Olaoluwa Abagun is an activist and founder of the Girl Pride Circle. Here’s her story about how COVID-19 has impacted girls in Nigeria, and her hope for the future.
For many young girls across Nigeria, their classrooms and schools have served as safe spaces – where they can interact with their peers, learn critical skills, and express their hopes and dreams without fear.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the closure of these safe spaces with very limited alternatives for learning...
Health
Africa is declared free of wild polio thanks to extensive vaccination campaigns, a new report finds 2019 was the most dangerous year for humanitarian workers, and political talks stall after a coup in Mali.
Here are six stories you might have missed this month.
COVID-19 is derailing progress on AIDS, malaria, and TB
Before COVID-19, rates of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis were declining. But now, nearly 80% of TB, HIV, and malaria programs worldwide have reported disruptions in services, according to the...
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....
Community masking is critical to stop the spread of COVID-19, and the science backs it up. Along with social distancing and hand washing, wearing a mask is one of the best prevention tools we have until there are viable vaccines or treatments.
That’s why we’re joining #WorldMaskWeek, a global movement to inspire more people to wear face coverings to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
We now know that any of us could be carrying and spreading the virus, even if...
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...
Depending on how you look at it, data on the HIV/AIDS epidemic can tell two very different stories. On the one hand, the world has made huge progress against HIV/AIDS. For example, over two thirds of all people living with HIV are receiving treatment. On the other hand, there are still way too many people contracting HIV, and donor funding is the same as it was a decade ago.
No matter how you look at it, the story is far...
Erin Stuckey is programme officer for polio eradication at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We interviewed them as part of our #PassTheMic campaign. Here’s some of what they had to say.
We’ve seen the way that COVID has been going around the globe, and actions taken on the individual level and by a country definitely have a ripple effect. It’s scary to see that, but it’s heartening as well, as a reminder of the fact that we’re all connected...
Jan Egeland is secretary general of the Norweigian Refugee Council. We interviewed him as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what he had to say.
There are currently 80 million people around the world who have been driven out of their homes by violence and conflict.
The Norwegian Refugee Council is one of the frontline responders to refugees and displaced people, and we have to do more for this group now during the COVID-19 pandemic than we ever have...
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...