The coronavirus pandemic "COVID-19" that hit the world has become a serious challenge for all humanity.
First of all, the world is facing a critical state of public health capacity. The Coronavirus has now become a threat to the safety of all people on the planet. The pandemic COVID-19 has highlighted systemic weaknesses in health care. It demonstrated vulnerability in the global community's ability to respond and prevent pandemic threats in a timely manner.
The second challenge is the global economic crisis, comparable in scale to the Great Depression of 1929. According to the World Trade Organization, the decline in world trade could reach more than 30% in 2020.
We can't help but notice that certain negative trends in the world economy began even before the pandemic COVID-19. The process of economic globalization has begun to return to "trade wars", with growth of unilateral protectionist measures and other challenges in international trade.
The international community is on the verge of a social, humanitarian and even food crisis.
The International Labor Organization stated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor market is experiencing the worst crisis since the World War II. Quarantine measures have resulted in temporary, full or partial business closures affecting 3.3 billion people — 81% of the world's workforce.
The rise in unemployment, according to the Guardian, is at least 10 times faster than during the "Great Recession" of 2007-2009. According to the Managing Director of the IMF Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, more than 170 countries will see negative growth in per capita income in this year. As of now 85 countries have requested the IMF for financial assistance. This grim forecast applies to both developed and developing economies.
According to UNCTAD (the UN Conference on Trade and Development), in 2020 and 2021, developing countries will lack US$2 trillion to meet their financial obligations. This could lead to a debt crisis in which many direct and indirect creditors in industrialized countries would be drawn. Developing countries have entered the crisis with record high debt levels relative to their economic indicators. As early as 2018, their total debt was almost 200 per cent of annual GDP. This includes public and private debts, both domestic and abroad. UNCTAD, therefore, appeals to the developed countries for an ambitious support programs in their self-interest to prevent debt distress and humanitarian disaster. The IMF estimates that the gross external financing needed by emerging markets and developing countries is trillions of dollars. The head of IMF stated that they "need to be assisted immediately". At the same time, German business publication Handelsblatt points out the need for an urgent moratorium on debt service for developing countries, as well as debt restructuring, following the example of the London Treaty, under which, after the Second World War, Germany's debts were partly cancelled, extended or made conditional on sufficient export revenues. This idea is fully consistent with the proposal of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan to restructure loans to developing countries.
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has a profound impact on all social processes in society, including criminal manifestations, especially organized crime and illicit markets. Interpol analysts note that criminals have quickly seized opportunities to exploit the crisis for their own gain. The number of cyber-attacks against organizations and individuals has been already significant and is expected to increase. Criminal groups have adopted new fraud schemes to take advantage of the fears of victims during the crisis. These include various types of adapted telephone and Internet fraud involving the supply of personal protective equipment and disinfection. The sale of counterfeit medical and hygiene products and personal protective equipment has increased significantly since the beginning of the crisis.
"The Coronavirus pandemic is a serious threat to international peace and security," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during the UN Security Council meeting on 10 April 2020. He stressed that "the threat of terrorism remains as the weaknesses and lack of preparedness of different countries exposed by this pandemic provide a window of opportunity for launching terrorist attacks with the use of biological weapons as well as gaining access to dangerous strains
In this difficult situation global solidarity and international cooperation are the only right choice to reduce the impact of these massive challenges. Unfortunately, even many developed countries are struggling to cope with the devastating scale of the disease. Social and economic consequences of the pandemic indicate that 90% of the COVID-19 cases and 88% of the deaths were in the G20 countries, despite the fact that these countries contribute 80% of the world's GDP.
This shows that the virus has no borders, so the international community needs to come together to coordinate better and jointly fight the Coronavirus pandemic, share experiences in diagnostics and treatment, accelerate the development of drugs and vaccines, minimize health and life damage, and mitigate economic impacts. Trade wars and sanctions must be abandoned in order to ensure the smooth mutual supply of medicines, food, equipment and technology in order to save the lives of thousands of people.
In that regard, it is also necessary refrain from politicizing the topic of the Coronavirus pandemic, which is a global challenge to the entire international community and requires concerted action by all States. Pandemic COVID-19 should not be used for growth of populist sentiment, nationalism, xenophobia and attempts to split the world community.
In addition, the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) to fight the virus should be fully supported.
Today, WHO is the only body within the UN system that can mobilize the necessary resources and coordinate response to contain the global threat of COVID-19 to public health in all countries of the world. The WHO has placed orders for 30 million diagnostic tests over the next 4 months. It is shipping nearly 180 million surgical masks in April and May, as well as 54 million face masks and more than 3 million pairs of protective goggles. International cooperation through the UN system is an essential and irreplaceable tool for addressing the global challenges of today's world.
The member States of the Shanghai Cooperation organization (SCO) highly appreciate and fully support the activities of WHO, follow its recommendations on prevention and control of disease spread. The SCO intends to establish broad cooperation with WHO in order to strengthen public health in the Organization's space, which is home to almost half of the world's population.
There is also a need to look more closely at the good practices of countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore and others in combating the epidemic.
It must be said that Chinese people have shown an exceptionally high degree of responsibility and understanding with regard to the decisions taken and restrictions imposed. Effective counter-epidemic measures in China, provision of reliable and transparent information, as well as recommendations developed by WHO based on the Chinese experience of fighting the Coronavirus epidemic have allowed the world to buy two months of precious time to prepare for the fight against the epidemic.
From the very beginning, the SCO member States realized seriousness of the great danger of the Coronavirus, and that inaction in this situation could lead to disastrous consequences. They advocate coordinated efforts to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. Many SCO member States currently have emergency systems, special government commissions and operational headquarters that are responsible for fighting COVID-2019 and containing its spread. At the same time, I would like to highlight the courage and dedication of medical workers in our countries, who are at the forefront of the fight against Coronavirus.
The SCO countries maintain close contacts with each other at the level of heads of state, heads of ministries and agencies responsible for health and public security. We have also implemented a set of measures to provide humanitarian assistance, at first it was directed to China, and now all our countries are involved in this process, providing each other with financial resources, food, medical equipment and medicines.
The SCO Secretariat, acting as a coordinating body, has put forward a number of proposals and initiatives to jointly combat Coronavirus. We intend to continue consultations on fight against Coronavirus at a higher level and work together to take decisive action against the spread of the disease. At the same time, the Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (RATS), in close coordination with the SCO member States, pays close attention to transnational and increasingly interconnected challenges and threats to security in the region in the context of emergency measures taken to combat Coronavirus.

More information:
Diplomatic News Agency
Daily Islamabad Post