Pandemic fades from world economic agenda amid war and other shocks

Pandemic fades from world economic agenda amid war and other shocks

The dozens of items on the public agenda of the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this week include several sessions on climate change, food security, and other chronic world problems, some on inflation and trade, and attention as well to economic inclusion and digital currencies. Comparatively absent: The coronavirus pandemic, a once-in-a-century crisis that has killed an estimated 6.5 million people since late 2019 and highlighted broad weaknesses in how the global economy is organized, will be directly addressed through a single panel on preparedness, and two others on issues related to the economic recovery.

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With the world fractured by war, commodity price shocks, possible recession, financial market stress, and a slide towards deglobalization, the lingering health crisis that sparked or accelerated many of those problems - and kept international institutions meeting virtually until only recently - has now taken a back seat. The pandemic “hasn’t quite left the scene,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said