Doha: The ‘COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility’, which was established at the recent 2020 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Business Forum, will help businesses recover from the economic impact of the pandemic, Chairman of Qatar Chamber and ICC Qatar, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani (pictured), has said.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UN Global Compact) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have established the ‘COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility’, a global initiative and collaboration bringing together public and private sector partners to help local communities recover better from the pandemic.
DHL Group, Microsoft and PwC have already joined the COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility, and the initiative is open for other like-minded private sector organisations around the world that want to contribute. In a statement, Sheikh Khalifa said: “Establishing the “COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility” is an important step for engaging the private sector in the global efforts to fight this epidemic and minimises its impacts on global economy. This initiative aims to boost cooperation between international organisations and countries to help local communities recover better from the pandemic. It will help companies to combat the repercussions of this pandemic on businesses”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced around 70 percent of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to shut down their operations. SMEs represent 50 percent of global GDP and more than 70 percent of global employment. The partners of the ‘COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility’, representing multinational, global and local private sector stakeholders, commit to joint projects to develop policy and financial solutions for the pandemic relief.
The Global Facility is a response to corporate calls to action for private sector leaders and governments to work together to address the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative has been established to better coordinate their responses, helping to ensure that immediate stimulus efforts flow into the real economy. The Global Facility will operate at both the global and national levels.
It aims to co-create solutions that are tailored to the phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in a given area and the specificities of the local private sector and government context. Guided by the UN Global Compact’s Ten Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Facility will support a multisectoral, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to face the multidimensional nature of the crisis.
Recovery efforts will focus on how to rebuild more inclusive economies and societies, to set a new course for a socially just, low-carbon and climate-resilient world where no one is left behind.
