Severe malnutrition, dependence on food banks, unprecedented job losses, and many other untold hardships show how COVID-19 has widened the global inequality gap between rich and poor.

Previous pandemics have widened income disparities, and COVID-19 will be no exception. Its economic effect, especially on low-income earners, is believed to be the greatest calamity since the Great Depression. Forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that the global income will fall by 3% in January 2021, making it much worse than during the 2008-09 Great Recession. Its health and economic impacts fall hardest on the poorer and vulnerable in society.

The Rich Got Richer


According to the Health Foundation, some of the poorest communities in the United Kingdom are experiencing a “double whammy of health and financial hardship.” Of the 10 local areas with the highest COVID-19 death rates, half are from the poorest 30% of local authorities.

Between March and August 2020, there was an increase of 8% in the share of working population receiving Universal Credit in the poorest communities, compared to a 5% increase in the wealthiest areas. Examples of the most hit areas include Barnsley, Newham, Wolverhampton and other communities with a poorer standard of living and shorter life expectancy.

In sharp contrast, however, the world’s richest became richer. In the United States, as tens of millions filed for unemployment, billionaires saw their net worth grow by half a trillion dollars. Between March and June, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and Zoom founder Eric Yuan increased their wealth by $48 billion, $15.7 billion, and $2.5 billion respectively. The disproportionate gap is also obvious among various categories of the world’s labour force.

Factors responsible for this disparity include the education gap and the ability to work remotely. In the European Union, for instance, between the last quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020, 8% of workers with lower than secondary school education lost their jobs. Over the same period, there was a 3% increase in the number of jobs for workers with university degrees.

Remote Working

Experiences from lockdowns across the world show that those with the ability to work from home are less impacted financially by the pandemic. Unfortunately, this opportunity is lower among low-income earners working in sectors that are more exposed to the pandemic and have no option for teleworking. In Europe, 70% of those with university education are able to work remotely compared to about 15% of those who didn’t complete secondary school. In addition, two-thirds of professionals can work from home, compared with close to zero workers in the construction, transportation, installation and agriculture.

Unfortunately, dependent household members, especially children, are likely to bear the greatest burden. While they have been fortunate to be less likely affected health-wise, they cannot easily avoid the pandemic’s impact on education and family finance.

Effects on Children Worldwide

Research shows that in England, the gap between poor pupils and their wealthier peers widened by 46%. The average learning time lost was 3 months for all pupils when the school year began in September 2020. However, more than 50% of pupils in the most deprived areas lost at least four months, compared with just 15% of those in the least deprived areas. In sub-Saharan Africa, the disruption in the academic calendar added to the region’s 100 million out of school children. Millions of them are unlikely to ever return to the classroom.

Financially, COVID-19 has increased hardship among children from the poorest homes. According to UNICEF, this could push 142,000 more children into monetarily poor households in developing countries and increase the figure to 725 million children globally. Nearly two-thirds of these children are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, sub-Saharan African children were among the most financially disadvantaged in the world. The pandemic has worsened the situation, as about half of the region’s child population may be facing food insecurity. The pandemic, coupled with other existing challenges, such as scarcity of basic goods and services, floods, droughts, and locust invasions, has further exposed these children to an unprecedented hunger crisis.

For instance, in Nigeria, the number of children treated by the outpatient nutrition program in the country’s conflict-stricken northeast, increased by 20%, just as the severe malnutrition cases grew by 10%, a survey by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has shown.

“The risk is that as food prices rise and people’s income plummets, we could see a rise in malnutrition because families can’t afford enough food, or that the foods they can afford are less nutrient-rich,” said ICRC’s economic security analyst for Africa, Pablo Lozano.

People With Disabilities Disproportionately Affected

Also, among the worst-hit are those living with disabilities. While most previous reports have concentrated on the health impact on this set of people, there are fresh facts showing they are remarkably more impacted financially than those without disabilities. In Australia, 50% of people with disabilities have had to reduce work hours, compared with 45% of the non-disabled working population. In addition, 15% of them had used a food bank, as opposed to 1.7% of non-disabled people.

