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LONDON — The knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic have halted and reversed global health progress, setting it back 25 years and exposing millions to the risk of deadly disease and poverty, a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation warned on Tuesday.

Because of COVID-19, extreme poverty has increased by 7%, and routine vaccine coverage – a good proxy measure for how health systems are functioning – is dropping to levels last seen in the 1990s, the report said.

“It’s a huge setback,” Bill Gates, co-chair of the Foundation and a leading philanthropic funder of global health and development, told a media briefing on the report’s findings.

The Foundation’s Goalkeepers report, which tracks progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of reducing poverty and improving health, found that in the past year, by nearly every indicator, the world has regressed.

Alongside dropping rates of routine immunisation, which the report described as “setting the world back about 25 years in 25 weeks”, rising levels of poverty and economic damage from the pandemic are reinforcing inequalities, it said.

It found that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women, racial and ethnic minority communities and people living in extreme poverty.

“After 20 consecutive years of declines in extreme poverty, we’ve now seen a reversal,” said Mark Suzman, chief executive of the Gates Foundation, in an interview with Reuters. “We’ve had nearly 40 million people thrown back into extreme poverty. That’s well over a million a week since the virus hit.”

The report cited International Monetary Fund projections that, despite the $18 trillion dollars already spent on trying to stimulate economies around the world, the global economy will lose $12 trillion or more by the end of 2021 – the biggest global GDP loss since the end of World War Two.

While the scene is “bleak” right now, Gates said he was confident the world would emerge from the pandemic and resume progress towards the goals on improving global health.

“Whether is takes us two years, or even three, we do believe that we’ll overcome this and get back on track,” he said.

Photo for illustration

In 2008, Tran Hoang Minh, director of a finance company, decided to develop a villa in the suburb area of Hanoi. He dreamed of owning an ecological area in the suburbs where he and family members could relax on weekends.

At that time, some resort projects in Ba Vi, Hoa Binh were introduced to him. The developers of the projects built villas with gardens to serve urbanites’ demand for relaxation.

Rapid-fire media campaigns were launched to create a second-home trend. Many people poured money into the projects, hoping they could earn big money from the investment wave.

The developers told wealthy people who dreamed of second homes like Minh to buy the villas under the turn-key mode, which meant that they did not have to find land and carry out construction to own the villas. Minh believed that this would be a profitable investment deal because he could lease the villas if he did not stay there.

He finally chose a villa in Ba Vi, covering an area of 1,000 square meters. The developer promised to hand over the villa in 2013.

However, because of legal problems, the project was stopped suddenly and the villa has not been completed, while Minh has paid billions of dollars to the developer. His attempts to negotiate with the developer on reasonable solutions to withdraw capital have failed.

“I still cannot get my second home though I have spent a lot of money. It’s unclear when I can get into the villa,” he said.

Minh is not alone. There are nearly 10 villas on the hill with a view of the lake that have been left unfinished for the last 10 years.

According to Nguyen Thanh Trung, director of NgoaiO Resort Development, the market began developing in the 2000s in four major areas of Soc Son, Luong Son-Hoa Binh, Hoa Lac and Ba Vi. This is the market for ‘three rich’ people – rich in money, romance and time.

The owners of these properties not only had to pay money to buy the houses, but also to maintain them. It is costly to maintain the houses with high expenses on hired workers and maintenance fees.

Trung said only 20 percent of villas are used for their original purpose and their owners are very happy with their homes. Among the remaining 80 percent, some have been used to develop homestay services, while others have not been used.

In general, suburban resort real estate is not an attractive source of revenue for investors. Many of them have left the villas idle instead of leasing them for small money.

The market began developing in the 2000s in four major areas of Soc Son, Luong Son-Hoa Binh, Hoa Lac and Ba Vi. This is the market for ‘three rich’ people – rich in money, romance and time.

Aside from buyers, once-known developers with suburban projects are also no longer seen in the market.

In 2010, Ngoc Vien Islands, developed by Sy Ngan JSC, was introduced. The project covered an area of 30 hectares, including three islands of Dong Mo Lake with 1,600 hectares of water surface area, surrounded by tens of islands and green forests.

The developer planned to invest $70 million in the complex comprising 112 hotel rooms, 80 serviced apartments and 65 high-end villas. The project was well known thanks to the participation of many famous architects of The Leading Hotels of the World.

But the project failed. In 2013, the Hanoi People’s Court decided to open bankruptcy proceedings for Sy Ngan JSC as per the request of Truong Phuc Investment JSC, one of the creditors of Sy Ngan.

