On March 31, UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched a new report, entitled "Shared responsibility, global solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19", calling on everyone to act together to lessen the blow to people.

“COVID-19 is the greatest test that we have faced together since the formation of the United Nations. This human crisis demands coordinated, decisive, inclusive and innovative policy action from the world’s leading economies – and maximum financial and technical support for the poorest and most vulnerable people and countries.” underscored Guterres.

He said, the International Monetary Fund has reassessed the prospect for growth for 2020 and 2021, declaring that the world have entered a recession – as bad as or worse than in 2009. The report calls for a large-scale response that amounts to at least 10 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

Guterres stressed, “The message of the report we are issuing today is clear: shared responsibility and global solidarity in response to the impacts of COVID-19. It is a call to action”. He pointed out, first, for an immediate coordinated health response to suppress transmission and end the pandemic. It is essential that developed countries immediately assist those less developed to bolster their health systems and their response capacity to stop transmission. Second, we must tackle the devastating social and economic dimensions of this crisis, with a focus on the most affected: women, older persons, youth, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises, the informal sector and vulnerable groups, especially those in humanitarian and conflict settings. That means designing fiscal and monetary policies able to support the direct provision of resources to support workers and households, the provision of health and unemployment insurance, scaled up social protection, and support to businesses to prevent bankruptcies and massive job losses. (CCTV/Xu Dezhi)