Coronavirus: IMF, WHO say no trade-off between saving lives and livelihoods
- Getting the coronavirus under control is a prerequisite to saving the economy, IMF and WHO say
- Critical that policymakers, especially in developing economies, prioritise public health spending in addition to economic support
The International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organisation have urged political leaders, especially in emerging markets and developing economies, to prioritise public health expenditure as saving lives and protecting the economy go “hand in hand”.
“At face value there is a trade-off to make: either save lives or save livelihoods. This is a false dilemma – getting the virus under control is, if anything, a prerequisite to saving livelihoods,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva and World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a joint statement last week.
Georgieva and Ghebreyesus said it was “critical” governments pay salaries for medical staff, buy protective equipment for frontline workers and carry out public awareness campaigns to protect people from the pandemic.
At face value there is a trade-off to make: either save lives or save livelihoods. This is a false dilemma – getting the virus under control is, if anything, a prerequisite to saving livelihoods
“In far too many places health systems are unprepared for an onslaught of Covid-19 patients and it is paramount to give them a boost,” Georgieva and Ghebreyesus said.
“And this can and must go together with support for economy-wide priorities required to reduce unemployment, minimise bankruptcies and, over time, ensure recovery,” they said in the article published by Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
