COVID-19’s Cost for Asia Is Definitely More

Today, six months have almost passed since the ominous Coronavirus has affected the world public health.  According to the UNDP’s report, low-income and developing Asian countries have not spent enough to support their citizens during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the developed countries and G7 members have spent on average budgets equal to 6.5 percent of their GDPs for saving their economies during the pandemic.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

Regardless of how much this report can be true, the nature of the released statistics about the infected or death toll indicate this reality that Asia has suffered less damage and we should cast doubt on the UNDP’s report. But that importance of economy has forced rich countries to spend more in order to protect their production and economy is conceivable. That rich countries have taken any necessary measure to strengthen their economies during this crisis and low-income countries have earmarked lower capacities to meet the demands of their countries during this crisis, is also possible.

The report shows that UNDP has reached this conclusion that developed countries and members of G7 have spent budgets equal to 6.5 percent of their Gross Domestic Products for saving their economies after the outbreak of Coronavirus and it has been naturally possible because economies of G7 countries have major share of economy in the world GDP. So, one can guess that they have been forced to spend even much more to protect this heavy hegemony. On the other side, that poorer Asian countries have earmarked only 0.02 to 8 percent of their Gross Domestic Products for the units affected with lockdown and social distancing or supportive packages for their citizens is not far from the logic.

That India has provided bigger financial incentives and has allocated 8 percent of its GDP to the vulnerability of the society among the comparatively poor countries shows how this country attaches more and deeper attention to humanitarian issues.  The UNDP report also says these figures in Asia are lower and they are unable to confront with devastative effects of the Coronavirus crisis on the vulnerable people in the society.

But this analysis is bias because statistics show that the total attention of the society to the infected people in the Asian countries have been by far much more better than countries like the U.S. and UK. That the World Bank has called for  the private sector to participate in helping the poor countries is useful but it was much better  the World Bank would have done its best for creating a more humanitarian approach in the Western countries. That the World Bank has announced $12b debt relief for poor countries is appreciable but this figure comparing to what the bank was supposed to participate in aids is insignificant amount.

When in the report we notice issues like occupation and people’s livelihood woes  in the poorer countries and it is said vulnerable countries have lost more jobs and received fewer aids, it was expected at least the World Bank and all other organizations of public utility to pay deeper attention to the countries because people in these countries are facing more dangers regarding the COVID-19 and this issue is currently very concerning.

Is not it deplorable that the United Nations in its report announces that most of those who have lost their jobs and means of their livelihoods are living under poverty line?

Securing livelihood for those who live under the poverty line in the world likely seems enough and favorable with the least income in short term and for one year but in the long term, measures like health insurance, unemployment benefits and constant pensions are needed.

Today if we compare Western countries’ attention to the health of society comparing to the attention in Asian states, we definitely find that Asia has paid more for the health of its people.

But if in this context we compare the costs that the Western Countries have paid to protect their economic pillars with what has been done in the east especially Asia, the Westerners have paid more attention to their economies than public health.

The root of these two approaches lies in the infrastructure of mindset in the West’s concentration on economic liberalism rather than liberal democracy, and the decline point of the Western world lies here.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian