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Conflict and the Pandemic: Tackling COVID-19 in Fragile Settings

Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2020 / Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm 

Center: Policy, Learning and Strategy Center

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COVID-19 has overwhelmed some of the world’s most robust healthcare systems and imperiled its richest economies. For countries experiencing fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), COVID-19 adds even greater stress, threatening to reverse decades of advancements in poverty reduction and development. In these settings, the fallout from the pandemic may strain the social fabric in ways that deepen fragility and exacerbate protracted crises—with potentially devastating impacts on the health and livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

On May 13, USIP and the World Bank Group examines international efforts to respond to the first- and second-order impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in fragile states. Panelists drew lessons from other recent outbreaks to consider what works in tackling pandemics on the ground in FCV settings, as well as how actors can work together to ensure responses to the COVID-19 crisis do not exacerbate existing drivers of fragility. Additionally, the panel examined how to manage long-term social and economic consequences, including how the COVID-19 response can help lay the foundation for strengthened governance and more effective institutions.

Continue the conversation on Twitter by using #COVIDandConflict and #PeoplePeaceProsperity. 

Speakers

Axel van Trotsenburg
Managing Director of Operations, World Bank 

Nancy Lindborg 
President & CEO, United States Institute of Peace

Sir Mark Lowcock
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations

H.E. Samuel D. Tweah, Jr.
Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Republic of Liberia

Ms. Lamis Al-Iryani
Head, Monitoring and Evaluation, Yemen Social Fund for Development

Raj Kumar, moderator
President and Editor-in-Chief, Devex

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