NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Aleksandra Morozkina

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has hit many developing countries hard and threatens the realisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The World Bank estimates that between 40 and 60 million people may be pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 as a result of pandemic, making it difficult to end poverty by 2030. Assistance provided by developed countries constitutes an important source for financing the needs and SDGs of weak economies, particularly for countries that have no access to international capital markets. However, most donors are facing deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, including economic growth, production output, employment rate, output gap, fiscal position and the amount of debt. Evidence shows that under the current adverse conditions, the governments of donor countries have redirected funds allocated for development assistance to the resolution of domestic issues.

Photo courtesy of Bill Oxford.