From all indications, the pandemic’s economic downturn will outlive its health crisis, and the world’s poorest will be the worst hit. More than ever before, there is a need for risk-sharing and social assistance policies by world leaders to protect the most disadvantaged people from the widening global inequality gap.

https://immigrationnews.co.uk/how-covid-19-has-widened-the-global-inequality-gap/

Mariana20:



Thanks for this great information!

This is really an awesome write up.

However, we pray that Biden administration really favor us

Thanks @Mariana,

I say amen to your prayer!

Hello Mynd44, Lalasticlala,

Please help move this to the front page so we can have other people's views on it. Thanks

Harrykn:
Let's me read comments, I nothing concern and amelica yet. Nah who get money dey travel

Lol.

butterfly777:
Nice write up, op.

But no one knows for sure what will happen except God reveals it.

As for me, every administration will work for my favour in Jesus' name.

Definitely no one knows!

@Bolded - That's the spirit - keeping the faith alive!

FarahAideed:
Nothing .. expect an increase in Islamic Terrorism and wahabissm

Hmnnn. But the truth is no one knows yet. But given the long-existing US-Africa relationship which has been mutually beneficial to both parties, one can't begrudge African leaders for having high expectations from the incoming administration.

By Olusegun Akinfenwa


A few weeks before the inauguration ceremony as the 46th president of the United States, can US-African relations look forward to a better and respectful future under President-elect Joe Biden?

Africa-US relations in the past four years of the outgoing Donald Trump’s administration was largely characterized by derision and disdain. This perhaps explains why many Africans, both at home and in diasporas, showed a great deal of solidarity for the incoming president since the beginning of his campaign.

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. will assume office on January 20, 2021, as one of US presidential candidates that enjoyed the largest support of black voters. Serving under President Obama, the US first black president, is one of Biden’s advantages with the black community. But beyond that, he also, on his own, shares a deeper level of connectedness to African-Americans, than other candidates in his party.

The solidarity didn’t start during the general presidential election. 50% of African-American primary votes went to Biden during the Democratic Primary while his closest contestant, Elizabeth Warren could only amass 12%. During the election, black voters turned out for Biden at an estimated 87%.

So, when it became obvious that Biden-Kamala team would occupy the White House come January, wild jubilations rented the air in black communities in the US and other parts of the world.

Back home, while most African leaders were guarded in their congratulatory messages to the President-elect, given the many controversies that followed the election, some African opinion leaders and observers couldn’t hide their feelings of relief.

A statement from the Nelson Mandela Foundation read: “It is with a sense of relief that we have seen President Donald Trump defeated in the US presidential election. Like many around the world, we celebrate the fact that we won’t have to watch him undermining democratic institutions.”

Africa-US relations in the past four years of the outgoing Donald Trump’s administration was largely characterized by derision and disdain

The Foundation’s expression of relief is understandable, considering the actions and inactions of President Trump towards the continent. Barely a year after he took office, Trump had referred to Haiti and African nations with derogatory, demeaning words while holding a closed-door meeting at the White House. His government also didn’t show much interest in African matters, and he never visited the continent during his four years in office.

Trump’s election brought a radical break from the robust Africa-US engagement which began under the Clinton administration and deepened under the Bush and Obama administrations.

During these three governments before Trump’s, Africa enjoyed a substantial share of the US annual foreign funding. This includes the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that was launched by President George W. Bush in 2003. The annual US aid to Africa under President Obama fluctuated between $7billion and $8billion.

While the continent still continued to get roughly $7 billion US aid allocations from Trump annually, a look at US-Africa trade under the outgoing administration showed a total decline. It fell to around $41 billion dollars in 2018, compared to $100 billion back in 2008.

Many African countries have been trading their petroleum, metals, and other natural resources with the US under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade deal created in 2000. The deal, among other things, provides tariff-free access to approximately 6,500 products from 38 African countries.

