The United Nations has called for the creation of a global body to help implement a temporary suspension of debt obligations from developing countries as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic.

The disease which has killed close to 180,000 people worldwide has had far reaching implications on the global economy, with many countries forced to shut their economies down to curb its spread.

The UN proposal would enable private sectors join the debt payments pause and allow countries to focus their resources to the fight against COVID-19, according to Stephanie Blankenburg, head of debt and development finance at UNCTAD, the UN's trade and development agency.

"Concerned developing states have to come together to push for an international agreement to create an international debt authority," Bloomberg quotes Blankenburg, adding that the UN will announce the plans on Thursday.

Blankenburg said the new body should be initially established as an autonomous organization like the International Atomic Energy Agency was in the 1950s before it is recognized by the entire United Nations.

Source(s): Bloomberg