US President-elect Joe Biden may have promised a “return to normalcy,” but the truth is that there is no going back. The world is changing in fundamental ways, and the actions the world takes in the next few years will be critical to lay the groundwork for a sustainable, secure, and prosperous future.
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LONDON – We are writing to call for immediate internationally coordinated action –
within the next few days – to address our deepening global health and economic crises caused by COVID-19.
The communique from the G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit on March 26, 2020, recognized the gravity and urgency of the entwined public health and economic crises, but we now require urgent specific measures that can be agreed on with speed and at scale: emergency support for global health initiatives led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and emergency measures to restore the global economy. Both require world leaders to commit to funding far beyond the current capacity of our existing international institutions.
In 2008-2010, the immediate economic crisis could be surmounted when the economic fault line – under-capitalization of the global banking system – was tackled. Now, however, the economic emergency will not be resolved until the health emergency is effectively addressed: the health emergency will not end simply by conquering the disease in one country alone, but by ensuring recovery from COVID-19 in all countries.
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