Health & Well Being

Women Peace and Security in the Time of Corona

Viewpoint by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE*

With over 70% of the global healthcare workforce made up of women and many more shouldering caregiving roles, women are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, but the consequences and new realities of our world have gendered implications that need to be understood. Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), calls our attention to these impacts, the realities of women living this pandemic, and the relevance of the women, peace and security agenda now more than ever.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 31 March 2020

Ugandan Singer Bobi Wine Sings of Handwashing and More in New Pop Song

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ugandan pop star and opposition leader Bobi Wine, who describes himself "a singer, an activist and a member of parliament" is known for his "must plays" – and his latest tune "Corona Virus Alert!," is definitely one of them.

The lyrics remind listeners to wash their hands to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. But there's another message – namely that time has come for Africa's leaders to put more resources into building health care systems that serve both the rich and the poor.

: THE WORLD; Africa; 31 March 2020

Photo: A woman has her samples taken for COVID-19 testing upon arriving at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, March 18, 2020. Credit: VnExpress/Giang Huy.

Vietnam Readies 90,000 Doctors for Combating Coronavirus

By Le Nga and Le Phuong, VNExoress International

HANOI (IDN) – Vietnam has readied as many as 90,000 doctors and 125,000 nurses as also turned many facilities into zones for quarantining and treating COVID-19 patients.

On March 18, 90,000 doctors and 125,000 nurses nationwide had been positioned to be deployed in case Vietnam sees a spike in COVID-19 patients.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 30 March 2020

Mexicontagion: Coronavirus & Mexico's Economic Vulnerability

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl

The writer is a former Senior Vice President for Bank of America in Los Angeles, CA. He currently resides in Queretaro, MX. His insightful analysis of global economic affairs have been published widely. He is a contributing columnist for Mexico News Daily, IDN-InDepthNews and Wall Street International Magazine.

REDMOND, Oregon, USA (IDN) – The Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has revealed that there are certain human beings more susceptible to heightened risks of infection, serious illness and death.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 March 2020

COVID-19: The Indian State of Kerala is a Beacon to the World

By Vijay Prashad and Subin Dennis *

This article is taken from Countercurrents which published it on March 27. The article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

KOLKATA (IDN) – K.K. Shailaja is the health minister in the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, the state in the southwest of India that has a population of 35 million people. On January 25, 2020, she convened a high-level meeting to discuss the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. What had particularly worried her is that there were many students from Kerala studying in that province of China.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 29 March 2020

Photo: Health workers are at the frontlines in the fight against the new Corona Virus. Credit: Africa Renewal.

Protect Health Workers Serving Like Soldiers At the Frontlines Against COVID-19

Viewpoint by Siddharth Chatterjee and Mutahi Kagwe

Mr. Mutahi Kagwe is the Cabinet Secretary for Health in Kenya and Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya. This article was first published in Africa Renewal on 24 March 2020.

NAIROBI (IDN) – Many soldiers have seen first-hand the horrors of war and, terrifying though it often was, they knew who they were fighting, and could recognise their enemy.

The COVID-19 or the new Corona Virus is different. In this virus we have an enemy which is invisible and sometimes deadly, and the task is harder.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 29 March 2020

Photo: Global food supply chains are complex and include these kale farmers in Uganda. Credit: Africa Renewal.

COVID-19: A Battle Plan for Ensuring Global Food Supplies

Africa Renewal Talks to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen

NEW YORK (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world on a crisis footing, with unprecedented actions to restrict movements and plans for radical deployment of public funds to combat the threat posed by a novel coronavirus that knows no boundaries. Success will entail coherent and robust plans for our food systems. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen outlines a framework for how countries can think about and craft these plans.

: Africa Renewal; OPINION; 28 March 2020

COVID-19: Artificial Intelligence to Back Up Data-Driven Response in Africa

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The epicentre of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic has moved from China to Europe and the United States. But it has not spared Africa. "It will victimise particularly communities living in poverty who have no protection and no access to health care," says Prof. Dr. Mirjam van Reisen who chairs 'Computing for Society' at the Leiden University.

The public research university in the Netherlands has joined universities in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe in the Virus Outbreak Data Africa Network (VODAN) FAIR Data initiative.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 March 2020

Image credit: Sven Simon | Deutschlandfunk

COVID-19: Bio-Warfare Conspiracy Theories Need Investigation

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – With the new coronavirus now known as COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic affecting countries around the world, with epicentres in western countries, various conspiracy theories have emerged and are gaining traction both in social media and the mainstream. Rather than dismissing these, all such theories may need close examination by independent bodies to keep the world safer from such biological warfare fears.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 26 March 2020

COVID-19: Kenya Urged to Take 'Swift & Effective' Public Finance Response

By James Muraguri

The writer is CEO of the Institute of Public Finance, Kenya, & an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity.

NAIROBI (IDN) – On March 12, 2020, the first case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was confirmed in Kenya. Over the next eleven days, 16 more cases were confirmed. Based on precedents elsewhere, we know this pandemic could set in motion an economic crisis that will burden Kenya for a long time to come.