Lancet – Offline: Facts are not enough
R Horton;
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30405-0/fulltext
I’m not quite sure I fully understood this -it’s Friday morning, so chronic lack of sleep by the end of the week and not enough coffee going through my veins yet, but I’m damned sure you have to read this !
Sweeping analysis of the world and the future by Horton. Even more sweeping than usual I’d say.
And do check for yourself where you find yourself in “
the struggle for the soul of global health”. Are you an “intelligent idealist” or an “innocent cynic”? Or, like perhaps many readers of this newsletter, a bit of both?
A future for the world’s children? A WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission
https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/future-child
The read of the week. And then some.
“
The health and wellbeing of children now and in the future depends on overcoming new challenges that are escalating at such speed as to threaten the progress and successes of the past two decades in child health. The climate emergency is rapidly undermining the future survival of all species, and the likelihood of a world in which all children enjoy their right to health appears increasingly out of reach. A second existential threat that is more insidious has emerged: predatory commercial exploitation that is encouraging harmful and addictive activities that are extremely deleterious to young people’s health. The WHO–UNICEF–Lancet Commission lays the foundations for a new global movement for child health that addresses these two crises and presents high-level recommendations that position children at the centre of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Start perhaps with the
Lancet Editorial - No excuses and no time to lose
Coverage in the
Guardian: The world is failing to ensure children have a 'liveable planet', report finds
Or
HPW:
WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission Measures Education, Nutrition, Child Health Across 180 Countries
With some info on the Commission's
child flourishing index which measures country-level performance and ranks the ability of a child to flourish, survive, and thrive in 180 countries.
See also
UN News -
‘Not a single country’ does enough to help children flourish, say health experts.
Stockholm – 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on road safety (19-20 Feb)
UN News -At Stockholm road safety summit, UN officials join global call to end ‘scourge’ of preventable deaths
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/02/1057721
“
Road traffic accidents take some 1.35 million lives every year and cost most countries three per cent of their gross domestic product, the top UN health official said on Wednesday as the Third Global Ministerial Conference On Road Safety kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden.” Dr. Tedros, that is.
Short report of the first day of this meeting.
“… The Chairman’s conclusions, called the Stockholm Declaration, were presented by Swedish Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth, and called for strong political will and international cooperation, along with partnerships across society. It also connects road safety to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, laying out recommendations to accelerate action towards halving global road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030….”
“Meanwhile, Etienne Krug, Director at WHO’s Department of Social Determinants of Health, in a commentary, painted a haunting picture of a new mode of transport that while offering speed and comfort, would kill 1.3 million people per year and injure 50 million more. The UN official explained that half of those killed voluntarily used the system, while the others just happen to be in the vicinity, at “the wrong place at the wrong time”.
For
Krug’s Commentary, see It’s time to get serious in addressing the leading killer of our youth
Quotes Krug:
“
Countries and cities worldwide are now aspiring to Vision Zero, or no road traffic deaths or severe injuries. In public health, we call that eradication. In doing so, they are adopting the safe system approach and setting ambitious targets in the hope of replicating the spectacular results achieved elsewhere. Unfortunately, fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes are still on the rise in two-thirds of countries worldwide. In September 2015, all Heads of State committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This includes the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.6 to halve road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. …”
“…Today, nearly five years later, we are now in a new decade. Despite some progress with countries like Luxembourg that are on track to achieve SDG target 3.6, globally the decrease in road traffic deaths has not even started. Many decades ago, the world was at a crossroad: a transport system centered around private motor vehicles versus one which maintained a share of the road for pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport. Over time, the decision taken then has resulted in a deadly system that has not only led to injury-related fatalities, but also to deaths and ill-health from air pollution and a sedentary lifestyle. Today, we are at another turning point. …”
WHO -
3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety
On the aim of the meeting.
Stockholm declaration
https://www.roadsafetysweden.com/contentassets/b37f0951c837443eb9661668d5be439e/stockholm-declaration-english.pdf
You find the 4-page Stockholm declaration here.
With at least one gaping hole – see
Movendi International
“
Civil society groups express deep concern about the complete and inexplicable omission of alcohol control measures from the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety….”
HPW - Bloomberg Philanthropies Commits US $240 Million To Prevent Road Traffic Deaths
https://www.healthpolicy-watch.org/bloomberg-philanthropies-commits-us-240-million-to-prevent-road-traffic-deaths/
“
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a six-year US $240 million commitment to prevent road traffic injuries in low- and middle-income countries on Tuesday, just a day ahead of the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm, Sweden. The new commitment aims to fund efforts to prevent 22 million injuries and save 600,000 lives from road traffic accidents. “The price we are paying for our mobility is unacceptable. We need to do much more to save lives on our roads. This new investment is excellent news that comes at a critical time when world leaders convene to decide on achieving a 50% reduction in road traffic deaths by 2030,” said Etienne Krug, director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health at the World Health Organization in a press release….”
