Health

How West African Leaders Can Tackle Youth and Gender Inequities

By Ifeanyi Nsofor, Adaeze Oreh, and John Lazame Tindabil
Recently, both Republics of Benin and Chad held their 2021 national elections. These countries are among thirteen countries on the continent billed to elect new political leaders in 2021 alone. This is a good opportunity to improve conditions on the continent. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified other issues on the continent like youth unemployment that better leadership could help improve.

High-Dose Vitamin D Supplements Significantly Reduce ICU Admissions & COVID-19 Deaths

By Sunil J. Wimalawansa
There is considerable evidence that vitamin D reduces the risk and severity of COVID-19 (Mercola 2020 ; Wimalawansa, 2020). More than 50 clinical studies have published confirming that high doses of vitamin D administered early in persons with COVID-19 significantly reduce complications and the need for ICU admissions.

COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Kicks Off in Africa’s Most Populous Country

By Leon Usigbe*
Since the COVID-19 vaccination began in the US in mid-December 2020, Africa had been looking forward to its turn. For Nigeria, that time came on 2nd March 2021 when the first batch of 3.9 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the country from the Serum Institute of India.

UN Women Launches New Programme to Foster Economic Participation in Care Industry

By Eugenia Shevchenko, Lotte-Marie Brouwer and Minji Kwag*
The lockdowns and illnesses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically increased the need to care for children, the elderly and the sick. And in societies where gender inequality and biased norms persist, most of this burden has fallen on women, many of whom have had to leave their regular jobs with no idea of when they can return.

A Year Later, COVID-19 Continues to Show the Fragility of Food Security

By Mario Lubetkin
More than a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, food and nutrition security continues to show its fragility.

A Free & Accessible Vaccine is Just out of Reach for Palestinians

By Laila Barhoum
We were able to keep the coronavirus at bay for five months in Gaza, the densely populated Palestinian strip of land surrounded by Israel that I call home. But the Coronavirus doesn’t respect walls or artificial borders. While preparations were made for the pandemic to inevitably breach a blockade so few Palestinians can, we waited for it to come for us. And it did.

Why Variants are Most Likely to Blame for India’s COVID Surge

With more than 300,000 new COVID cases a day and hospitals and crematoria facing collapse, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called the situation in India “beyond heartbreaking”.

State of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka: Are Government Policies Effective in Controlling it?

By Sunil J. Wimalawansa
The SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) affected the entire world; many died, millions got sick, and the misery continues. Second and third waves of SARS.Cov-2 infection are devastating most countries.

Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Infants and Young Children

By Erum Mariam
Conventional wisdom is that the health of young children is not at great risk from COVID-19, but, in the Global South, the space constraints imposed on young children by the pandemic pose a significant risk to the stimulation on which brain development thrives. Early childhood development is further jeopardized by the pandemic’s impact on caregivers.

Pathogens, Public Health, & Political Will: Why Sustained Leadership is Critical

By Joy Phumaphi and Sarthak Das
The occasion of World Malaria Day amidst a global pandemic warrants an examination of the intersection between our decades long battle against the world’s oldest known fever and the newest known pathogen fueling a global pandemic.

On World Malaria Day, We Must Step Up Efforts to Combat Malaria

By Hervé Verhoosel
Despite its 229 million cases and 409,000 deaths in 2019, malaria is an overlooked epidemic. The emergence of COVID-19 has thrown health systems into disarray and forced countries to shift their focus from malaria to the pandemic response, threatening to reverse 20 years of malaria gains.

Disability in Goma. The Power of Staying Together Against Covid-19, War, and Stigma

By Elena L. Pasquini
Sylvain Kakule Kadjibwami lost the use of his legs during one of those ambushes that bloodlessly bleed North Kivu. “When I was shot, I thought it was the end of my life, but when I shared it with other disabled people, I discovered that life is still possible,” he said. Now it is Covid-19 that risks destroying the dreams of Sylvain, a small trader from Goma, a city whose roads are volcanic rock-ridden screes where pick-ups trudge. Those who walk face the risk of falling at every step. However, for those who cannot, the same roads can become traps where it is not only war that kills but also a stigma fostering misery and disease.

Challenges with Skill Development Programmes During the Pandemic

India’s evolving Technical and Vocational Education and Training ecosystem (TVET) faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the national lockdown, organisations had to remain shut for 7-8 months, until September 2020.

A Growing New Health Crisis Focusing on Emergency Rooms, Medical History & Vaccines

By Angel Mendoza
This year's World Health Day on 7 April was an opportunity for three entrepreneurs to share their insights and reflections on a rather complex year due to the health crisis and comment on their experiences developing impactful products and services in this sector.

Covid-19: The Makings of a Third World War

By Selim Jahan
When we were growing up in the sixties during the time of the Cold War between the USA and the then Soviet Union, we would often hear about a possible Third World War. Sometimes, the situation would get so heated that people would fear the Third World War might not be far away. I still remember the events in 1961, when the threats and counter-threats between President John Kennedy and Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev over the Bay of Pigs reached such an extreme level that a Third World War seemed imminent.

Global Austerity Alert: Looming Budget Cuts in 2021-25 and Alternatives

By Isabel Ortiz and Matthew Cummins
Last week Ministers of Finance met virtually at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to discuss policies to tackle the pandemic and socio-economic recovery.

COVID-19 Teaches Us to Better Manage Global Systemic Risks

By Liu Zhenmin
Millions of lives lost. Trillions of dollars in economic damage. Over 120 million more people pushed into extreme poverty. The human and economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is almost unimaginable – a once-in-a-century catastrophe.

New Report Calls for Improved Eating Habits in a World of Extremes

By Ignatius Banda
With the two extremes of global hunger and obesity on the increase, a new report suggests a radical reset for food and nutrition to ensure the long-term sustainability of livelihoods and the environment.

Barilla Foundation Brings Health and Climate Together in New Double Pyramid

By Alison Kentish
Following an extensive scientific review, the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation (BCFN) is preparing to launch a new food systems model which incorporates nutrition and climate.

Overcoming COVID-19: World Leaders Must Finance a More Equal World to Beat Pandemics

By Winnie Byanyima
Leaders at this year’s World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings (April 5-11) will determine how best to recover from one of the biggest crises the institutions have faced since their founding in 1944—COVID-19’s impact and its economic aftermath.

Helping Youth Agribusiness Keep Pace with Fast Growing Africa

By Nteranya Sanginga, Aline Mugisho and Seyi Makinde
From small towns to big cities, sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest urban growth rate in the world. The continent’s population is expected to double by 2050 with the youth representing 60% of the overall population. The UN Department of Global Communication, for example, projects that for the next 15 years urban growth is set to double for several African cities: Dar es Salaam will reach over 13 million inhabitants and Kampala will exceed seven million.
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