Advanced economies must combat Covid-19 threat to developing world | Mohamed El-Erian

International community can avoid large-scale humanitarian tragedy in vulnerable regions

Declining coronavirus infection rates and plans to begin easing lockdown measures in some parts of the developed world have provided a ray of hope after weeks of unrelenting gloom. But, for many developing countries, the crisis may barely have begun, and the human toll of a major Covid-19 outbreak would be orders of magnitude larger than in any advanced economy. With the US having recently recorded more than 2,000 deaths in a single day, this is no trivial number. If the international community doesn't act now, the results could be catastrophic.

Sub-Saharan Africa is a case in point. Several countries there would face significant challenges in enforcing physical-distancing rules and other measures to flatten the contagion curve. The region's already weak healthcare systems could thus quickly become overwhelmed by an outbreak, especially in a high-density area.

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