A screenshot of UN Secretary General António Guterres' virtual press briefing on the global COVID-19 crisis (FILE) 

"More than ever before, we need solidarity, hope and the political will to see this crisis through together," said Guterres at a virtual press conference on March 19. The UN headquarters in New York City has asked all staff to telecommute and work remotely from March 16 to April 12, because of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Guterres said this global health crisis, unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations, is "spreading human suffering, infecting the global economy and upending people's lives."

A global recession— perhaps of record dimensions —is a near certainty, he added. 

Current responses at the country level will not address the global scale and complexity of the crisis, Guterres pointed out. 

"This is a moment that demands coordinated, decisive, and innovative policy action from the world's leading economies," said the UN chief, adding that he looks forward to taking part in the upcoming G20 leaders' emergency summit to respond to the epic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"My central message is clear", he said, "we are in an unprecedented situation and the normal rules no longer apply."   

Indicating that "we are at war with a virus", the UN chief stressed that creative responses "must match the unique nature of the crisis— and the magnitude of the response must match its scale."

Although the coronavirus is killing people and attacking the real economy at its core—trade, supply chains, businesses and jobs, by managing the crisis well, "we can steer the recovery toward a more sustainable and inclusive path," he said.  

Guterres said he sees three critical areas for action. 

The first is tackling the health emergency. He called for scaled-up health spending to meet urgent needs and the surge in demand—expanding testing, bolstering facilities, supporting health care workers, and ensuring adequate supplies—with full respect for human rights and without stigma. 

"We need to immediately move away from a situation where each country is undertaking its own health strategies to one that ensures, in full transparency, a coordinated global response, including helping countries that are less prepared to tackle the crisis," he said. 

Governments must give the strongest support to the multilateral effort to fight the virus, led by the World Health Organization, whose appeals must be fully met, he added.   

"Global solidarity is not only a moral imperative, it is in everyone's interests," said the UN chief. 

The second priority is the social impact and the economic response and recovery, according to Guterres. 

The pandemic is not an ordinary shock in supply and demand; it is a shock to society as a whole, he said. 

He cited a latest report of the International Labour Organization, which estimates that workers around the world could lose as much as $3.4 trillion in income by the end of this year. 

"Most fundamentally, we need to focus on people — the most vulnerable, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises," he added.

That means wage support, insurance, social protection, preventing bankruptcies and job loss, and also means designing fiscal and monetary responses to ensure that the burden does not fall on those who can least afford it, he explained. 

"The recovery must not come on the backs of the poorest— and we cannot create a legion of new poor," he said. Therefore, "we need to take it to the next level to ensure support reaches those entirely dependent on the informal economy and countries less able to respond."

He also called for international financial organizations including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others to play a key role in ensuring adequate financial facilities to support countries in difficulties.  

World economies must refrain from the temptation of resorting to protectionism. "This is the time to dismantle trade barriers and re-establish supply chains," Guterres said. 

He made a special mention of this crisis effect on women, "who are disproportionately carrying the burden at home and in the wider economy,” and on children, more than 800 million of whom are out of school and many of whom rely on the school to provide their only meal.   

He also cautioned that we must prevent this pandemic from turning into a crisis of mental health, as people's lives are disrupted, isolated and upturned.   

"The world needs to keep going with core support to programs for the most vulnerable," said the UN chief. "Humanitarian needs must not be sacrificed."

The third is a responsibility to recover better.  

"We must ensure that lessons [from the 2008 financial crisis] are learned and that this crisis provides a watershed moment for health emergency preparedness and for investment in critical 21st century public services and the effective delivery of global public goods," he said. 

Guterres pointed out that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change are the framework for action. "We must keep our promises for people and planet."

Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey 

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