Covid-19: The Impact On Developing Economics

The Covid-19 crisis, which first hit the developed world, is now spreading into developing countries.

As a result, developing countries could see income losses in excess of $220 billion, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP.

THE IMPACT ON POORER COUNTRIES RIGHT NOW

Already, more than 90 developing countries have approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for access to its emergency funding and financial assistance.

THE STRESS ON HEALTHCARE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 

In other words, not every case is identified and reported, due to lack of resources.  

This lack of resources and disparity in available healthcare is a big problem for developing countries, Giovanna adds. African countries, on average, have 2.2 qualified healthcare workers per 1,000 people (compared to 14 per 1,000 in Europe). Nigeria is reported to have fewer than 500 ventilators, which are crucial to treating the more serious cases of COVID-19.   

“One thing that’s clear is that some countries have better access and funding to top-of-the-line healthcare than others,” Giovanna continues.  

Countries like China, who are easing out of lockdown, have begun to offer large in-kind medical donations to less developed countries. Some have labelled this “facemask diplomacy”.