Issue 13 | April 2020
While no one is immune from feeling the effects of COVID-19, the virus does not impact us all equally; marginalised and vulnerable communities face disproportional risk of community spread and lack of capacity and resources in healthcare infrastructure to adequately respond. UNDP's response in SIDS will continue to embody the mentality of "no one left behind," recognizing that our response to this pandemic must be gender sensitive, and cognizant of additional vulnerabilities faced by low-income, displaced, refugee individuals, and persons with disabilities.

While the response to the impact of this global crisis in SIDS must encompass social, environmental and economic considerations and solutions, we see cross-cutting themes of social inclusion and digital innovation. As SIDS seek to develop their capacity for digital technologies, there is tremendous opportunity UNDP's enhanced SIDS offer will remain the basis for its COVID-19 response in SIDS as it helps to land the foundation for recovery. Furthermore, UNDP's policy center in Singapore is working with Smart Nation Singapore to develop an open-source digital toolbox, highlighted below.

On April 1, the Secretary General launched the UN Response and Recovery Fund for COVID-19 last week, which will be critical for supporting countries with the help they need. This Fund is an inter-agency fund with the aim to support low- and middle-income programme countries overcome the health and development crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and support those most vulnerable to economic hardship and social disruption. It has three funding windows: 1) Enable Governments and Communities to Tackle the Health Emergency; 2) Reduce Social Impact and Promote Economic Response; 3) Recover Better. The Fund’s coverage extends to all low and middle income programme countries, and in particular, those populations not included in the Global Humanitarian Appeal, helping to safeguard their progress towards the SDGs. It is anticipated that the Fund will require of $1 billion US dollars in the first 9 months.


Stay updated on https://www.undp.org/coronavirus for more resources and news on UNDP's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and monitor COVID-19 with the World Health Organization tracker (seen below). #UNDP4SIDS #RisingUpforSIDS

Image: @UNDPinPNG
Keywords in this bulletin: COVID-19, Digital Toolkit, Trade, Work and the Economy, Technological Innovation, Accelerator Labs, Climate Finance, Social Inclusion, Aquaculture, Gender, Inclusion
Country Corner
UNDP Ramps Up Innovation and Digital Transformation for COVID-19 Responses in SIDS
 
UNDP is working to accelerate digitalization and digitization across SIDS as part of our enhanced SIDS offer to provide immediate and impactful response to COVID-19. Accelerating digital transformation can form the basis for a new normal after recovery stages. UNDP Guinea Bissau supported efforts to digitize of health data and operationalize DHIS2 health information system software. Strengthening the countries capacity to track outbreaks, prepare and respond to COVID-19. In Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Samoa and Tokelau, Tupaia Health, a project funded by the Australian government makes use of the open source data provided by DHIS2 to map health systems in the region, strengthen services and help governments fairly distribute resources. According to UNCTAD, 25 million jobs could be lost due to COVID-19, UNDP's Accelerator Lab in Barbados and partners are developing app-based offering to create job portal to match recently unemployed workers with SMEs and promote access to digital tools among vulnerable populations. Lastly, UNDP Cabo Verde support government to leverage digital tools for COVID-19 response building website with critical information: number of cases, practices for prevention, social distancing, contact information for reporting of symptoms and FAQs. 
Engaging the Private Sector in Disaster Response, Preparedness and Recovery
 
The Connecting Business initiative (CBi) engages with the private sector strategically before, during and after emergencies, increasing the scale and effectiveness of the response and recovery in a coordinated manner. During the COVID-19 crisis, CBi has supported private sector networks in Bahamas, Haiti, Vanuatu and the Pacific Business Resilience Network. Private sector partnerships are crucial to response, preparedness and recovery measures and for efforts to continue the acceleration of the SAMOA Pathway and 2030 Agenda. Genuine and durable partnerships are key to achieving the collective ambitions of SIDS and ensuring no one and no island is left behind. Read more about how CBi supporting networks are addressing COVID-19 here.  

