United Nations Industrial Development Organization Research Articles

Industrialization Dynamics in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Countries: Evidence from the Club Convergence Approach

The primary objective of this study is to scrutinize the industrialization patterns across 36 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) spanning from 1990 to 2021, adopting a club convergence approach. This study employed the Competitive Industrial Performance (CIP) index developed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. The CIP index serves as a yardstick for assessing countries’ effectiveness in manufacturing and exporting industrial goods, facilitating comparisons of industrial competitiveness across nations. The empirical findings derived from the convergence methodology established by Phillips & Sul (2007, 2009) unveiled the absence of convergence in CIP among OIC countries yet delineate the existence of four distinct convergence clusters. Notably, the CIP scores of countries exerted a significant influence on the formation of these clusters, with member states within the same cluster exhibiting comparable CIP performances. This outcome underscored the persistent dual structure characterizing the OIC panel, wherein nations with lower CIP standings failed to converge toward those with higher performance levels.

The Effect Of Growth Opportunity and Profitability On Company Value On The Stock Exchange Indonesia (BEI) Period 2018-2022

Based on data from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Indonesia is the country with the most influential manufacturing industry value in the world, but from the other side, based on data, the growth of the manufacturing industry in Indonesia experienced a significant decline in 2020, this is due to the condition of the closure of the capital structure and the impact The Covid-19 pandemic has weakened the value of investment in manufacturing industry companies, which has an impact on growth opportunities. Apart from that, the profitability of manufacturing industry companies has weakened, potentially leading to a decline in company value. Therefore, the aim of this research is to understand the factors that influence the value of manufacturing industry companies. Through capital structure as an intervention, the data used in this research is secondary data used in the form of annual financial report data of manufacturing companies for the 2018-2022 period obtained from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) website, namely www.idx.co.id with the sample size using Purposive sampling is based on criteria so that from 236 companies we get a sample of 115 companies. The analysis method used is descriptive statistical analysis, panel data regression analysis, and Sobel test using e-views version 10. Analysis of manufacturing company data on the 2018-2022 BEI shows that the effect is significant. direct negative impact on capital structure.

Energy Management Assessment through Case Study in Coal Handling System of Coal-Fired Power Plant

Coal Handling System (CHS) is the main system of Coal Fired Power Plant (CFPP), managing coal transportation from Vessel by Ship Unloader to coal yard through belt conveyor (BC) and Stacker/Reclaimer (S/R), then transported to Silo, known as forwarding process. CHS involves various large electric motors. The unwisdom of operating these motors would result in wasteful electrical energy consumption. To assess the energy management, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) provides Energy Management System (EnMS) tools based on ISO 50001 industrial sectors. This tool identifies that operational patterns and maintenance activities have a significant impact on the energy consumption. Technically using Integrated SKF Calculation, applying the scenario of direct replacement conveyor rollers aged more than 2 years by only 30%, saves 103,144.20 kWH per cycle, equal to IDR 102,807,951, rather than replacing rollers when broken only. Meanwhile, Lean Six Sigma concept in increasing cycle performance, could save a monthly 594,984 kWH, equal to IDR 593,044,189.

An Analysis of CSR and its Expenditure in India in the Terms of Trends, Impact and Challenges

