Coronavirus: UNCTAD proposes a $ 2.5 trillion support plan for the South

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres estimated the needs of the countries of the South to cope with the pandemic last week at around 3 trillion dollars. Economists from the United Nations and more particularly from the Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have refined the calculations.

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"Whatever it costs" is the title in the form of a wink to the French president of the program concocted by the UNCTAD.

UN economists estimate aid to developing countries at $ 2.5 trillion: $ 500 billion in the form of a "Marshall Plan" for health, $ 1 trillion to help states overcome the consequences of confinements and the fall in world trade and another 1,000 billion to pay their debts.

The UNCTAD wants a moratorium on debt repayment, or even a new cancellation mechanism. This is the central point of this study because the debt of poor countries prevents them from responding to the pandemic.

► Read also: Why the coronavirus must lead to the cancellation of African debt

The UNCTAD stresses that the efforts of the IMF and the World Bank will not be enough and that the rich countries must open the credit tap, as they do for their economies.

For the moment, the idea of ​​a moratorium on debts has not yet resulted in a decision on the part of the rich countries, but the UNCTAD wants to be optimistic. It is about global growth. Better to pay immediately than to have to rebuild ruined savings in a year, which would be even more costly, explains a UN economist.

► Read also: Antonio Guterres: “It takes 3000 billion dollars” for the South against the coronavirus

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• Coronavirus
• UN