It must be said though that Africa didn’t fare badly under Trump’s AGOA and other initiatives. For instance, many African countries benefited handsomely from his administration’s initiatives such as Prosper Africa and Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 (BUILD Act).

Under Trump, the BUILD Act converted the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to the US Development Finance Corporation, doubling its budget to $60 billion from $29 billion.

There were also seemingly punitive measures against African countries that didn’t agree with his expectations of reciprocal “free” trade

His administration was also believed to play a significant role in easing out the Democratic Republic of Congo strongman Joseph Kabila in 2019, supporting Sudan’s fledging a democracy, and ending the civil war in Cameroon. Some analyst viewed this as Trump’s efforts in advancing the cause of democracy in the African country.

On the other hand, however, Trump’s policies were more of bilateral rather than multilateral, leaving behind some African countries. There were also seemingly punitive measures against African countries that didn’t agree with his expectations of reciprocal “free” trade. Rwanda, for example, was the first scapegoat for this. After Rwanda’s decision to increase tariffs on imports of used clothes and footwear from the United States, President Trump responded by suspending Rwanda’s right to export clothing duty-free to the US.

Additionally, many African countries fell victim of the Trump’s administration Muslim travel ban, which does not only affect the nationals of these countries but also dent the overall image of Africa, presenting it as a continent of insecurity and unrest. African asylum seekers and refugees in the US were also not spared of the administration’s several anti-immigrant policies.

These and several other reasons explain Africa’s optimism in the incoming administration. Some analysts believe that Biden’s team will improve commercial ties and official relationships with Africa. There is also the likelihood of enjoying multilateralism under Biden rather than bilateralism, which prevailed with Trump.

The many travel bans and restrictions affecting many African countries could also be relaxed. Also, Nigerians, Tanzanians, Sudanese, and other nationals currently banned from obtaining the US permanent residence may also get relief from the suspension. Come January 2021, Biden will make history as the first US president to have not only a female vice but also one with African roots. In addition, his early cabinet selections suggest that he is keen on running an inclusive government.

Recent past presidents, including Trump, designed Africa-specific initiatives to advance the US relationships with the continent. Biden will also most likely follow suit. Though how exactly and whether he would match or even surpass the past records, remain to be seen.



https://immigrationnews.co.uk/what-does-a-biden-presidency-have-to-offer-us-africa-relations/

HalpyBee:

Lol.. I can relate. I've stopped explaining to them
Each time they say I'm enjoying, I just nod and smile.

Lol. Same here.

HalpyBee:

Truly, it can be stressful as opposed to how a lot of people see WFH as stress-free.
Striking a balance between work and social life is vital.

You're very right. Most people think because you work from home you should be less busy than others. What they don't know is that you hardly have time to rest and socialize. I'm tired of explaining to people how time consuming and stressful it is; because most of them just can't understand.

As a full-time time freelancer working from home, I understand the boredom and stress that come with the job. Now I can only imagine how it can be for a lady.

CokeBar:
I been on it for almost 2 years... one word - Amazing!

Although your social life might suffer.

You can say that again!

Samisha500:
NOTICE TO ALL STUDENTS OF LAGOS STUDY CENTRE

Please, I registered GST202 Fundamental Resolutions Peace (a carry over course). But the course code and name isn't included in the timetable for GST E-Exam


What I saw there is GST102 Fundamentals of peace
studies and


Could it be they are the same thing? Could they have changed the code and name?

Thanks

gospelpen:
My heart bleeds for the two girls, especially the younger one. How will she be able to maintain sexual purity after this, seeing she has been exposed very early to the act. You would be surprised to see how she'll be the one chasing "small small" boys and men up and down.
God keep our young girls from these type of men!

Meanwhile Nairalanders, if you are yet to patronize my writing services, you are missing a lot.

I'm not bluffing. You can check out what Americans are saying about my services on Fiverr here https://www.fiverr.com/s2/41294c1d6b

No phone number, no email. How do nairalanders contact you for your service?

