FORUM: The Economic and Financial Council (GA-2)

QUESTION OF: Measures to mitigate the economic impacts of a pandemic

SUBMITTED BY: Japan
SIGNATORIES: Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Singapore, United
Kingdom, United States of America, World Bank, World Health Organization

THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COUNCIL,

Defining a “pandemic” as a large-scale disease prevalent on an international level,

Fully aware that pandemics hinder the UN’s ability to carry out sustainable development goals
for 2030, in particular SDG-30 goals 1.1, 3.8 and 8.3, among others,

Noting with concern the highly detrimental microeconomic ramifications of pandemics in

history, ranging from loan evasion to unemployment and receding wages, as well as bankruptcy,
and the consequent impacts on LEDCs,

Alarmed by the rise in protectionism and trade malpractices such as trade diversion, resultantly
culminating in a host of strained diplomatic and foreign relations,

1. Proposes the formation of an international sub-commission, under the ECOFIN, titled the
United Nations Commission on Pandemic Management (UNCPM), to be established by
February 1, 2021, that will, working in harmonious collaboration with relevant
organizations and stakeholder bodies including the World Health Organization (WHO)
and World Bank:
a) agree to and work under the terms and clauses laid out through ensuing directives,
inter alia:
i. A/RES/74/274
ii. A/RES/74/270
iii. A/RES/74/265
iv. International health regulations, adopted in 1969
v. The UN’s Sustainable development goals (SDGs), with special attention to
goals 1.1, 3.8 and 8.3
b) remain actively involved in this matter, on both a supranational and national level
c) update the modelling and structural framework of the G-Cubed Asia Pacific
Model by redefining the boundaries of this economic indicator by considering any
new economic parameters;

2. Designates the UNCPM, in collaboration with the ECOFIN and other UN constituents
and subsidiaries, to develop an effective indicator to classify nations in terms of severity
of the pandemic in that area, for further financial and macroeconomic actions, titled the
“Pandemic Economic Severity Indicator” (PESI):
 a) use a panel of economists and statisticians, convened under the ECOFIN, to use
the following parameters to determine the PESI:
i. the GDP growth/drop percentage since the last 6 months
ii. number of cases as a percentage of the population
iii. unemployment rates
iv. number of companies – large, medium and small – that have filed for
Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcies
v. consumer purchasing index (CPI) change since start of influx of positive
cases
vi. manufacturing industrial index
vii. debt-to-GDP ratio
b) each parameter will be rated from 1 to 5, and averaged, to get the PESI value;
these values will be ranked and labelled red, yellow and green areas, according to
percentile values;

3. Recommends member nations to allocate 1 – 2.5% of their GDP to create a “Pandemic

Cure Stimulus Package,” which will aim to implement and hereby achieve the measures
stated below:
a) the development of medical infrastructure, with the construction of at least 2
large-scale facilities in each member nation, specially devoted and equipped to
handle pandemics, with sufficient isolation beds
b) payment of imports or domestically-produced items such as isolation beds, and
other essential medical equipment, as well as the payment of medical
professionals, for use in infrastructural developments with the following
specifications:
i. constant electricity for 24 hours per day
ii. a sizeable surface area that allows for at least 25 beds (per floor), each
necessarily 6 feet apart as a precautionary measure
iii. not in a precarious condition, and legally built
c) ensuring loan security to borrowers and firms alike through:
i. postponing loan payments or financial liabilities such as indemnity
amounts by 2 months, and/or
ii. reduced interest rates, with a maximum of 2% interest rates per month for
a period of 3 months
d) providing low-cost vaccinations through immunization programs whenever a
vaccine deemed efficacious enough by the WHO can be administered worldwide,
conducted in phases, prioritizing the most vulnerable demographic groups as laid
out by the WHO
e) the provision of low-premium medical insurance solely for those unemployed as a
direct result of the pandemic, which will cover the basic medical needs, sufficient
for all family members of the family, if they have no alternative sources of
income that exceed the minimum wage level of their respective nation of origin;
4. Requests member states to actively engage in financing Global Common Goods for
Pandemic (CGPs), a more specific manifestation the concept of Global Common Goods
for Health (CGHs), the funds for which will go into providing capital influxes for LEDCs
and other “red” nations during a pandemic, through:
a) incentives to attract wealthy donors, private companies and corporate giants to
contribute to a collective fund to aid the pandemic effort, through measures such
as, inter alia:
i. spreading awareness about the potential payoffs that could be achieved
ii. a spot on the panel of the UNCPM for philanthropic donors that can
provide yearly discourses about the mitigation of the concomitant
economic effects that come with a pandemic, and how CGPs pool funds to
aid the efforts;

