Meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat COVID-19 with the United Nations Country Team

Excellency Professor Mam Bunheng, Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on COVID-19 and Minister of Health

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the United Nations in Cambodia, it is my privilege to deliver the opening remarks at this meeting with the Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat COVID-19.  I would like to thank Excellency Minister of Health, for your leadership in convening this important meeting.

I highly appreciate the active engagement of the line ministries, and relevant national and local authorities. Each and every one of your contributions is essential to combatting the pandemic.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Covid-19 is an unprecedented and devastating crisis that is affecting everyone, everywhere. No region or country is spared.  What we face today is much more than a health crisis alone.  It is a human crisis; a jobs crisis; a humanitarian crisis and a development crisis.

The coronavirus disease is attacking societies at their core. It also shows that we are all at risk, because we are only as strong as the weakest health system.

We are already witnessing the tremendous social and economic impact of this pandemic, as governments around the world struggle to find the most effective responses to rising unemployment and a contracting global economy.

Necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease through quarantines, travel restrictions and lockdown of cities and entire countries have resulted in supply chain disruptions, significant reduction in demand and supply, as well as massive job losses in manufacturing, tourism, retail, hospitality, and civil aviation.

The International Monetary Fund has reassessed growth prospects for 2020 and 2021, declaring that we have entered a recession. Global economic growth is projected at -3% for 2020, with a cumulative output loss USD 9 trillion during the crisis.

The International Labour Organization has estimated that full or partial lockdown measures now affect almost 2.7 billion workers, representing around 81% of the world’s workforce.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social and economic systems, which are in turn amplifying the impact of the pandemic.

The impact of Covid-19 are exacerbated for the vulnerable groups already at risk: women, children, youth, the elderly, low-wage and informal sector workers, people with disability and underlying illnesses.

Women will be the hardest hit by this pandemic. They are at the front line of the response to the virus as essential healthcare workers and caregivers at home. They comprise the majority of workers in insecure labour markets with few protections against dismissal or for paid sick leave and limited access to social protection.

We are also seeing that women are experiencing heightened exposure to domestic violence and with reduced access to sexual reproductive health services as they remain within their homes. In some situations, such as in institutionalized quarantine, vulnerability to gender-based violence also increases. 

Children also risk being among the biggest victims of this pandemic. While they have been largely spared from the direct health effects of COVID-19, the crisis is having a profound effect on their wellbeing.

An estimated 42 to 66 million children worldwide could fall into extreme poverty as a direct result of this crisis. Countrywide school closures in 188 nations affected more than 1.5 billion children and youth, many of whom rely on school to provide their only meal. For many children, this crisis will mean limited or no education due to the digital education divide exposed by Covid-19.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As the WHO Representative reminded us at a recent meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, Samdech Kralohom Sar Kheng, we are now in the fourth month of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Cambodia, there are 122 confirmed cases to date.

Although there are limited number of cases, this may change rapidly. We must be ready to prepare for and adjust our response accordingly. The threat of rapid community-wide spread will not be over in any country until the pandemic is over in every country. We do not know when the pandemic will be over.

The United Nations in Cambodia, under the technical lead of WHO, highly appreciates and commends the Royal Government, especially the Ministry of Health, for the extraordinary hard work. Cambodia’s rapid and vigorous response to the 122 cases in the country has been impressive. 

Yet our work is not done. As in all countries, we must continue to prepare for and improve how we respond to COVID-19 so that we can stop or slow down the transmission of the virus, and minimize the health, social and economic impacts. We hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Covid-19 crisis is likely to have a profound and negative effect on sustainable development efforts. A prolonged global economic slowdown will adversely impact the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Like many countries around the globe, the Royal Government faces a complex challenge in responding to the impact of COVID-19, not only in the health sector but also in other sectors such as education, tourism, trade, finance and industry.

And even though there is not (as yet) any major outbreak of disease in Cambodia, the external economic fallout is already affecting the national economy. 

Leading sectors - textiles, tourism and construction - are under severe pressure, resulting in lower output and mass lay-offs, and there will be knock-on effects on other sectors too.  Cambodia is exposed as a highly open trading economy, but also one with a narrow economic base with few fallback options.  Projections provided by the ADB, IMF and World Bank, and modeling undertaken by UNDP to support the Royal Government, all point to large reductions in economic growth this year.