Exmilitant:
I can guide you on how to construct the house and other things but, very few people can actually produce the spawns. I may link you up with one of them.

Please, I'm also interested in both the palm and mushroom framing. How can I reach you for more insights on this?

Thanks

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if you are interested in any of these items, kindly get in touch with me on this number 08156070841.


What sizes are the window Blinds?

Dear Nairalander,
Please, help a brother. Lalasticlala, please help me take this to the front page. Thanks

Hello Nairalanders,

Please, I would like to know if the engine oil business is lucrative?

Like how much does one need to start at wholesale scale?

What are the things to put in place?

Your ideas and suggestions are highly welcome and appreciated.

Thanks

meobizy:

Good job.

Thanks. It's good to know that the gig economy is coming to the rescue in this trying time.

Freelancers are likely to find themselves in more demand in the future, with 47% of hiring managers more likely to hire independent professionals since the COVID-19 crisis than the were in the future, according to new research by the giant freelance platform Upwork.

“Businesses really find a lot of value in flexible talent in a variety of situations,” said Upwork’s Chief Economist Adam Ozimek. “This is one of those situations. Companies are having to pivot very quickly and to quickly adapt to remote work and having to change their businesses in a variety of ways. Some of them are trying more flexible talent and finding it works, especially in circumstances where you need to move quickly and grow and scale dynamically.”


The data is part of Upwork’s just released Future Workforce Report, which looks at the hiring habits of 1,500 U.S. hiring managers. The survey this year looked at two rounds of data, one from before the COVID-19 crisis—conducted from October to November 2019—and the other after that, in April 2020. The online survey was conducted by independent research firm ClearlyRated.


The two-part survey reflects the stark changes in the employment market since the pandemic. Back in November 2019, the scarcity of talent and access to in-demand skills were the top challenges for hiring managers surveyed by Upwork.

By the time the second round of data was gathered in 2020, 45% of organizations had frozen hiring, and another 39% laid off employees or expected to do so in the future. By that point, on average, employers expected only 53% of laid off employees to be hired back. And only 10% said they increased hiring in response to the pandemic.


It remains to be seen how labor trends will play out, with all 50 states now in various stages of opening back up for business. This recession has been different from the Great Recession in that the global economy has never been restricted in the way it has been during the pandemic, and the changes to the U.S. economy in 2020 were extremely sudden.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act has also cushioned the blow of the sudden slowdown for traditional workers, businesses and freelancers, by providing financial aid—though that has been hard for many to access as government agencies have struggled to keep up with demand and the tech infrastructure of some unemployment departments has all but buckled under the strain.

However, past downturns may be a guide. In the last recession, many employers who laid off traditional workers shifted to relying more on temps and freelancers to avoid adding fixed costs to their balance sheets. For people who are freelancing voluntarily, this can be an ideal situation to grow a business, because such workers are in more demand.

Not everyone welcomes this trend, though. In recessions, there is often growth in “involuntary” freelancers—people who would prefer to have a W-2 job with a steady paycheck but have been laid off and have to turn to freelancing for lack of other options.

It’s still unclear if we will see that trend in this recession. The CARES Act has bolstered unemployment to the point that some lower-wage workers who got laid off are actually bringing in more than they earned in their jobs. Also unknown is how quickly employers will call back laid-off workers, if they do so at all.

What we do know is with more than half of the hiring managers saying at least half of their workforce was currently working from home, many are more are inclined to use remote and independent workers in the future.

“There are people turning to freelancers now, especially, to grow quickly and scale quickly,” said Ozimek. “They need to figure out how to turn their company remote overnight. It’s hard to find a full-time employee to do that.”

As the research showed:

73% of hiring managers are continuing or increasing their use of independent professionals.
56% of hiring managers said working remotely has exceeded their expectations, and 62% said their workforce will be more remote than before COVID-19.

32% of hiring managers say remote work has increased productivity
59% of hiring managers agree that organizations that aren’t adopting a flexible workforce are falling behind.

