Many low-income nations are having to spend more on interest payments than vital sustainability goals. That needs to change

Blighted by the effects of global heating, beset by food insecurity and rising poverty, and hobbled by dollar-denominated debt that leaves no fiscal room for manoeuvre, some of the world’s poorest nations are enduring a perfect storm. In the wake of Covid and then the war in Ukraine, inflation and high interest rates have tipped many over the edge: between 2020 and 2023 there were 18 sovereign defaults in 10 developing countries – more than in the previous two decades. Others are either in debt distress or close to it.

As the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund hold their annual spring meetings in Washington this week, this dismal state of affairs should be at the top of delegates’ agendas. Prior to the pandemic, the 2020s had been earmarked as a transformative decade – one in which developing nations would make vital progress towards climate targets and eliminating extreme poverty and hunger. Instead, due to events beyond those countries’ control, there has been what a World Bank report this week described as a “great reversal”. In countries classified as eligible for grants and loans from the bank’s International Development Association (IDA), a quarter of the population is now surviving on less than $2.15 a day – the global definition of poverty.

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Four years on from the start of the pandemic, the drama may have subsided but the lingering effects go on. Are we suffering from political long Covid? By David Runciman

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Brazilian president Lula’s proposals have the backing of the World Bank. Now we need action

All things considered, the world’s richest countries have emerged from the global pandemic in better shape than they could have imagined when Covid-19 first appeared just over four years ago.

To be sure, the impact of lockdown and its aftermath has been painful, but the effects on poor countries have been far more severe.

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Exclusive: Extensive polling ordered by the then chancellor, documents reveal, but scientific advisers not consulted

Rishi Sunak ordered multiple taxpayer-funded focus groups and polls to craft the messaging of his planned “eat out to help out” campaign in July 2020, despite keeping the UK’s top medical and scientific advisers in the dark about the scheme.

The Treasury negotiated five public opinion contracts worth more than £2m from June 2020 throughout the pandemic, while Sunak was chancellor, including those to establish how best to “sell” the hospitality scheme to voters.

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Remember the good old days when you could get on a train or go to a party without wondering if it was worth the risk? It’s time for a revival

In a series of deft manoeuvres that remain fascinating to me, my 16-year-old son managed to barter me down from a four-day trip to Devon to 13 hours in Broadstairs on the Kent coast, during which every train, meeting and arrangement was a white-knuckle ride, as to miss one would render the entire thing, plus the weeks either side of it, some variation of pointless. But we caught every train, we made every meeting, and he watched Match of the Day with his friend while I went to an Afrobeats club night with mine. In the morning he ate vegan bacon in record time, while I studiously didn’t mention how incredibly tired I was, and then he had the brass neck to complain about sleep deprivation all the way home. But by then I wasn’t tired any more, because I’d had a huge, adrenalised revelation: this whole escapade had a pre-pandemic feel.

Long Covid aside, the coronavirus hangover has been subtle, in a bad way. In summer 2020, it looked as if it might bring about big changes: maybe we would come out of it recognising which jobs really mattered and stop equating people’s pay with their value to society, the last would be first and society would cohere again. Maybe we would come to understand what we preferred, between getting on a plane and hearing birdsong, between going to the office and making sourdough (I prefer the office, which is annoying, as I do not have an office job), and there would be no “back to normal”, but instead, a thoughtful rebuilding of life along different lines. All of that was bollocks.

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ONS figures suggest 9.7 million people are waiting for hospital appointment or treatment

Almost 10 million people across England could be waiting for an NHS appointment or treatment, 2 million more than previously suggested, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS survey of about 90,000 adults found that over one in five (21%) were waiting for a hospital appointment or to start receiving treatment on the NHS.

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Only private jabs are available to most, but annual shots would save the NHS nearly £4bn a year and prevent more than 5,000 deaths

• Cheaper private Covid jabs may end up as costly as pricier ones, say experts

Private Covid boosters are available for people who do not qualify to receive these vaccines on the NHS. But is it worth paying for a shot?

With most people now having been exposed to Sars-CoV-2 through previous vaccination and/or infection, our immune systems are generally well equipped to recognise and kill the virus if we become infected.

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Exclusive: Multi-dose vials could push up charge per patient, while experts warn high cost could widen inequalities

Cheaper private Covid jabs could end up being just as expensive as their pricier alternative because the vaccine must be given in groups of five, experts have warned.

Boots and pharmacies that partner with the company Pharmadoctor are offering Pfizer/BioNTech jabs to those not eligible for a free vaccination through the NHS, with the former charging almost £100 a shot. The latter is also offering the latest Novavax jab, a protein-based vaccine, at a cost of about £50.

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Four years ago, about 11.7 million UK employees were furloughed, their jobs and wages protected by a government scheme. Those who had just changed job were left out – and that hardship still affects them today

In March 2020, Mark Edwards was excited to start a new job running a venue that hosted weddings and hospitality events. Before that, the 47-year-old had been working as a general manager at an independent group of hotels for the past nine years. He was living with his partner and dog in Norwich. “My life was on track. I felt everything was in my hands, but that flipped on its head,” he says.

Just as he started his new job, Covid-19 swept across the country. As the country went into lockdown – almost exactly four years ago – and the hospitality industry shut down, Edwards’ new employer sent everyone home. Most people in this situation were able to claim furlough, but Edwards was one of 300,000 “ new starters ” – workers who had started a job in February or March 2020, but weren’t on their company’s payroll in time to make the furlough scheme’s cut-off date. He ended up being out of work for a whole year, with a mortgage to pay and only six months of jobseeker’s allowance available. He spent £25,000 trying to support his household and keep up with mortgage payments. “It changed everything,” he says. “My entire life plan changed … I’ve recovered in terms of jobs but not recovered from losing 25k. I’ve not got it back.”

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