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has defined corporate social responsibility (CSR) as "a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is a way in which companies achieve a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives". Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a crucial aspect of business operations worldwide, with companies recognizing their responsibility to contribute positively to society. In India, the CSR landscape has witnessed significant growth and transformation since the introduction of the Companies Act, 2013, mandating qualifying companies to allocate a portion of their profits towards CSR activities. This research paper delves into the CSR expenditure in India, aiming to analyze the trends, impact, and challenges faced by corporations in fulfilling their CSR commitments. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including data analysis, case studies, and interviews with key stakeholders to gain comprehensive insights into the subject matter. The paper sheds light on the effectiveness of CSR initiatives and provides valuable recommendations for enhancing CSR practices in India. Since the enactment of CSR provisions in April 2014, companies have spent nearly 1.27 trillion rupees or 1.27 lakh crore rupees in a span of seven years as per the data available on the National CSR Portal based on the disclosures made by companies. This money has been spent across 29 different sectors such as health, education, environment, welfare, development, and others. From over Rs. 10,065 crores spent in 2014-15, the CSR expenditure in India has increased to Rs. 25,715 crores in 2020-21 registering a 2.5-times increase in the seven years of implementation. With nearly Rs. 36,815 crores, the education sector received 29% of the CSR expenditure between 2014-15 and 2020-21. The health sector comes next with 20% of the CSR expenditure of Rs. 25,391 crores. More than Rs. 12,300 crores were spent in Rural development projects which accounted for 9.7%. The three sectors are the only ones to receive more than Rs. 10,000 crores each of CSR expenditure and together accounted for nearly 59% of the total CSR expenditure incurred in the country in seven years. Environmental sustainability, malnutrition, hunger and poverty, livelihood enhancement projects, central government funds including PMNRF, sanitation, art & culture, and vocational skills received more than Rs. 2000 crores each and together contributed to another 29.4% of the expenditure. Safe drinking water, women empowerment, natural resources conservation, gender equality, animal welfare, orphanages, armed forces (veterans, war widows, etc.), special education, SwachchBharathKosh, sports, technology incubators, senior citizens welfare, agroforestry, slum area development, and socio-economic inequalities are the other sectors in which CSR amount is used. These sectors accounted for <9% of the CSR expenditure. For the remaining expenditure (~3%), companies have not disclosed the details of the projects.

Facile extraction and prospective application of indigenous Cassia fistula tannin in sustainable leather manufacture

Vegetable tanning compounds have recently gathered attention as an environment-friendly, sustainable alternative to basic chromium sulfate in leather manufacturing. This study used different solvents such as water, methanol, and ethanol to extract tannins from Cassia fistula bark, a waste part of a tree. Ethanol proved the most effective solvent, yielding an extraction efficiency of 21.4 ± 0.61%. The bark extract was characterized with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis spectrophotometry, and Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). Gallic acid and rutin were discovered at high levels of tannins and polyphenolic compounds, including gallic acid (114.29 mg/100 g dry extract) and rutin (45.71 mg/100 g dry extract) whereas catechol and cinnamic were absent. The extracted bark exhibited a pH of 4.01 ± 0.04 and a moisture content of 4.89 ± 0.17%. Full vegetable, semi-chrome, and chrome re-tanned upper leathers were prepared using Cassia fistula bark extract to assess the tanning performance. Full vegetable leather displayed a reasonable shrinkage temperature of 85.77 ± 1.83 °C. All three types of upper leather met the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) standards of different parameters such as tensile, tear, and grain cracking strength, elongation, distention at grain crack, and flexing endurance. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) analysis revealed high fiber dispersion, indicating a higher cross-linking reaction within the leathers. Overall, the results suggested that Cassia fistula bark tannin may serve as a viable and renewable substitute for chrome tanning agents, providing a sustainable source of natural tanning material for leather manufacture.

Industrialization in East Java Province

The manufacturing industry’s contribution to East Java’s economy is high. Still, the trend continues to decline, while the contribution of the trade, hotel, and restaurant sectors is increasing. This indicates that there has been a shift in the economic structure from industry to trade. This research uses a quantitative approach based on the classification carried out by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) and the World Bank. The results of secondary data from Central BPS and East Java Province BPS show that East Java Province is categorized as a semi-industrial area. East Java’s industrial development is experiencing a decline from the “semi- industrialization” stage to the “towards industrialization” stage. This is an early indication of a decline in industrialization or deindustrialization in East Java. If the stages of industrialization in East Java have decreased, but not for commodity industrialization (the ratio of the manufacturing industry’s contribution to the commodity sector). The value of commodity industrialization continues to increase. The commodity sector includes agriculture, mining, industry, construction, electricity, gas & drinking water.

