dialogue!

There is no doubt left that the COVID-19 pandemic puts on hold the economic and social progress of African LDCs.

There is no doubt that we must act swiftly and effectively. Failure to do so may reverse hard-won gains achieved over the last decade.

At the same time, some African LDCs—with the active and effective support of their development partners—have shown the way in fighting the pandemic. They did so by providing some level of social protection to their citizens who lost jobs and thus their incomes. They did so by supporting small businesses. This is how they also and built the foundations for building back better and stronger.

They and their partners have demonstrated that every black cloud really can have a silver lining.

African LDCs and their development partners ought to seize the moment to build resilience and accelerate the path to an inclusive sustainable development.

We must seize this moment to re- evaluate and adapt development strategies and policies that can accelerate resilience building and promote a post-COVID-19 sustainable recovery.

It goes without saying that for recovery plans to be sustainable they must be aligned with the Istanbul Programme of Action, SDGs and the Paris Agreement. They also must aim for long-term solutions. The stakes are high and we must go beyond immediate health crisis management.

Having said this, without any doubt, public health systems need to be enhanced. Governance at all levels needs to be strengthened. National social protection systems need to be improved on. We need to accelerate high impact investments in the key levers of sustainable development such as high-speed Internet, education, sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy.

As climate change is not on hold, African LDCs ought to raise their climate ambitions. Investing in the green economy will enhance resilience. Investing in and leveraging digital technologies will help leapfrog transformations.

Renewed and strengthened global partnerships and regional cooperation must be integral to the robust recovery of African LDCs. More than ever before, African LDCs need global solidarity, cooperation and support.

At a time of crisis, our commitment to leaving no one behind is put to the test.

A Decade of Action on SDGs demands investment in concerted efforts across the UN system and the global North and the South at large.

The new programme of action
we see in the making should encapsulate global commitments and solidarity towards the LDCs for the remaining decade of the 2030 Agenda.

Let me conclude by assuring you of OHRLLS full and unwavering support to LDCs in overcoming
this crisis and on their path to an inclusive and sustainable development.

Thank you.

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Opening Remarks at the Virtual Meeting of the National Focal Points of African LDCs on Response to COVID 19 and Way Forward

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 14:43:00 +0000

Opening Remarks by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

11 June 2020
New York, USA

Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you ALL for joining this virtual meeting of the National Focal Points for Implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA).

As someone once said “the show must go on.” Not that this is a show, but I appreciate your effort to be together virtually.

I especially thank the UN Resident Coordinators for your participation.

Yes, we all experience an unprecedented situation with the global COVID 19 pandemic.