For the session recording: Click HereIn an era of compound and consecutive disasters, Pacific Island Countries (PICs) face an elevated risk of experiencing a natural hazard combined with the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Although the successful containment of COVID-19 at borders has allowed most PICs to remain virus free, and to avert a full-scale lockdown and forced closure of businesses, the immense indirect socioeconomic impact of the global pandemic will have long-lasting effects on the livelihoods and resilience of communities across the region.
Businesses remain at the forefront of experiencing the global crisis. Their resilience and ability to bounce back is fundamental for the socio-economic well-being of communities across the region. This session will examine how small businesses and the informal sector have endured the global pandemic until now, and the role of the government, chambers of commerce and other actors in enhancing their resilience to compound and consecutive disasters going forward.
This session aims to:
- Build an understanding of how the global pandemic has impacted small businesses in the Pacific, including their response, and business continuity and recovery plans until now.
- Explore the roles and responsibilities of the government, private sector (including chambers of commerce), CSOs and other stakeholders in supporting the resilience and recovery of small businesses and the informal sector going forward.
- Explore opportunities to improve the support available to the informal sector in the face of disasters, where access to information, insurance coverage, and the protection of fundamental rights of workers and other vulnerable groups is most lacking.
Session organized by UNDRR Pacific Sub-Regional Office.