UNDP in São Tomé e Príncipe recently undertook a rapid Socio-Economic Analysis of COVID-19's impact on some of the most fragile dimensions of the country's macroeconomic equilibria. Most notably, the analysis uses available data to examines the impact of the global pandemic on the tourism industry and other issues of economic concern as a result in the contraction in demand given the pandemic, including the reliance on foreign imports, as is common with many  SIDS. The analysis is also an excellent undertaking to be used to begin formulating policy responses for SIDS economies. 

Pacific Islands Forum Leaders have invoked the Biketawa Declaration to collectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as a major crisis to the Pacific – its peoples, wellbeing and economies. The Pacific Humanitarian Pathway on COVID-19 (PHP-C), under the Biketawa Declaration is the Region’s mechanism that will provide the enabling political environment and commitment to expedite assistance and cooperation between member countries in preparing for and responding to COVID-19, by enabling the provision of medical and humanitarian assistance from regional, international and development partners in a timely, safe, effective and equitable manner.

Images: @UNDPClimate, Tonga

The UNDP Accelerator Lab in Timor-Leste has partnered with the Bamboo Institute, a locally owned company working to promote locally sourced bamboo, to promote its use as alternative building material for carpentry and handicrafts (and beyond!) as a way to increase income and the sustainable livelihoods for communities in Timor-Leste. Bamboo Institute has supported its workers with sustainable jobs and works closely with community groups, and the partnership with UNDP Accelerator Labs sponsors the creation of bamboo nurseries for rural farmers as a way to boost income and support Timorese families. #SDG9 #SDG13 #AcceleratorLabs
In the News

Magdy Martínez-Solimán, Resident Representative for UNDP Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, writes of the importance of the obligation we have to socially protect one another and design programs, policies and solutions that support those most adversely impacted by COVID-19. In many senses, this means supporting women - they are at the front lines of the pandemic in various roles and with differing responsibilities. Globally, women make up 70% of health care workers and do 3x as much unpaid domestic labor as men. Similarly, women will disproportionately be impacted by closures in the services and tourism sectors. The response moving froward will require a careful gender-sensitive lens. This Technical Brief from UNFPA examines how to promote gender equality and meet specific gender-needs in our COVID-19 response. UNDP is actively working on the issue of gender and COVID-19, UNDP's Gender and Recovery Toolkit provides guidance on how to enable the leadership of women and girls while making sure that their specific needs are met.

Singapore faces a looming challenge as its offshore fish farms near capacity, threatening food production. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is turning to resourcefulness, however, and has become to look towards opportunities for aquaculture and sustainable farming systems in the southern waters. Scaling up aquaculture zones could dramatically increase home-frown aquaculture products, nearly doubling production. But along with the innovation comes challenges, such as the need for disease control and in ensuring that the balance of nutrients is correct so as to avoid harmful algae growth, which have previously been detrimental to fish stocks in Singapore. In general, aquaculture serves as a major Blue Economy entry point in many SIDS and holds significant promise for economic growth when more aspects of the production process become localized prior to export, as suggested by this UNCTAD piece that emphasizes the value in investing in improvements to the fishing industry to transition from unprocessed to processed tuna exports, such as in Barbados.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has spoken openly about the dangers Barbados and other SIDS in the Caribbean face as storms swell in intensity, fish stocks plummet, the sea level encroaches further on land, and the droughts grow more frequent, all due to warming oceans and climate change. Recognizing that financial crisis was inevitable if drastic measures weren't undertaken to ensure resilience, Prime Minister Mottley has prioritized preparedness policies for the financial impact of natural disaster in Barbados. Mottley has championed natural-disaster clauses as one such measure that suspend government's principal and interest payments in the event calamity strikes in order to create immediate cash flow. The effort, finalized by the Barbados government and creditors in October 2019, would free up as much as $700 million to redirect to rebuilding efforts post-disaster. This type of deferment could allow Barbados and other disaster-prone SIDS the sort of breathing space needed to respond to more frequent and more intense climate events. These messages echo those of SIDS during the high level midterm review of the SAMOA Pathway in September 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic UNDP is committed to continued investment in the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway, ramping up climate action and accelerating sustainable development of SIDS through its enhanced SIDS offer.