Moreover, the socioeconomic implications, specifically rising unemployment and poverty, are likely to be exacerbated by Cambodia’s income distribution, with a large number people of subsisting close to the poverty line.  The situation is made still more challenging by Cambodia’s nascent social protection system, which has only just begun to evolve and grow. 

Without action, Covid-19 threatens to reverse many of the hard-won developmental successes Cambodia has achieved in recent years. A robust and people-centered response is required.  It is vital that a balance is realized between protecting the economy in general, while also prioritizing the vulnerable who are hardest hit by the crisis.

I commend the Royal Government therefore in bringing forward sizeable fiscal stimulus measures, which feature a large expansion in social protection spending. The UN looks forward to working closely with the Royal Government in expanding this agenda to protect other vulnerable groups – such as informal sector workers and returning migrants.

Moreover, if these fiscal measures are designed as investments in transforming systems for long term development, the emergency response helps the Royal Government “build back better”. Health and social protection measures in other countries have proven to be essential not only to contain the disease and to provide income security to those most affected, but also to ensure the economy is able to weather not only the current but also future crisis. The 2030 Agenda must be preserved, and the SDGs must be reached.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

The unprecedented scale of the pandemic demands an unprecedented response. It calls for leadership, solidarity, transparency, trust, and cooperation. We are in this together and we will only succeed if we remain united.

No one knows yet the depth and scope of the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis. But it will be a long battle. If we want to win this battle, the United Nations is prioritizing three core actions:

First, we must mount the most robust, cooperative and inclusive health response to suppress transmission and save lives. We must join forces to strengthen and scale up Cambodia’s health systems to meet the urgent needs and demands for adequate tests, treatment, medical supplies, facilities and health care workers. 

The strongest support must be provided to the multilateral effort, led by the World Health Organization, to suppress transmission of the virus and stop the pandemic.

My colleague, Dr. Li Ailan, Representative of WHO, will elaborate on this in her remarks.

Second, we must do everything possible to cushion the knock-on-effects on millions of people’s lives, their livelihoods, and the real economy.  That means a large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive response to tackle the devastating socio-economic consequences of this crisis on the most vulnerable Cambodians.  At its core, efforts must address underlying structural inequalities affecting specific vulnerable and marginalized groups.

There’s no better way to describe what this means, than borrowing the UN Secretary General’s own words, when he set the way we will deliver this vision on the ground:

I quote,

“everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change and the many other global challenges we face.”

[end quote]

To mount a large-scale response requires a ‘whole-of-government’ and a ‘whole-of-society’ approach, if we are to effectively overcome the pandemic. Data will be instrumental to enabling this approach.

Local authorities are at the frontline of the pandemic. Effective dialogue and coordination between local and national authorities, and with communities, will not only be critical for implementing public health measures, delivering services and social protection, but also in empowering partnerships and innovations.

Women will need to be at the center of recovery in communities. We will need women’s leadership and contributions at all levels if we are to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of this pandemic.

Human rights must be at the core of national strategies to respond to and rebuild after COVID-19. As the Secretary General has said, a human rights lens puts everyone in the picture and ensures that no one is left behind.

Third, in the face of such an unparalleled situation, returning to our previous path will simply not be an option. Together we will have to create and shape a “new normal”.  

Our joint efforts must go towards building sustainable and resilient pathways for Cambodia.

Pathways that must accelerate rather than undermine decarbonization, protect the natural capital, build resilient cities, and ensure social equality, inclusion, and the realization of human rights for everyone, the rule of law and accountable, capable institutions.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today’s meeting of the United Nation Country Team with the Inter-ministerial Committee on COVID-19 is an important opportunity to reflect on the impressive progress achieved by the Royal Government in preparing and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also a timely moment to reflect on what remains to be done.

With this meeting, we hope to reach a common understanding of our shared priorities in overcoming this human crisis.

It is a defining moment for modern society. With the right actions, the COVID-19 pandemic can mark the rebirthing of society as we know it today to one where we protect present and future generations. 

The ambition of our joint response must match the need to act in solidarity in new, creative and deliberate ways for the common good and for the betterment of humanity.

Thank you.