WEF22 discussion - Bolstering
resilience ahead of future emergencies

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple crises have risen around the globe which presents world leaders with the task of finding short-term solutions while bolstering resilience ahead of future emergencies. A worldwide microchip shortage, climate change and global food and energy crises are just a few of the issues that the world faces while recovering from two years of Covid-19-related challenges. Are we resilient enough to overcome these issues?

Economic resilience refers to an economy’s ability to financially adapt and recover from an unexpected disruption, preventing economic crashes and bankruptcy. This was a major topic of discussion on Day 2 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, as panellists gave insight into the importance of having high-level resilience in place to ensure economic security in future.

The complications arise when trying to plan exactly how to implement practices that will improve economic and social resilience without exceeding financial limitations. Preparation for the unexpected, but also the unlikely, is difficult to vouch for in today’s economic climate, says Roy Gori, CEO of Canadian insurance company, Manulife Financial.

“It’s incredibly complex because the likelihood of these disruptions are very low, while the investment to deal with those disruptions can be very, very high” he explains. “It’s often very hard to justify investments that may be necessary for an event that may not occur.”

Others pointed out that building personal resilience within an employee base can contribute to corporate resilience, in turn, contributing to economic resilience.  Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation encourages collaboration and communication among the leaders of the world with regards to resilience and taking measures to properly support this aspect.

“Resilience means that we all have to survive together and sustain together. To do that, you cannot have resilience unless you have global solidarity.”

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are not the views of Absa.