New York: Concerned over the raging Covid pandemic, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres exhorted the countries to forge a new, more hopeful and equal path at a time when "the only certainty is more uncertainty". Curbing the Coronavirus spread should be at the main agenda everywhere, said Guterres, calling for countries to "go into an emergency mode in the fight against the Covid." The pandemic has also highlighted the failure of the global financial system, on which Guterres was particularly blunt. "Let's tell it like it is: the global financial system is morally bankrupt. It favours the rich and punishes the poor."
"We face a five-alarm global fire that requires the full mobilisation of all countries," he said, referring to the Covid, a morally bankrupt global financial system, the climate crisis, lawlessness in cyberspace and diminished peace and security are prevailing.
The pandemic has also highlighted the failure of the global financial system, on which Guterres was particularly blunt. "Let's tell it like it is: the global financial system is morally bankrupt. It favours the rich and punishes the poor." The system is supposed to ensure stability by supporting economies through financial shocks, such as the pandemic, but he said the lopsided investment is leading to lopsided recovery from the crisis. As a result, poorer countries are experiencing their slowest growth in a generation, while middle-income nations are denied debt relief despite surging poverty levels. Most of the world's poor are women and girls, who are paying a high price in lost healthcare, education and jobs, the UN chief added.
