UN humanitarians and partners are working hard to assist the people of Bangladesh and India suffering from the impact of Cyclone Amphan, which left dozens dead, causing widespread destruction.

According to the UN Country Team in India, Cyclone Amphan, with more than 2.4 million people and 500,000 livestock evacuated to cyclone shelters., is now considered even more destructive than Cyclone Aila, which slammed the region in 2009.

Due to flooding and the extensive damage caused, the risk of disease outbreaks is high, and further environmental risks remain, due to the large amounts of debris and waste.

Ranjini Mukherjee, Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist, from UN India, described the situation to UN News’s Anshu Sharma, and told her that efforts continue to be implemented in shelter homes to minimize risk of infection and prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is not being taken lightly in India as people comply with a complete lockdown to prevent further spread of the disease.

That’s the opinion of Argentina Matavel Piccin, Representative for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in India.

Anshu Sharma from UN News asked Ms. Piccin what the 21-day lockdown means for India and the world.

A new assessment by the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows the COVID-19 pandemic could increase global unemployment by around 25 million.

ILO is calling for an internationally coordinated policy response, which would be of particular benefit to South Asian countries like India, since a large part of its work force lacks social security and employment benefits.

UN News’s Anshu Sharma spoke to the Director of ILO’s Decent Work Team for South Asia based in the UN’s India office, Dagmar Walter.