5. Encourages donors to act in both a national as well as global interest, factoring in the
geography of financing CGPs, by financing CGP manifestations in the following levels,
which constitute the structural makeup of the CFCGP:
a) the global, or supranational level, in the form of vaccine stockpiles, emergency
fund banks and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
b) a regional level, such as a specified region enmeshed in a specific, salient crisis,
through initiatives and governmental policy campaigns:
i. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)
ii. regional malaria/measles, or any other endemic ailment in a specified
country
iii. transnational investment, including middle and low-income nations, which
is invariably more sufficiently feasible and readily implementable than
direct investment, owing to the increased fungibility
c) on a local level, within the vicinity of donors;

6. Calls upon member nations to implement the ensuing measures to prevent price-gouging
by way of:
a) conducting a strategy of aggregating demand by mass-purchasing necessary items
from producers at low individual prices, given that this strategy would allow for
lower prices while keeping private producers incentivized
b) establishing a hotline for citizens to report instances of price-gouging, which will
be arbitrated by national courts
c) any firms in violation of these proposed aforementioned directives will be subject
to:
i. repayment of the equivalent of the “dirty money” earned, in the first
instance of violation
ii. revocation of licenses and temporary suspension of employees committing
this price-gouging;
7. Strongly urges the UNCPM, with members convened under the ECOFIN, to pave the
way for supply-chain efficiency, through the diversification of manufacturing-hubs, a
measure that will be implemented through:
a) nations deemed “yellow” or “green” as per the Pandemic Indicator as stated in
clause 2 and its constituent sub-clauses and sub-sub-clauses to conduct:
i. provision of investment incentive packages to expats
ii. on-demand passport and immigration services for expats
b) on both an international and national level, for companies to use the following
measures to ensure the smoother shift of manufacturing hubs:
i. digitization of supply-chain management, in order to efficaciously handle
production, logistics and retail
ii. using technological applications which will use online price-quoting
c) the funds for the measures as mentioned in a) and b) will be provided through
Global Common Goods for Health, with 15% of capital from CGPs extracted for
this purpose; nations may also opt to use their pandemic cure packages to
expedite this
d) this medical supply-chain strengthening will be brought about in 2 main phases,
through:
i. phase I – medical supply-chain, in particular reagents, testing kits for the
virus, laboratory testing, ventilators, new diagnostics, drugs – time frame
allotted is 4 months
ii. phase II – for a new vaccine developed, which will be post-WHO
approval, be delivered equally to all “red” countries, then within the next 4
months, to the “yellow” and subsequently “green” countries, where it is
each nation’s prerogative with regard to which demographic groups they
will prioritize for vaccine administration;

8. Strongly encourages the formation of the Pure Trade and Exchange Organization
(PTEO), which will, working in collaboration with the World Trade Organization, under
the UN, focus on the primary mission of ensuring that exports reach their designated
destination fully unencumbered and not deliberately diverted, to reduce protectionist
tendencies that may arise, through:
a) employing two members in no way affiliated with any of the places of origin or
destination, ensuring that the shipment effectively travels without any diversions
b) any violating member states will be subject to a tribunal under the UNCPM, that
has the authority to impose temporary sanctions against the defaulting nation, and
can permit nations, on a second instance of defaulting, to impose tariffs on their
imports for a maximum period of 3 weeks;

9. Suggests that each member nation as a part of the ECOFIN be part of a pre-purchase
agreement for the fair, equal distribution of vaccines, which will, determined by a panel
convened under the UNCPM and ECOFIN, that will deliberate upon the minimum
coverage levels required for equivalent vaccine distribution.