Professor Tim Spector is head of the department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London. We interviewed him as as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what he had to say in the interview. A few months ago, we launched a symptom study app that has gained amazing traction. More than 3.2 million people have given us data in the UK and another half a million in the US and Sweden. This showed us there are...
Dr. Grace Ogiehor-Enoma is the head hospital administrator at New York Presbyterian Queens and executive director of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses in North America. We interviewed her as part of our #PassTheMic campaign. Here’s some of what she had to say. The hospital I work at has been an epicentre of COVID-19. Before this, we may have had 30 patients in the emergency room, but during the surge of COVID, we were having 150 to 200. Thankfully, over the past...
Tsion Firew is a doctor of emergency medicine at Columbia University. We interviewed her as as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what she had to say in the interview. During my career I’ve focused a lot on global health work — from serving as a medic in Iraq during the war, to being on the front line in Mosul during the fight against ISIS. When people talk to me about coronavirus and say: “This is like a battle...
Raj Mariwala is the director of Mariwala Health Initiative, which supports organisations in India to provide mental health services to all. We interviewed them as part of our #PassTheMic campaign. Here’s some of what they had to say. COVID has shown a lot of the fault lines in our health systems, particularly around leaving people behind. We’re only as strong as the system is. So if it’s built for a certain type of person, and we know that COVID affects marginalised...
Dr. Joannie Bewa is a public health researcher and women and girls activist. We interviewed her as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what she had to say. When it comes to women and girls during COVID-19 there are a lot of challenges, related to both health and non-health issues. I’m seeing many things through a gender perspective, which is lacking on several levels. The first thing lacking is the acknowledgement that women are a large part of the...
Aya Chebbi is an activist and AU Youth Envoy. We interviewed her as part of our #PassTheMic campaign. Here’s some of what she had to say. The COVID-19 pandemic is taking over the world, causing a worldwide impact on education. School and university closures are disrupting the education of over 1.53 billion learners, 743 million of whom are girls. School and university students around the world have had to adapt to e-learning. Lockdowns, quarantines, curfews, isolation, and social distancing that you...
Melene Rossouw is the founder of Women Lead Movement. We interviewed her as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what she had to say. Within a few short months, COVID-19 has left a trail of devastation. It has severely affected our health and social welfare systems. In poorer countries, it has exacerbated another humanitarian crisis, where the fight between virus, hunger, and adequate hygiene has become a daily and ever growing battle and concern. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed our...
Dr. Bonaventura Clotet is the director and president of Fundació Lluita contra la Sida (Fight against AIDS Foundation). We interview Dr. Clotet as part of our #PassTheMic campaign. Here’s some of what he had to say. This is a virus that recombines significantly, which is why it became even more contagious. So we need to design a new strategy that can cope with all these variations and mutations. I think what’s very important these days is that we move forward to set...
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is chair of the GAVI board and the former finance minister of Nigeria. Danai Gurira interviewed Dr. Okonjo-Iweala as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what she had to say. This pandemic has made the world wake up to interconnectedness — how we are so interconnected that people in a remote area in one country are connected to a remote area in another country. What that says to me is that no one in the world...
Dr. Craig Spencer works in an emergency department in charge of its global health programme and is on the board of directors of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). We interviewed Dr. Spencer as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what he had to say. We’re not safe until this virus is controlled everywhere, whether it’s in Alabama or Burundi. I recognize that for us in the US, the acute focus needs to be on our preparation and saving...