Peace and RecoveryNews & Blogs

By David Alzate, Aprille Knox, Nessa Kenny, and Alison Fahey

Over the past four decades, the share of the global population living in extreme poverty has fallen substantially. But progress remains uneven. Countries facing political instability, conflict, and violence have experienced increasing rates of poverty during this same period. By the year 2030, roughly two-thirds of the world’s poor are expected to be living in fragile settings. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to push an additional 150 million people into extreme poverty by 2021. 

With these challenges in mind, in...

By swiftly enacting a national lockdown and sticking with it until a slow and partial reopening in June, Colombia has so far been spared the high COVID-19 infection rate and the related death toll of some of its neighbors like Brazil and Peru. While the restrictions to movement and gatherings protected the health system and saved lives, the economic impact of these restrictions has been felt across Colombian households. One in four Colombian workers (roughly 5.5 million people) lost their job in April, with women and those under the age of 30 among the hardest hit, and by May the...

By Nessa Kenny and Laura Benrey

Over 70 million people are forcibly displaced as a result of conflict, persecution, or violence—more than ever before in history. Displaced communities, who were already vulnerable before the pandemic hit, are particularly at risk now: they fall outside of traditional social safety nets, many live off of earnings made or food purchased that day, and many live in densely populated refugee camps where social distancing and handwashing are difficult, if not impossible. Last month, for example, our Cox’s Bazar Panel...