For many hiring managers, the business case for using flexible talent seemed clear.

The top three benefits the managers cited for remote work are no commute, reduction of non-essential meetings, and less distractions in the office.

49% of hiring managers pointed to access to highly-skilled talent as the reason to use independent workers in 2020. 57% of hiring managers engaged independent professionals for ongoing strategic partnerships across multiple channels.

Three quarters of hiring managers are not fully convinced that retraining existing employees is more efficient than engaging independent professionals to gain critical business skills
61% of hiring managers agree that bringing in outside skills from independent professionals helps keep current, full-time employees up to date with their skills.

Many employers seem to be developing ongoing relationships with their extended team. The average length of an independent talent engagement is 4.1 months, the survey found.

Most commonly, independent professionals are being hired for roles in writing, creative, web development and software development, with popular projects at the moment taking place in the areas of motion graphics design, front end development and conversion rate optimization.

For freelancers looking for work, marketing themselves independently may be a better route than going through staffing firms, based on the survey’s results.

Among hiring managers, 61% were not fully satisfied with their staffing firms, and 62% said they prefer to engage with independent professionals to get jobs done more quickly. Hiring managers also found that working directly with independent professionals reduced costs (53%), provided greater transparency in the hiring process (49%) and gave access to skills not available locally (49%).

Some employers are turning to online “talent clouds” and marketplaces, such as Upwork, to find freelancers, so it’s likely they will see growth in the future. According to Upwork, more than 30% of the Fortune 500 now source talent on its platform, with clients including Airbnb, Automattic, GE, and Microsoft—and business is on the upswing.


“We’ve see in a big increase in client signups and freelancer signups,” said Ozimek.

The work-from-home trend could also be a boon to smaller cities with lower cost of living and to people who want to live in them, given that companies such as Facebook have said they will now be sourcing remote talent from all over, according to Ozimek.

“The impacts are going to be very big and broad,” he says. “What’s really happening is that more people will have more choice overall. That will be good for everyone.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elainepofeldt/2020/06/12/the-coming-boom-for-freelancers/

nonny400:


I dunno bro. I strongly advise you invite an installer to check the back of the TV and confirm to you.

Okay. Thank you very much.

nonny400:


I mostly follow the movie channels. MBC 1-3, and MBC Max. Dunno about the rest as I'm not interested.

Hello Bro,
Please, can one get those stations on LG Tv (not smart) with satellite dish?

Onego:
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Stir/ frying pan @ 2600
Food processor / blender @4700
Pest control @ 1700
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And many beautiful things

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Please, how does the pest control work, especially for rats? I'm interested

xule20:

Have you check the school website?

I used mastersportal.com to search but couldn't find any. Try and double check

Thank you very much. I will.

Hello Guys,
Please, can someone recommend a school in Poland that offers Early Childhood Education? MSc or BSc.
Thanks

AtoningBlood:


Sorry, I hadn't come online.

Not time but earnings.

Hope we are all doing fine?

Keep safe guys.

Oh that interesting. Mind sharing the required earnings? Thank you very much. Yeah, we're doing fine. Thanks

mrphysics:

If you want to withdraw 100$, Payoneer will take 2% before sending it. There is no landing fee. Check and confirm that the amount you initiated for withdrawal isn't what hit your account

Not at all sir.

The last $200 I withdrew to my GTB savings account, I received 75,600+ at 378 per $.
So, I have never been charged any 2% for withdrawals.


The only charges I know is their fixed $2 deduction they always make when I withdrawing from my Upwork account to Payoneer

mrphysics:

Same 2% withdrawal fee. You can add your dorm account.

Thank you very much. But they dont deduct anything anytime I withdraw to my naira account. Seems the 2% is only for dorm account, right?

Mrphysics and All,

Can I add my Dollar Domiciliary account on Payoneer?

If yes, what's the charges like? And when withdrawing from payoneer to the Domiciliary account, how long does it take to get deposited?

Thanks

anuoreangel:
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No size 40?