World governments spent $9.6 trln to contain economic impact of COVID-19: Experts

World governments spent $9.6 trln to contain economic impact of COVID-19: Experts

Governments across the globe have committed to providing $9.6 trillion in response to the COVID-19 crisis and its related implications, which constitutes 11 percent of the global GDP, the head of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Rola Dashti said.

Dashti made her comments during a virtual panel on Sunday that was organised by the Kemet Boutros Ghali Foundation to address the global economy in the post COVID-19 phase.

Dashti said that the Arab region's share of this figure was $100 billion, representing only 4 percent of Arab countries' GDP, adding that the region needs an extra $100 billion to be able to counter and contain the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

She also added that medium and low-income countries have appropriated the equivalent of 6.3 percent of their GDP to counter the repercussions of COVID-19, and this reflects how heavily indebted Arab countries are.

"Arab governments have to widen their financial space and adopt smart spending. Also, they are in need of establishing a social spending monitor for more transparency and to control financial waste,“ said Dashti.

She added that 10 percent of the people in Arab countries own 76 percent of the region's wealth, while