NORTHRIDGE, California — Developing countries have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of social safety nets, inadequate healthcare systems and food insecurity leave developing countries vulnerable to the devastating effects of pandemics. Despite these challenges, developing countries, in collaboration with one another, are leading the world in creating innovative strategies for recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. South-South cooperation is a concept that encourages developing nations in the Global South to draw wisdom from each other in order to make advancements in growth and development.
Defining South-South Cooperation
According to the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, South-South cooperation is defined as the collaboration of developing countries in the Global South, sharing knowledge, important skills and successful initiatives to make advancements in areas such as agricultural development, human rights and health.
This term comes from the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (BAPA) in 1978. The BAPA helped to define these kinds of interactions between developing nations during a time when they sought methods of development outside of the existing economic and political order of the time. Another mode of South-South cooperation is triangular cooperation, which is facilitated by either a developed country or an international organization.
South-South Cooperation During COVID-19
In its most recent resolution on South-South cooperation, the U.N. General Assembly acknowledged with great concern that the most impoverished and vulnerable are the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Assembly notes that inclusive recovery strategies are necessary in order to make progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. On September 12, 2020, the United Nations marked the International Day for South-South Cooperation by highlighting some examples of South-South cooperation from 2020 that contributed to the fight against COVID-19. This includes the India-U.N. Development Partnership Fund and the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation.
India-UN Development Partnership Fund
In 2017, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) established the India-U.N. Development Partnership Fund. During the three years since its establishment, the India-U.N. Development Partnership Fund has supported 59 projects in 48 countries with $47.8 million in contributions. Currently, it is funding multiple projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries.
For example, as part of a $1 million project to strengthen healthcare capacities and reduce the negative socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 in Antigua and Barbuda, the India-U.N. Development Partnership Fund provided five ventilators. The country’s infectious disease and isolation center is better equipped to respond to the virus now that it has additional ventilators. The India-U.N. Development Partnership Fund also provided funds for the COVID-19 response in Saint Lucia, which went toward ventilators, PPE and expanding cash transfer programs.
The IBSA Fund
Established in 2004 and fully operational in 2006, the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund) supports projects that convey solidarity in the fight against poverty and hunger in developing countries. In 2015-2019, the IBSA Fund funded an e-learning project to improve healthcare coverage and quality for impoverished populations in the northern coastal region of Vietnam.
The online infrastructure plays a big role during COVID-19. Since COVID-19 is a new virus, it is important that healthcare workers have access to the most recent information. The World Health Organization adds to the platform, with new modules on COVID-19 that cover topics such as clinical care for acute respiratory illnesses. During COVID-19, the e-learning platform is suitable because physical class lessons are not necessary and students can work according to their own schedules. As of March 2020, more than 1,200 medical students were enrolled on the platform.
The Power of Collaboration and Cooperation
Collaborations between developing countries yield innovative solutions. Even with the hurdles of the COVID-19 pandemic, the positive results of South-South cooperation in 2020 show that COVID-19 recovery is possible when nations unite with one another to share knowledge and resources.
– Sydney Thiroux
Photo: Flickr