Sydney Morning Herald - 'Too many badly designed roads': True costs of trauma revealed
Herald;
“Every day 102,835 people across the world suffer serious injuries caused by road crashes, costing communities $US6 billion ($9 billion) daily. Crash, repeat, every day of the year. For the first time, these injuries have been broken down by type and size with a new big data tool to jolt policymakers into doing more to make roads safer. Launching the "new vaccine for roads" on the eve of the world's most important road safety conference, the International Road Assessment Program chief executive Rob McInerney said the 3626 people who were killed every day in road crashes – a total of around 1.35 million annually – were the tip of the iceberg. Instead of using "amorphous numbers", the new research uses Australian data collected by Victoria's compulsory third party insurer Transport Accident Commission and international databases to breakdown injuries by type, quantity and cost in any country….”
See also
New road safety observatory to cut road fatalities in Asia Pacific with better crash data
Covid-19 – A “closing window of opportunity” to contain it?
We feature again an extensive section on Covid-19 this week, but also again
in steno-style. As many platforms, (global health security and other) newsletters & media provide extensive and daily coverage on this (Stat, Cidrap News, Telegraph GHS, HPW, …). There are so many angles to this outbreak, from the (almost-) pandemic, the (also viral) fear/rumor/xenophobia pandemics, over the governance & legitimacy crises, geopolitical influence, … to the economic impact, impact on supply chains (including of medicines)… Etc.
PS: WHO still avoided the word ‘
pandemic’ this week (and Tedros/Ryan also explained why). Wonder for how long still.
We start again with a
section on updates of the last few days (and things you really shouldn’t have missed over the week) (if you have little time, stick to that subsection perhaps), and then sections on respectively
science and
analysis.
Updates from the last few days & some key Covid-19 news of past week
HPW - Experts Eye Japan For Clues On COVID-19 Trends; In Africa, Egypt, Algeria & South Africa At Highest Risk, Says Lancet Study
https://www.healthpolicy-watch.org/experts-eye-japan-for-clues-on-covid-19-trends-in-africa-egypt-algeria-south-africa-at-highest-risk-says-lancet-study/
(19 Feb) “
Experts were closely watching the development of Japan’s COVID-19 outbreak for signs of whether the virus might escape further out of control, moving closer to the tipping point of a pandemic – the worldwide spread of a new disease. Meanwhile, a new study in The Lancet found that in Africa, Egypt, Algeria and South Africa are at highest risk of new coronavirus cases. However, these countries also have the most prepared health systems and therefore less vulnerable….”
Lancet Study: Preparedness and vulnerability of African countries against importations of COVID-19: a modelling study
See also
HPW (20 Feb) -
China Sees Sharp Decline In Fresh COVID-19 Cases; But Korean “Superspreader” Event & New Iran Cluster Casts Pall
“
A sharp decline in new COVID-19 cases was reported by China on Thursday, providing a glimmer of hope about the potential to still contain the epidemic – but only if the steady increase being seen in new cases abroad can now be brought under control.”
Stat News (20 Feb) -
Experts say confusion over coronavirus case count in China is muddying picture of spread
“
Infectious diseases experts are losing confidence in the accuracy of China’s count of cases of the novel coronavirus, pointing toward health officials’ shifting definition of cases over time….”
Quote:
“…A serological survey would fill a critical information gap, said Malik Peiris, a virologist at Hong Kong University who is one of the leaders in the response to the 2003 SARS outbreak. (SARS is closely related to the virus that causes Covid-19.) “I think the one single most important thing China can do now … to reassure the population in China, the population in the world about this outbreak, is to do exactly this type of sero-epidemiological study in Wuhan or somewhere in Hubei,” Peiris told STAT. If, as experts expect, that kind of study showed that many mild cases are escaping detection, the world would have a better grasp of how severe this outbreak is and what it would need to expect should the virus sweep the globe….”
Guardian (21 Feb)
-… at least 500 cases confirmed in prisons in three Chinese provinces
Cidrap (21 Feb) -
US officials clashed over cruise ship passenger flight
In the ongoing debate ‘democratic systems’ are much better to handle outbreaks: “…
In other cruise ship developments, the Washington Post, citing unnamed people involved in the discussions, reported today that US government officials on Feb 16 wrestled with whether to allow 14 infected Americans to fly home on a chartered jet with a group of 300 American evacuees. It said officials received word that test results were positive for 14 people shortly before the plane was to leave Japan. Officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) opposed mixing the infected and uninfected people, because of the increased transmission risk, and the State Department had announced earlier that infected people would not be allowed to board the planes. But the State Department and a Trump Administration official ended up overruling the CDC's advice. The infected travelers didn't have symptoms, and the plane had a plastic-lined enclosure to separate the passengers. According to the report, the CDC insisted that the agency not be mentioned in the news release lest people think that the infected people flew with the others based on CDC advice….”