Empowerment sustainability perspectives for Bahraini women as entrepreneurs

The key objectives of this study were to investigate the factors that empower women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Bahrain and to measure the impacts of such factors on their business development and growth. The four main factors covered in this study were gender equality, quality education, sociocultural, and policies. The quantitative method was adopted to obtain the results of a structured survey distributed among 449 women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Bahrain registered in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. A simple random sampling approach was used. This study examined the empowerment perspectives of Bahraini women as entrepreneurs. Hypotheses were developed and tested using statistical tests to significantly identify the impacts of the factors on women entrepreneurs' participation in the country's business activities. The quantitative results of the study showed the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs in business activities in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which leads to their development and the country's economic growth. The findings confirmed the existence and significant impact of three factors, which are quality education, sociocultural, and policies, that empower and support women to start businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain. No significant effect of the gender equality factor was distinguished. Empowerment and institutional theories were found to be relevant to the context of empowering women as entrepreneurs. The research provided recommendations, such as reinforcing policies that empower entrepreneurs, to enhance the empowerment of women entrepreneurship in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

A Model of International Development Cooperation: The Case of Slovenia

Abstract Development aid, one of the most important mechanisms for the redistribution of global wealth, represents financial flows with economic growth and social improvement as their primary objective. Recently, international development cooperation has been in the process of change that requires the involvement of new actors, the use of new instruments, and expanding the fields of work. In this article, the authors introduce the Slovenian model of international development cooperation, emphasising the criteria for deciding the direction of development cooperation. The criteria are clear interest of the beneficiary state, content priority fields, and geographical priority areas. The authors also discuss Slovenia’s active collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in international development cooperation. Special attention is given to three successful development projects in Africa that Slovenia recently financed. All three selected projects are based on principles of sustainable development and were realized in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Technology, TFPG and Employment: A Panel Data Analysis

This paper based on the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) panel data set makes an attempt to estimate total factor productivity growth (TFPG) across countries. Productivity convergence over time is evident when countries are divided across regions which could be attributed to a greater degree of association of countries in a given region pursuing joint efforts for infrastructural development, ICT coverage and advancement, trade negotiations, technology acquisition and innovation, and inflow of FDI. In terms of efficiency estimates for select years, most of the countries are seen to be operating much below the frontier. This is indicative of the fact that countries are keen to pursue resource-driven growth in an attempt to maximize it. Based on the inter-temporal data, we observed that a number of countries registered either a negative or a positive but low correlation between labour productivity growth and TFPG. Evidently, countries are engaged in greater mechanization which may be raising labour productivity without ushering in much success in terms of TFPG. From panel data regression, the impact of technology perceived in terms of TFPG, on employment, is seen to be negligible though it is important to note that none of the groups, income or region-wise, recorded a statistically significant negative effect except the least developed countries (LDCs), while the significant cases (howsoever scanty) reveal a positive association. Appropriate incentives may motivate firms to experience technological progress and employment growth both.

Global Inclusive and Sustainable Competitive Industrial Performance (ISCIP): An efficiency based spatio-temporal analysis for 139 countries

The most recent debate championed by World Economic Forum suggests that competitiveness, social cohesion and environmental sustainability may be compatible. This gives hope to policymakers that a productive, low-carbon, and inclusive economy is possible and perhaps the only viable option going forward. In the context of industrial development, a diagnostics and monitoring tool that can benchmark a country’s industrial competitiveness within the broader framework of the post-2030 agenda is therefore highly sought by policymakers. The original contribution of the present study is to expand the scope of United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Competitiveness Industrial Performance Index by proposing the Inclusive and Sustainable Competitive Industrial Performance Index which (i) considers a new set of social and environmental dimensions in addition to the industrial competitiveness; (ii) provides the flexibility of a dual-formulation of manufacturing-specific and whole-economy scenarios to reflect different policy needs of countries; (iii) applies a cross-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis model and a spatio-temporal analysis to optimize the composition of Inclusive and Sustainable Competitive Industrial Performance Index indicators for 139 countries (2010–2019). With a different method of aggregation and new dimensions being taken into account, results concerning the Competitive Industrial Performance Index and the Inclusive and Sustainable Competitive Industrial Performance Index country rankings are aligned in flagging that industrial competitive and high-income countries are more effective than their peers in promoting industrial development by minimizing tradeoffs with social and environmental indicators. A limitation of the present study is that results do not reflect the global shocks affecting world megatrends after 2019. Second, as the Inclusive and Sustainable Competitive Industrial Index remains a composite indicator, a high rank can still hide significant negative externalities in absolute terms. Finally, the set of the composing ISCIP sub – indicators cannot be exhaustive to capture all the aspects of sustainability.