Coronavirus: The Caribbean is the First Domino to Fall, but There is Hope

The long-term realities of the coronavirus are evident across SIDS including the Caribbean region. The Caribbean SIDS' economies have become heavily reliant on a single sector, namely tourism. The region has also experienced recurring extreme weather events, including Hurricane Dorian which hit the Bahamas in September. The coming 2020 hurricane season is predicted to be 140% above average. Furthermore, Caribbean countries face high energy insecurity, This article suggests a pathway towards energy independence and resilience in the Caribbean based on three factors: (1) Caribbean countries have some of the highest electricity costs in the world because of their reliance on a centralized, fossil fuel electricity system architecture, (2) they are highly exposed to disruption from natural hazards, some of which are becoming more prevalent and severe due to climate change, and (3) they all have excellent, under-utilized renewable energy resources. The first pillar of UNDP's enhanced SIDS offer, climate action, focuses on supporting SIDS' energy transformations towards increasing resilience and allowing countries to become energy independent on the pathway to achieving the 2030 Agenda and targets of the SAMOA Pathway.
Resources

Digital tools and technologies can play a crucial role in tackling COVID-19. Inspired by Singapore's approach (highlighted in our last SIDS Bulletin), the UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Sustainable Development is working to collate open-source tools that can be used in response to COVID-19 to accelerate the digital response time of countries. These tools are cover three areas:

  • Disease Monitoring (to identify the spread of COVID-19, accelerate case detection and response)
  • Prevention and containment (to prevent the spread  of COVID-19, including reporting and contact-tracing resources), and
  • Diagnosis (helping to confirm cases)
Although not a panacea, digital tools have the potential to play an important role in tackling COVID-19. This growing repository of tools support governments in their life-saving efforts to monitor, prevent and contain, and diagnose the disease. #DigitalTransformation 

The coronavirus pandemic will have major implications for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Trade-related targets now look even more daunting than before, particularly for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). As the crisis unfolds, there are four key challenges ahead for small and vulnerable economies, as highlighted by this ODI report:

  • Demand- and supply-side shocks: small and vulnerable economies will be hit hard because of their dependence on trade, small domestic markets and low levels of diversification, all of which increase their vulnerability to external shocks. Trade in goods and services comprises around 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) in SIDS on average.
  • Global Recession: The outbreak is affecting the three major hubs of the global economy – Asia, Europe and the US – and the top trading partners of many SIDS.
  • Changes to lead firm strategies: Many global value chains have begun to shorten. This shortening could intensify given the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, which will incur permanent losses for some firms and their employees in some SIDS and LDCs
  • Increased Economic Vulnerability: Given the global economic ramifications of the coronavirus, previous economic development trajectories are unlikely to be sustained during 2020, or beyond. Such a dramatic turn of events calls for critical reflection on the future movement out of the LDC category by some forthcoming graduates. This includes Vanuatu, which heavily on the tourism sector (which represents 70% of its total export value) and where demand has collapsed. 

COVID-19 and the World of Work

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic effect on working hours and earnings globally, leaving many workers furloughed or laid off as businesses reduce operations and close down. A new ILO report highlights that 4 out 5 people in the global workforce (3.3 billion) are affected, and nearly 1/3 of those people are at high risk "of drastic and devastating cuts" to employment. The report examines some of the worst affected sectors and regions, which includes high-risk industries (i.e. tourism and transport) that form the backbone of economies in SIDS, and outlines policies to mitigate the crisis. This New York Times feature examines how COVID-19 is especially damaging for tourism-heavy islands in the Caribbean.
 

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