The fate of The Grand Arena Hill project in Ba Vi developed by Gia Tue Investment JSC also remains unclear. The project was introduced as covering an area of 10 hectares with the back leaning against Ba Vi Mountain and the front facing Da River.

The items of the $20 million project included one 4-star hotel with 100 rooms on the top of the hill, and 40 villas on the hillside with an area of 350-550 square meters.

There were many more projects in Ba Vi, including Green Villas, Tan Vien Villas and Resort, Nine Ivory, Country House developed by Archi Investment; and Top Hill Villas by Hai Linh Tourism and trade.

In Hoa Binh, the well known projects at that time included Vien Nam Resort by Archi Vien Nam; Lam Son Resort of Archi Reenco Hoa Binh; The First Villas and Resort, Top Hill Villas, The Melody Villas by Hai Linh Investment and Trade; Sky Villas, Sunset and The Field Villas by Kim Boi Investment and Tourism.

However, despite advertisement campaigns, the projects had an unfortunate destiny. Some of the projects could not be implemented.

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, a real estate expert, believes that the ecological real estate segment is in big difficulty because of legal problems and poor infrastructure that connects projects.

He said these projects are located in areas with underdeveloped infrastructure, so it takes investors a lot of time to execute the projects, improve infrastructure, and build up services to lure customers.

Bao An

Christmas illuminations are seen above shoppers on Regent Street in the main high-street shopping area of London on December 15, 2020 ahead of fresh measures for the capital amid rising novel coronavirus infection rates. The British capital faces tougher Covid-19 measures within days, the UK government said on December 14, with a new coronavirus variant emerging as a possible cause for rapidly rising infection rates.(DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP)

Hopes for an end to the pandemic were boosted by positive assessments of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, but a study warned that at least a fifth of the world’s population in poorer nations may not have access to vaccines until 2022.

With the virus resurgent in Europe, Germany closed non-essential shops and schools, swathes of England came under tighter curbs, and Denmark extended its restrictions.

“It’s very good that we’re closing the shops, it’s for our health. We can’t wait for things to fall apart,” said shopper Jurgen in Berlin, where people were rushing to finish their Christmas purchases before the shutdown.

Germany had coped relatively well with the first wave in the spring, but it has struggled to contain a resurgence in recent months and its health minister said it wanted the European Union to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine “before Christmas”.

Calls have been growing for the EU health regulator to speed up its vaccines decision process, with the bloc lagging behind a growing number of nations that have authorised the drug.

Britain has already started using it, but high infection numbers forced London on Wednesday to join large parts of central and northern England under tough, economically painful restrictions.

Pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality sites will close, apart from takeaways, as will theatres and other entertainment venues.

“The hospitality business needs this week, and it’s devastating. It is devastatingly awful,” said Lesley Lewis, owner of The French House, a London pub.

“But if this is what it takes to save lives, that’s what we have to do.”

The Netherlands, France and Turkey have also announced restrictions to be in force over the holiday season.

– Upbeat Moderna assessment –

Known worldwide infections are nearing 73 million, with more than 1.6 million deaths.

The United States remains the hardest-hit nation, setting a record for new daily infections on Tuesday with more than 248,000 cases.

The Washington National Cathedral rang its bells 300 times Tuesday in memory of the 300,000 people who have lost their lives to coronavirus in the United States.

The situation has become severe in California, where officials ordered thousands of extra body bags as Los Angeles was left with fewer than 100 available intensive care beds for a county of 10 million people.

The US has started using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued an upbeat briefing about the Moderna candidate too, ahead of a meeting of experts on whether to grant it emergency approval.

The regulator also approved the country’s first rapid at-home coronavirus test for Covid-19, which is available over-the-counter and produces a result in around 20 minutes.

President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that he would be vaccinated in public.

– Poorer nations left behind? –

With wealthy nations reserving more than half of next year’s potential doses, there are fears the poorer parts of the world will be left behind.

Even if the drug makers all produce effective, safe vaccines and meet their maximum global manufacturing targets, a study published Wednesday by researchers from Johns Hopkins University warned that “at least a fifth of the world’s population would not have access” until 2022.

The World Health Organization has said it is in talks with Pfizer and Moderna about including their vaccines at affordable prices for poor countries.

The widespread deployment of vaccines is seen as crucial to reviving the global economy.

“I’ve been at home for the past eight months, there’s been no income coming in,” said Ashwin Pal, a dive operator in Fiji, where the lack of visitors has devastated the key tourism sector.

“Life’s been pretty tough.”

