The G24 urged international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to provide full fiscal support to developing countries to prevent long-term economic damage from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Economic recovery has begun in parts of the world but many vulnerable countries remain in recession because of a lack of affordable vaccines as, the group said on Monday.
“Covid’s destruction is global and will only be overcome with a strong global response that ensures fair distribution of vaccines and sustained support to vulnerable developing countries,” said Abdolnasser Hemmati, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran and chair of the Group of Twenty-Four nations.
“The G24 believes we all must recognise our common humanity and work together to defeat this pandemic."
The world economy is facing the prospect of a substantial loss in output despite a faster recovery from the pandemic than expected, the IMF said last week.
Global output in 2024 is expected to be about 3 per cent lower than pre-pandemic estimated levels, it said.
The IMF, which this week is holding its spring meeting alongside the World Bank, extended debt relief to 28 of the world's poorest countries on Monday to allow them to conserve funds to fight the pandemic.
The relief will be in the form of grants that will cover debt-service payments due between April 14 and October 15 this year.
The G24 commended swift international economic and health support for the crisis so far but said more action was needed to avert long-term economic damage in vulnerable nations.
It said recovery to pre-pandemic levels could be held back in countries that lack revenue or borrowing capacity to stimulate their economies.
The group welcomed the move to provide debt relief but also called to improve co-ordination to widen access to vaccine supply.
"Access now is heavily constrained by existing supply, which has mostly been purchased by advanced economies."
G24 members urged the World Trade Organisation and development banks to find ways to increase the production of vaccines.
That would include "addressing intellectual property rules to expand the manufacturing of vaccines and other medical products needed to treat those infected by Covid-19".
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
