
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 14 (IPS) – The writer is UN Under Secretary-General for Economic & Social AffairsMillions of lives lost. Trillions of dollars in economic damage. Over 120 million more people pushed into extreme poverty. The human and economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is almost unimaginable – a once-in-a-century catastrophe.

The grass beneath our feet: Why rangelands matter
Former rebel fighters join campaign against Ebola in the DR Congo
900 obstacles and counting: West Bank families trapped as aid access shrinks
‘Ebola is winning’: Epidemic now killing one person every 30 minutes
‘Warned but not protected’: Four in ten adults in England ignore heat alerts
Meth trafficking across Middle East becoming more advanced, UNODC warns