In the midst of economic shocks and border closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Pacific region has yet again been ravaged by a Category 5 cyclone that left a trail of destruction across four Pacific island countries in a span of four days from April 5 to 8.
The economic toll from Cyclone Harold and the response to the coronavirus pandemic to Pacific economies is yet to be determined, but they have for sure rolled backed significant economic gains in these countries.
The economic, social and environmental impacts of the pandemic, exacerbated by climate-induced disasters such as tropical Cyclone Harold, will reverberate well into the future for these countries.
COVID-19 and climate change have re-emphasised the fragility of Pacific economies and their acute vulnerability to global phenomena.
Oxfam’s report on the potential economic impact of the coronavirus - Dignity not Destitution - demonstrates that the scenario unfolding in the Pacific is a reality that most vulnerable and poor developing countries in the Global South could relate to in light of the current global precarity and uncertainty.
The Pacific double whammy brings us to an important moment for the world to reexamine our current approach to development, specifically the dominant economic model that prioritises profit over people and the environment.
Both COVID-19 and climate change continue to expose the failures in our economic structures and the need to change our approach to how our economies are governed.
Inequality - the common denominator
Inequality is perhaps the most obvious flaw of the current economic model. Both cyclones and pandemics exacerbate the persistent inequalities at different levels of our societies.
Those who are bound to suffer the most from the extreme effects of these two phenomena are the poorest and the “have nots” in societies.
In a global economy where the world’s richest one percent of people have more than twice as much wealth as 4.6 billion of the poorest people on earth, according to a report by Oxfam in 2020, the ability of the majority of the population right now to access the resources they need to holistically build their resilience and bounce back from global crisis is severely limited and in some cases non-existent.
Oxfam’s briefing, Dignity not Destitution, forecasts that half a billion more people are now likely to be pushed into poverty because of the pandemic without an urgent and a human-oriented emergency global rescue package that is compassionate towards the needs of world’s poorest and vulnerable countries.
What we need is a global rescue package that not only focuses on protecting small businesses but one that also provides safety nets to the most vulnerable populations.
Importantly, the pandemic and climate change have once again shone a harsh light on the persistent social gendered inequalities in our communities.
The plight of women and girls in all their diversity during times of crisis has again been laid bare. While different groups are affected differently during times of crisis, the economic burdens and hardships are disproportionately borne by women.
As the global economy is currently at a standstill, women are increasingly taking