СУЧАСНА ПРАКТИКА ВИКОРИСТАННЯ СТАНДАРТІВ БІЗНЕС-ПЛАНУВАННЯ В УКРАЇНІ

As known, development of entrepreneur’s structures needs deep planning of activity, and business-plan stands as useful and highly efficient instrument for this. In the article made review and research of methodical approach and standards of business planning, given typical structure of business plan, due to different methodic that used in Ukraine. At the modern time, there are is no unified approaches in the area of business planning, so research of business planning standards is actual today. Special attention is paid for characteristics of initiators (institutions and organizations) who are counselors and donors during the drawing up of the business-plan. Indicated, that unified universal standards do not exist, because of that goals and methods of entrepreneurship significantly differentiating. It is necessary to take into account the direction of the project, sources of financing, distribution market, type of products (services), etc. Conducted research allows us to conclude that there are a number of elements of the business plan that are present in almost all methods and standards: summary, characteristics of the object, organizational, marketing, financial and investment components, performance evaluation indicators, risks and ways to overcome them. The article also contains materials from institutions and organizations that should be used when forming business plans. These standards are presented structurally, in the form of tables, where the main points of each standard are described, which makes it possible to study them from the point of view of similarities and differences. Classical and more widely spread in Ukraine is the standard United Nations Industrial Development Organization. It is emphasized, that oftenly the choice of the methodic is the decision of investor, either of developer of business-plan. In accordance, fund’s managers such as banks, financial institutions set as the goal get in business-plan information about efficiency of business-project and risks assessment. In conclusion, it is stated that there is no single universal business plan acceptable for all types of enterprises, it is important to choose the most acceptable standard taking into account the requirements of the investor.

Nature-based Solutions for Industrial Logistic Parks.

The growth of logistic cities and freight villages to meet the increasing demand of e-commerce is unstoppable. This strategic sector has boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is estimated that by 2025, 138 million sqm of additional e-commerce areas will be built worldwide. Only in the last decade, the European logistic construction activity has tripled. Endless cities of asphalt and concrete have been built to host e-commerce companies, posing severe environmental threats such as desertification, loss of ecosystem and wildlife. Seeking to resolve these challenges, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization has proposed an international framework for Eco-Industrial Parks, with environmental guidelines for rainwater management, biodiversity preservation, or creation of recreational areas amongst others. However, prior studies and recommendations focused on the formulation of resilient spatial planning solutions for industrial logistic areas are yet very limited, and comprehensive literature reviews are still lacking. Aiming to address this research gap, this paper includes a review of recent investigations and projects focused on the study of resilient solutions for the design of industrial logistic areas. A bibliometric analysis of the literature published in Scopus database from 1992 to 2022 concerning terms such as Industrial Park, Eco-Industrial Park, or Nature-based Solutions is presented. The results reveal that the connection between Industrial Logistic Parks and Nature-based Solutions is very weak, or almost non-existent. This paper also discusses the project Plataforma Central Iberum-one of the largest industrial logistic spaces (3.5 million sqm) built in Spain- as a case study. This project is one of the first Industrial Logistic Parks developed in this country where nature-based solutions such as the integration of rainwater wetlands, load-bearing permeable pavements, green v-ditch medians, and natural self-sustaining infrastructure parks with diverse native plant species, were implemented. Overall, this paper aims to highlight the urgency to discuss and adopt Nature-based Solutions to render Industrial Logistic Parks more resilient.

Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Assessment (RECP) in Pancoh Ecotourism Village, Regency of Sleman, Yogyakarta

This study aims to assess the Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production (RECP) in tourism sector especially in Pancoh Ecotourism Village (PEV), Sleman. It assessed by using the RECP United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) indicators for small and medium enterprise. It also used RECP assessment cycle method. The results show that there were two main activities that mostly use resources and energy in Pancoh Ecotourism Village (PEV), they are homestays and Pendopo. The use of energy in a homestay was bigger than in Pendopo. Also, inefficient use of energy and resources were found in homestays. The RECP recommendations for PEV were to use efficient stove, to use light-emitting diode (LED) lights and to attach magnets in the gas hose. If the PEV applied the recommendations, it has potential to reduce carbon by 22,535.68 CO2eq kg/year and it has potential to save IDR. 39,463,267/year. The indicators in RECP assessment for tourism village requires modifications since the pattern of resources and energy use in tourism villages is different from the small and medium enterprises that have implemented RECP method before

Network evolution in theory and as observed, the case of the Industrial Knowledge Bank of Latin America

This paper provides an evaluation of a theoretical approach of network theory that describes network evolution by comparing it to an observed evolution of an industrial cooperation network connecting different countries. The theoretical approach considered is the well-known preferential attachment mechanism leading to power-law distributions developed by Albert Barabási. The empirical phenomenon studied is the evolution of the Industrial Knowledge Bank (IKB) maintained by The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). By fitting a discrete power law to the empirical data collected during the 4 years of operation of the IKB project and testing the goodness-of-fit using the bootstrapping procedure, it is shown that the theoretical framework in its most elementary form is adequate to grasp the essential features of the observed case. The comparison also leads to an improved understanding of very influential social factors like language and geographical distance, thus can give valuable insight for the further theoretical advances in theoretical work on network evolution and its applications to Social, Industrial, and Economic Development.

Biomedical Waste Management-Related Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices among Clinical Dental Undergraduates in State of Punjab in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Introduction Dental operatories generate a large amount of biomedical waste, and improper management of this waste poses a threat to all sections of society. Hence, being a dental practitioner, one must ensure proper management and handling of health care waste. Aims and Objectives This study aims to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices toward Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, and Amendments, 2018 and 2019, among clinical undergraduates in dental colleges of the state of Punjab in India. Settings and Design A cross-sectional study. The study was performed among 845 clinical undergraduates in dental institutes of Punjab. Materials and Methods The methodologies used were descriptive statistics and nonparametric techniques using the Kruskal–Wallis test and Dunn–Bonferroni post hoc test. Results Only 47% dental students have adequate knowledge and 48% students show positive attitude toward biomedical waste management. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Whereas, only 34% students were practicing these rules in the correct manner and this is found to be statistically insignificant. Also, the city of Ludhiana is the model district for the implementation of the Environmentally Sound Management of Medical Wastes project by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and dental students of institutions involved in this project were found to be most aware about these rules among other institutes in Punjab. Conclusion The current study suggests that the knowledge and implementation of biomedical waste management practices among dental students in the state of Punjab are not adequate. It also suggests that including dental institutions in model projects of biomedical wastes will raise awareness regarding the same exponentially.

Barriers to the implementation of the UNIDO’s program for export consortia: a case study of the Iranian handmade carpet industry

PurposeThis paper aims to identify and analyze the barriers to the implementation of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s programxk for export consortia in the Iranian handmade carpet industry.Design/methodology/approachTo accomplish its objectives, the study relied on a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) research method. Primarily, unstructured interviews were conducted to identify the effective barriers. Then, the validity of the barriers identified was evaluated through content validity ratio analysis. Finally, the interrelationships between the barriers were determined using the rough decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory technique (DEMATEL).FindingsResults revealed that “a lack of leadership,” “a traditional business environment” and “a lack of awareness of consortium benefits” were the most significant causal barriers. Meanwhile, the most important effect barriers were “a lack of long-term vision,” “a lack of business ethics” and “a lack of motivation.”Practical implicationsThe findings and results could help the stakeholders of the handmade carpet industry in Iran to improve existing export consortium programs, increasing the country’s share in the global markets in this industry.Originality/valueThis investigation seeks to fill an existing gap in the literature on export consortium formation in the handmade carpet industry by providing a network of barriers for the first time.

Making Industrialization in Africa Sustainable

As my own country, China has shown, strong growth in the manufacturing industry is a key driver of sustainable development. It has a significant impact on economic and social well-being, as a recent report by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) demonstrates. The report looks at data across all countries and plots manufacturing value-added per capita, along with competitiveness, against indicators on poverty, inequality, health, education, employment, and human development. The results provide clear statistical evidence on how closely the process of industrialization is connected to improvements in people’s living conditions and their quality of life.

