David Nabarro is a special representative of the UN Secretary-General and co-director of the Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation. We interviewed him as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what he had to say.
COVID is a virus we’ve only known about for six months. But what we’re learning is that it’s dangerous, stealthy, surprising and unfortunately, here to stay for the foreseeable future.
We’ve got to learn to live with this virus as a constant...
Anne Paisley
Anne Paisley is ONE's Associate Editorial Director. Prior to joining ONE in 2019, she worked at Devex and the Center for American Progress. She holds an MA in International Policy from Georgetown University and a BA in International Affairs and Economics from George Washington University, both with honors.
At the end of July, in private closed-door discussions, donor countries reached an agreement on debt relief that will have massive implications for development aid. Spoiler alert: it’s bad news.
This deal could allow donors to artificially inflate their aid statistics, counting relief for loans that are not for development, and double counting aid money if they provide relief. This is an unfair change, particularly in the middle of a global pandemic when more aid — not double counted aid...
In 2005 after the SARS epidemic, 196 countries signed on to the International Health Regulations (IHR). They laid out a set of goals to ensure countries were prepared to detect and respond to public health events.
But today, no country is fully compliant.
On average, low-income countries score lowest in their capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks, according to the Global Health Security Index, which measures the health security and capabilities of countries that signed on to the IHR....
COVID-19 has spread from a health crisis to an economic crisis to a societal crisis in a matter of months. But we know what we need to find our way out of this crisis and build back stronger and more prepared. Experts have the facts, science, data, and advice to tackle this crisis — and global leadership should follow that advice.
Here’s recommendations from 10 leading experts on what it will take to tackle COVID-19.
On vaccines
If a country takes an...
Activists gather virtually for the International AIDS Conference, Sudan bans female genital mutilation, and the latest US funding bill fails to deliver global COVID-19 response funds.
Here are six stories you might have missed this month.
COVID-19 could wipe out equality gains for women at work
The COVID-19 pandemic could wipe out “the modest progress” made on gender equality in the workplace, warns the International Labour Organization (ILO). The drop in global working hours is “significantly worse than previously estimated” earlier this...
In one of Dar es Salaam’s densely populated neighborhoods, community health workers Catherine Mselem and Japhet Mhando are on a vital mission: safeguarding expectant mothers during the pandemic.
Familiar with every corner, they navigate through the streets, preparing to meet the day’s first client. Next to a convenience store sits 26-year-old Aisha Hussein, who is eight months pregnant with her first child. She dutifully covers her face with a homemade mask as the two health workers approach.
She has been terrified...
The ONE Campaign and 10 major African artists have come together to release a music track calling for the world to join in solidarity to fight COVID-19.
In partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and MTV Base, “Stand Together” is a solidarity anthem featuring some of Africa’s biggest music stars: 2Baba, Ahmed Soultan, Ben Pol, Teni, Yemi Alade, Amanda Black, Stanley Enow, Gigi La Mayne, Prodigio and Betty G.
The song has been produced by Nigerian producer Cobhams Asuquo and the...
Governments are spending trillions of dollars on COVID-19 response. By necessity, that spending is happening rapidly — yet often there is little or no oversight, increasing the risk that money is stolen or mismanaged and that additional lives are lost or ruined.
Strong oversight and monitoring of emergency funds can help save lives. It can root out corruption and fraud, helping to ensure that money reaches its intended purpose. It enables markets to function effectively, potentially driving down prices, and...
UK aid will need to do more, with less money — due to a shrinking economy with looming cuts in government budgets, the Department for International Development (DFID) merger with the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO), and the need to tackle the increasing global challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UK has a world leading commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA) enshrined in law. This means that when the economy is doing better,...
So far, most countries in Africa are reporting comparatively low numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases, with a few countries accounting for most of the confirmed cases.
But the impacts of food insecurity could end up being worse than the direct impacts of the health pandemic. The number of people experiencing acute food insecurity is expected to double to more than one-quarter of a billion people by end of 2020. And the World Bank estimates that between 26-39 million people in...