International body the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has launched a data portal to enhance policymakers’ understanding of the wide-ranging impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and help them design suitable recovery policies.

The portal provides a selection of data on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on trade and development, reflecting the situation as at March 31.

“As countries and the international community design recovery policies to help build resilient and more inclusive and sustainable economies, up-to-date analysis is critical. Mistakes from past crises, such as the 2008 financial crisis, must be avoided,” Unctad acting secretary-general Isabelle Durant says.

“Much uncertainty remains and the data continues to change, hence Unctad urges policymakers to closely monitor the constantly evolving situation.”

The global economy’s uneven recovery from Covid-19 continues and the unequal distribution of vaccines will affect countries’ abilities to recover from the crisis, Unctad warns.

According to the portal, the global economy is recovering faster than initially expected. It is projected to grow by close to 5% this year, a growth rate not seen in more than a decade, but the recovery is uneven.

Developed countries will experience a relatively more important rebound in gross domestic product growth than developing ones, leading to worries about further expanding the gap between rich and poor nations.

The growing gap between the number of Covid-19 shots given in developed and developing countries will likely deepen existing socioeconomic inequalities, Unctad warns.

“According to the portal, vaccine doses administered per 100 people varies greatly across countries. Africa is far behind, with only 0.6% of the continent’s population vaccinated, compared with 2.1% in Asia, 12.7% in Europe, 6.7% in South America and 18.8% in North America as of March 31.”

The pandemic has already pushed upwards extreme poverty estimates for 2020 and 2021. Estimates indicate that between 119-million and 124-million people fell into extreme poverty in 2020, with an additional 143-million to 163-million people expected to follow this year.

“These estimates are very worrying because it’s the first significant increase in global extreme poverty in the past two decades,” Durant says.

Despite the successful development of vaccines, the end of the pandemic is not yet in sight. The number of cases continues to increase in all regions, with daily infection rates reaching new records in April.

The roll-out of vaccinations has begun in many parts of the world, yet distribution and access vary greatly. This puts everyone at risk, as it allows for the virus to mutate and generate new variants.

Moreover, the uneven access will likely lead to stark differences in the ability of countries to recover from this crisis and, hence, to deepening inequalities, the international body says.