Financial inclusion and gross capital formation: A sectoral analysis approach for the MENA region and EMs

Most Middle East and North Africa (MENA) governments have firmly committed to financial inclusion as part of a progressive agenda. In this, their objective is to improve the allocation of resources across small and medium firms. Indeed, empirical literature has quantitatively shown that financial inclusion improves nations' aggregate measures of economic success such as growth or inequality. But we know very little of its effects on sectoral variates. This paper contributes to the literature by estimating and comparing the effects of financial inclusion on the relative size of gross capital formation of low-tech sectors in the MENA region. We use a panel of 3-digit level sectoral data on approximately 34 manufacturing industries of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for eleven MENA countries and twelve emerging markets (EMs) within the period 2005–2016. The paper focuses in four measures of financial inclusion commonly used in the literature of development: size of commercial bank branches, ATMs, borrowers, and depositors. The results suggest that financial inclusion in MENA has a positive, statistically significant effect on the size of gross capital formation in the low R&D-intensity industries. Thus, policy considerations can be directed towards expanding financial services to other low-tech industries including fabricated metal products and to the medium tech division including repair and installation of machinery and equipment industries. This policy will have greater impact on gross capital formation and, thereby, economic growth.

Complexity, tacit knowledge and the scope for technological catch‐up

AbstractWe study the determinants of sectoral patterns of technological catch‐up of emerging economies. In particular, we test the hypotheses that technological catch‐up is slower in tacit knowledge‐intensive sectors, operationalised by measures of complex task intensity, in sectors with a high skill intensity, with a high degree of export sophistication, and higher income elasticity. Employing trade data from United Nations Comtrade and production data from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) between 1960 and 2000 covering manufacturing sectors, we find that catch‐up is slower in more tacit knowledge‐intensive sectors, as well as in skill‐intensive and export sophisticated sectors. With more recent Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) data from 1997 to 2011, we find instead that catch‐up is faster in more tacit knowledge‐intensive manufacturing sectors, whereas catch‐up is slower in more tacit knowledge‐intensive services sectors. We discuss three potential explanations for the changing association of catch‐up with tacit knowledge intensity.

Politics of Covid-19: A Study of the Role of the Global Powers in Combatting the Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic, having convincingly proved its deadliness, has become the most significant global calamity experienced to date in the 21st century. The Covid-19 virus outbreak besides affecting the health of people across the world seriously has also badly disrupted the economies of all countries, and the livelihoods of their citizens. The most recent data from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has indicated that most of the lower to upper-middle-income countries have been significantly impacted by the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic. This has prompted a concerted effort by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the major world powers to combat the spread of the Covid-19 global pandemic. In combating this pandemic, the world powers have a responsibility to collaborate with the WHO, as they wield a lot of power in the decision-making process at a global level. The aim of this study is to examine the international cooperation that has been taken forward to combat the ‘Covid-19’ pandemic in the context of management of major calamities by the global powers. The study focuses on the 18-month period from December 2019 when the pandemic first broke out, to June 2021. The study is based entirely on secondary data collected from the reports and documents of involved organizations and the media. The leaders and people of the USA and some Western countries did not provide adequate support to contain the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the early stages. They used the disparaging term ‘Chinese Virus’ to refer to the deadly virus, which President Trump wholly underestimated and treated as a minor irritant. Further, avoidable mass gatherings contributed to repeated outbreaks of the virus, which spread from country to country. Mass rallies were held protesting the lockdowns by raising the issues of liberal democracy and individual freedom. Although several high-income Western countries developed vaccines to arrest the pandemic, the distribution of vaccines was not done in a fair and equitable manner. The WHO policy on the distribution of vaccines was undermined due to the “Vaccine Politics” of the world powers. The other aspect of Covid-19 politics was that the pandemic had given rise to a ‘cold war’ between the major Western powers and the burgeoning Chinese power and influence at the global level. Finally, it must be understood that the global cooperation required to combat the Covid-19 pandemic was badly hampered due to the politicization of the programs planned for this purpose during the first year of the pandemic.