WASHINGTON, USA – The Americas Business Dialogue (ABD), a mechanism for advancing a public-private dialogue on public policies, released a series of recommendations that seek to support the governments of the hemisphere in their health and economic response to the emergency of COVID-19.
The 17 measures proposed by ABD can be found in the document Policy Recommendations on Addressing the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and Mitigating Its Impacts .
The recommendations pursue two objectives. First, to ensure that the private sector can continue to efficiently supply critical goods and services, such as medical devices, medicines, food, energy, financial services, and access to the digital tools that enable citizens to remain informed and connected to each other.
Second, to ease the burden of the economic impact of the pandemic, particularly to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), protect jobs, and lay the groundwork for strong economic recovery.
Among the proposals, they ask governments to ensure that international trade and investment flows continue uninterrupted and to protect global and regional supply chains.
These recommendations are the result of the ideas and proposals for potential solutions to face the pandemic made by the private sector associations in the region and more than 300 companies that make up the ADB. As part of this effort, members of the initiative discussed the proposals in a videoconference on March 31.
The recommendations complement the report Action for Growth: Policy Recommendations and 2018-2021 Action Plan for Growth in the Americas , which also offers solutions to face the current challenges in the region.
ABD is a private sector-driven initiative facilitated by the Inter-American Development Bank. It was created in 2014 to foster a public-private dialogue on the priorities, challenges, and opportunities for economic growth and development in the Americas. ABD is the mechanism for private sector participation in the Summit of the Americas process.
