Presentation of the ÖFSE Flagship Report „Österreichische Entwicklungspolitik 2021“

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit developing countries particularly hard, both economically and socially. Massive income losses, impoverishment and rising inequality, overburdened health systems and a regression in education participation are only the first immediately perceptible impacts. Medium- to long-term implications, for example a worsening financial and debt situation or changing global production patterns, are not yet easy to assess, but are in part worrying. Development policy and development cooperation must react to these impacts and try to counteract them. The presentation of the ÖFSE Flagship Report 2021 will be dedicated to this topic. In the first part, we will analyse the financial flows from Austria to developing countries. In a second part, we will discuss issues arising from the impact of the pandemic on the Global South and possible ways forward.