The Guardian view on poorer nations and covid-19: the G20 must act | Editorial
Debt relief and massive economic support are needed in Africa, as developing nations cope with health and economic emergencies
As some of the world's richest countries became centres of the coronavirus pandemic, politicians and populations temporarily glimpsed the abyss. By simultaneously attacking citizens' health and threatening their incomes, the spread of the disease presented an unprecedented challenge to societies in which economic stability was taken for granted. Safety nets had to be reinvented overnight to protect individuals and businesses during lockdown, while health service capacity was urgently ramped up. In London, Washington, Berlin and Paris, measures costing billions of pounds were rightly signed off by governments with scarcely a second thought.
What the developed countries did for their own economies is now desperately required for the poorest nations of the world. As the virus spreads in sub-Saharan Africa, north Africa and the Middle East, the same twin threats to life and livelihoods are now faced by heavily indebted states with under-resourced healthcare systems. But the kind of financial stimulus undertaken in the west is an impossibility. Without significant and immediate assistance from the global community, the consequences could be catastrophic.
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