AFP

Walking their dog after dinner has always been a favorite daily activity of Tho Pham and his wife, a Vietnamese couple who live with their 39-year-old son in Garden Grove City, California.

But not in the last few months as the wave of anti-Asian violence and harassment has terrified him.

“I do not dare go out without my children because I am afraid someone will knock me to the ground or stab me to death just because I am Asian,” he laments, adding that the hate crimes have disrupted his daily life.

Many other Vietnamese share his apprehension, especially older people.

Wally Ng, a member of the Guardian Angels, patrols with other members in Chinatown in New York City, New York, U.S., May 16, 2020. Photo by Reuters.

Violence and hatred directed at Asian Americans, which also includes mugging, have surged across California since the beginning of the Covis-19 pandemic as Asians are blamed for its origin in Wuhan, China.

Videos of an Asian woman being punched in the face on a subway platform and a Thai man being pushed to the ground in San Francisco have sparked fears, and the Vietnamese community is traumatized.

Hoai Nguyen, a housewife in San Jose, home to the largest Vietnamese population in America, says: “It is annoying and scary when you go out and have to keep looking behind your back to see if you are being followed by someone suspicious.”

She has been called “coronavirus” several times while walking and shopping, but she had not expected the discrimination and hatred to turn violent and even murderous.

Last month the Vietnamese community in San Jose was shocked after a 64-year-old woman was robbed in front of Dai Thanh Supermarket during the Lunar New Year holidays.

Nguyen says with a sigh: “I cannot do that (go out) on my own because they may kill me. How weak I am and how cold-hearted those people are.”

Since older people are targeted, no one is comfortable letting their parents or grandparents go out alone though the first month of the lunar new year is typically filled with activities like meeting relatives and going to pagodas.

This year most had a subdued New Year also because of the pandemic.

Hong Nguyen, who is always accompanied by her children on the streets in Oakland these days, says: “It should be a time for celebration, we should meet our families and friends instead of being targeted or attacked.”

Solidarity

The potential threats have brought the Vietnamese diaspora together.

On Facebook groups, they post videos of Asians being assaulted or robbed to warn others about the growing threat in places like California and New York, home to many Vietnamese-Americans.

“Please help if you see anyone being verbally or physically attacked,” one person wrote in a group for people living in West Hills, California.

Some people give a helping hand to elders in their Vietnamese and Asian communities. In Oakland, for instance, there have been community initiatives including patrols by volunteers who escort seniors around the city.

“From our Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese elders to our youth, our Asian-American communities are traumatized, afraid and outraged during a time when we are also experiencing disproportionate impacts of the pandemic,” according to a joint agreement by Asian-American organizations in the Bay Area said, calling for non-police safety measures like volunteer neighborhood patrols.

Hong Nguyen’s sons and daughter, who are in their 20s, have joined many other Asians to protect elders in public places.

“Someone threw rocks at my sister’s house twice last week, and so five of us stand in front of her house in the evenings to see if those thugs come around again,” Hong Nguyen says, adding solidarity is their recourse now.

A 91-year-old Asian man is shoved to the ground from behind by a suspect in Chinatown in Oakland, California, January 31, 2021. Photo courtesy of Reutters.

Some people have taken a further step, gun ownership.

“I decided to buy a handgun this spring after seeing a series of mugging of Asians,” Nguyen Duc Phuc, 45, says. Owning a gun gives him and his wife peace of mind amid the senseless violence, he says.

“When I was in line waiting to buy the gun, two white guys called me ‘chin*’ and made fun of me because I wore a mask.”

The New York Times quoted David Liu, owner of Arcadia Firearm and Safety in the predominantly Asian city of Arcadia in California, as saying there is an uptick in Asian-Americans buying firearms though admittedly interest has been skyrocketing among “basically everybody.”

In a survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation last year gun retailers estimated there was a nearly 43 percent increase in sales to Asian customers in the first half of 2020, the Times added.

But people like Pham, Phuc and Nguyen know that violence is never the correct response to violence.

On February 26 senior officials of the U.S. Justice Department claimed that the recent surge in violence and hate incidents against Asian-Americans is unacceptable, and promised to investigate those cases and other hate crimes.

These “horrific attacks on Asian-Americans across the country” have “no place in our society,” Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said while speaking about domestic terrorism, adding that the Justice Department is “committed to putting a stop to it.”

Agents and prosecutors at the department would “look at recent footage from New York and California to see those horrific attacks directed at Asian Americans, to realize how dire the threats are,” he said.

But in the meantime, Pham knows he needs his children with him if he wants to venture outside home.

“I just want to feel safe and not fear for my life when going out without disturbing my children.”