COVID-19

Photo (left to right): Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Ukur Yatani, the Minister of Treasury; UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Siddharth Chatterjee; and Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, the Minister of Devolution. Credit: standardmedia.co.ke

COVID-19: UN Joins Kenya in $267.5 million Flash Appeal

By Devendra Kamarajan

NAIROBI (IDN) – The Government of Kenya, the United Nations and humanitarian partners have launched a Flash Appeal requesting $267.5 million to respond to the most immediate and critical needs of 10.1 million people.

Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning, Ukur Yatani Kanacho, said: "When times are challenging you get to know your friends better. I would like to commend the Kenya United Nations Country Team and humanitarian partners for being real friends and fighting with us shoulder to shoulder as we fight this deadly pandemic."

: Devendra Kamarajan; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 April 2020

Photo: President Vladimir Putin at the virtual meeting with regional heads on combatting the spread of the coronavirus in Russia. Credit: en.kremlin.ru

The Pandemic of Fear Haunts Moscow

Viewpoint by Lyubov Sharkova*

MOSCOW (IDN) – In just a short period of time, the world in Russia has changed for everyone. I've started to notice how people around me are going mad. They've started blaming and avoiding other people, making social distance the priority of their lives. These people are well-educated, well-off, with flexible minds. It doesn't matter who they were in their life "before corona". Now all of them are afraid. And that's the reason for their madness.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Russia; 12 April 2020

Photo: A collage of pictures from the World Economic Forum and the International Institute for Environment and Development, indicating that the future of the world economy will be influenced by OVID-19.

Welcome to the Viral Desert – Coronavirus and the Reinvention of Communism

Viewpoint by Slavoj Žižek*

LJUBLJANA (IDN) – The current spread of the coronavirus epidemic has also triggered a huge contagion of ideological viruses, which had been lying in a dormant state in our societies: fake news, paranoid conspiracy theories, outbursts of racism, and so on.

The founded and real need for the implementation of quarantine has reverberated, manifesting itself in the ideological pressures that invite us to erect clear borders and put down "enemies" that would represent a threat to our identity and the conditions of isolation.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 12 April 2020

Photo credit: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

COVID-19: A Global Buddhist Network Contributing to Overcoming the Pandemic

Viewpoint by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada

Following is the text of a press release conveying President Harada's Message in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [Read in Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.]

TOKYO (IDN) – Japan, where until recently we hoped that we would contain the spread of COVID-19, has now entered into a state of emergency, facing a surge in the number of confirmed cases and redoubling its efforts to save precious lives.

In these most difficult times, on behalf of the Soka Gakkai, I would like to express our most sincere condolences and deep sympathy to all victims, their families and loved ones, and show heartfelt gratitude and respect to all health workers and those fighting on the frontline throughout the globe.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 April 2020

Photo: President Trump addressing a press conference. Credit: The White House.

COVID-19: Trump's Bizarre Performance Blocked His Emergence as a 'Hero'

Viewpoint by Dr. Alon Ben-Meir

The writer is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU). He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.

NEW YORK (IDN) – For a man who is a self-absorbed, power hungry narcissist who wants to be recognized as one of the greatest presidents of the United States while desperately trying to be reelected, Trump failed miserably to rise to the occasion precipitated by the unfortunate advent and spread of the coronavirus.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 April 2020

Photo: "Wet market" in Indonesia. Credit: Kalinga Seneviatne | INPS-IDN

COVID-19 Could Lead to Better Protection of Biodiversity and Wild Animals

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 38th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous articles.

SYDNEY (IDN) – A positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic could be a better understanding of protecting biodiversity and a global ban on the trade in wild animals for food. The belief that COVID-19 began at a "wet market" in Wuhan in China, where wild animals were being sold for human consumption, has led to the Chinese government banning the trade in wild animals and a growing international campaign for this to be made into an enforceable international law.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; COVID-19; 10 April 2020

What the Dickens, Let's Fight the Stress of Coronavirus

Viewpoint by Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani *

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of people, institutions or organizations that the author is affiliated with, in a professional or personal capacity.

TORONTO (IDN) – Humanity is in the midst of an unfolding global public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus is spreading at an alarming rate and there are no vaccines or approved treatments so far, except assisted breathing.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 April 2020

Photo: Screenshot of with statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women. The video was posted on 8 April 2020.

Violence Against Women Is the Growing Shadow Pandemic

Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Following is the statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women on 6 April 2020.

NEW YORK (IDN) – With 90 countries in lockdown, four billion people are now sheltering at home from the global contagion of COVID-19. It's a protective measure, but it brings another deadly danger. We see a shadow pandemic growing, of violence against women.

As more countries report infection and lockdown, more domestic violence helplines and shelters across the world are reporting rising calls for help.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 09 April 2020

Photo: Outdoor restaurant in central Stockholm, Sweden, 26 March 2020. Credit: EPA-EFE/Janerik Henriksson

COVID-19: Why the Nordics are Our Best Bet for Comparing Strategies

Viewpoint by Paul W. Franks*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Daily updated graphs illustrating the rising COVID-19 death rates in different countries raise hopes that we can understand impact of the virus and work out how to stop it from spreading further. But when comparing countries as different as South Korea, China, Italy and the UK, we may find the impression of how different interventions work is obscured by many other factors.

These countries differ in many important ways, including demographics, civil disobedience, population density, patterns of social interactions, air quality and genetics. Italy, for example, has regions with older populations than many other countries. And European societies are unlikely to ever accept the draconian interventions used in China and South Korea.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 09 April 2020

Photo: CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel. Credit: Florian Keil.

Far from Being Our Enemies, Bats Need Protection Now More Than Ever

Viewpoint by Amy Fraenkel

The writer is the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) based in Bonn, Germany.

BONN (IDN) – As efforts are stepping up around the world to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there are alarming reports that some communities and governmental authorities are targeting the wrong enemy: bats.

Not only will killing bats not stop COVID-19; it could also do irreparable harm to a mammal which poses no risk to human health in its natural environment, and which provides enormous benefits including pollination, seed dispersal and pest control.