Building a resilient recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a spike in the number of 18-to-29-year-olds reporting a mental health issue, more than doubling in several countries compared to 2019 (when more than one in six young people – more than 14 million people – reported a problem).

The share of young people with symptoms of anxiety also increased significantly, in some cases doubling from pre-pandemic levels.

Young people in precarious financial circumstances or at risk of social exclusion were at particularly high risk of distress. Almost one in two young Europeans have reported that their needs for mental health care are not being met.

For the first time at the OECD, Youthwise, the OECD’s youth advisory board – with support from youth organisations and OECD experts – delivered their vision to Ministers at the Organisation's annual meeting on 10 June 2022.

Fake, substandard goods – including medicines, test kits, PPE and even vaccines – undermine trust and require a robust policy response to promote clean trade in the COVID-19 recovery.

The International Energy Agency proposes 10-point plan with immediate impact to reduce dependency – and actions to put long-term energy needs on a more resilient and sustainable footing.

Sixty-seven evaluations of government responses to the COVID-19 crisis provide lessons for managing risk, decision-making and communications.

How can technology complement teaching and learning? What steps should be taken to ensure students of all socioeconomic backgrounds have adequate access and are able to benefit?

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged many assumptions about how we work and how we learn. Enforced closures prompted a broader rethink of the different functions and challenges of education in the 21st century.

The focus of governments’ COVID-19 measures was on upgrading schools’ infrastructure and information technology know-how. As well as reinforcing preparedness for future crises, it could support efforts to think afresh the potential of technology to bolster education. However, policy makers must take account of how to improve access to students from lower-income households, who may be less likely to have access to computers and tablets.

Frontline workers – those who worked in their physical workplace and in close contact with other people during the COVID-19 pandemic – were more likely than remote workers to feel that their job was insecure (12% vs. 7%).

They were also more likely to report bad general health (6% vs. 4%) and slightly lower levels of mental well- being (53 vs. 55) measured using the WHO-5 mental well-being scale (0-100; <50 is considered at risk of depression).

Although there is a lack of pre-pandemic comparable data for the same workers, these results affirm the hypothesis that frontline workers in general are more likely have lower quality jobs and well-being. The likely reduction in labour supply to frontline occupations as a result poses a challenge for policy makers seeking to build a more resilient labour force.

USD 6.3bn of COVID-19 vaccine aid was given to developing countries in 2021 – equivalent to nearly 857 million doses. This was 3.5% of total official development assistance (ODA) from members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), lifting it to an all-time high of USD 179bn, up 4.4% in real terms vs. 2020. Excluding COVID-19 vaccines, it was up 0.6%.

Challenges lie ahead. Spiking commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means the spectre of food insecurity looms large.

Combined with significantly higher energy prices and mounting fiscal pressures that are constraining growth, additional ODA for the hardest hit will be needed. Governments’ efforts to build a resilient economic recovery from COVID-19 just got harder.

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Face masks, testing kits and COVID-19 vaccines are three products many people have become rapidly familiar with since the outbreak of the pandemic.

New OECD analysis highlights the essential role played by global supply chains in ensuring steady access to a wide range of materials and ingredients as manufacturers rapidly scaled up production to meet surging demand.