Cidrap - China's COVID-19 death toll tops 2,000; Iran reports first cases
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/02/chinas-covid-19-death-toll-tops-2000-iran-reports-first-cases
(19 Feb) “
China's death toll in its COVID-19 outbreak passed 2,000 today, as Iran reported its first two cases—both fatal—and the number of local cases grew in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. … … In other outbreak developments, China changed its COVID-19 case definition again, and instead of counting clinically diagnosed cases as confirmed infections, it will classify them as suspected cases, according to a government statement….”
See also a
BMJ news report -
Coronavirus covid-19 has killed more people than SARS and MERS combined, despite lower case fatality rate
HPW - WHO Official Defends Tighter China COVID-19 Surveillance As “Good Public Health Measure”
https://www.healthpolicy-watch.org/who-defends-tough-china-covid-19-surveillance-as-good-public-health-measure/
(18 Feb) Michael Ryan, that is. Remarkable stance.
Although, admittedly, at an earlier press conference, Ryan had also
cautioned (more in general, and also weighing in on the cruise situation) “…
that such policies also carry weighty ethical implications….”
“
Decisions on mass evacuation and mass quarantines need to be made with the highest public health standards and consideration of human rights,” Ryan said. “In general we need to be very careful in doing those kinds of processes, we have to balance the public health benefit against the issues of quarantine.. how we manage it, from an ethical and human rights perspective.”
Lancet Letter – A distinct name is needed for the new coronavirus
S Jiang et al;
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30419-0/fulltext
“…
On the basis of special clinical, virological, and epidemiological characteristics and the uncertainty of the novel coronavirus, to avoid the misleadingness and confusion, and to help scientists and the public with better communication, we, a group of virologists in China, suggest renaming SARS-CoV-2 as human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19). Such a name distinguishes the virus from SARS-CoV and keeps it consistent with the WHO name of the disease it causes, COVID-19.”
Stat News - Sanofi announces it will work with HHS to develop coronavirus vaccine
https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/18/sanofi-announces-it-will-work-with-hhs-to-develop-coronavirus-vaccine/
“Sanofi is the second major vaccine maker to announce it will try to make a vaccine against the new virus, which has infected over 70,000 people, mostly in China. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine division, Janssen, has also announced it will try to make a vaccine….”
See also
Cidrap -
HHS partners with drug makers on COVID-19 vaccine, drugs
Guardian - Health experts question coronavirus quarantine measures on cruise ship
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/18/global-health-experts-question-cruise-ship-coronavirus-quarantine-measures
World media focused very much on the
Diamond Princess cruise ship (as well as the other one, that embarked in Cambodia). In this piece
the view of global health (law) & governance experts. Recommended.
Quote: “…
human rights appeared to have become “a secondary concern during this outbreak”.”
For the (damning)
view from a Japanese infectious disease specialist, see
Science news -
Scientist decries ‘completely chaotic’ conditions on cruise ship Japan quarantined after viral outbreak.
Guardian - Coronavirus causes mild disease in four in five patients, says WHO
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/17/coronavirus-causes-mild-disease-in-four-in-five-patients-says-who
“
Covid-19, the new coronavirus that has killed nearly 1,800 people in China, causes only mild disease in four out of five people who get it, the World Health Organization has said. “It appears that Covid-19 is not as deadly as other coronaviruses, including Sars and Mers,” said the WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that officials were “starting to get a clearer picture of the outbreak”. The conclusion comes from analysis of data from Chinese authorities relating to 44,000 cases of Covid-19 in Hubei province, where the coronavirus was first recorded. “More than 80% of patients have mild disease and will recover, 14% have severe disease including pneumonia and shortness of breath, 5% have critical disease including respiratory failure, septic shock and multi-organ failure, and 2% of cases are fatal,” Tedros said in Geneva. “The risk of death increases the older you are.”…”
On the other hand, you hear more and more
comparisons (like in Telegraph GHS), with
the flu.
"More similar to the flu than first thought". See also
Reuters -
New coronavirus spreads more like flu than SARS: Chinese study (Preliminary findings, in NEJM)
As for the
fatality rate, see a tweet from J Konyndyk (20 Feb) – “
New fatality rate estimate for COVID-19 is just under 1%. That’s about 10x as deadly as seasonal flu; about half as deadly as 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.” “Caveat that we don’t know if rate will be lower outside China; could be that smoking rates and air quality there drive it up.”
Science (news) - Scientists ‘strongly condemn’ rumors and conspiracy theories about origin of coronavirus outbreak
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/scientists-strongly-condemn-rumors-and-conspiracy-theories-about-origin-coronavirus
“A
statement in The Lancet assails misinformation about the possibility that COVID-19 came from a lab in Wuhan, China.”
See also
the Guardian -
Experts fear false rumours could harm Chinese cooperation on coronavirus
“
World-leading experts on the novel coronavirus have signed a statement of support for their Chinese colleagues, who are being attacked on social media and even threatened with violence as false rumours circulate about its origins. There is a real risk that the open and transparent relationship between the Chinese scientists and their western counterparts will come to an abrupt end, impeding the sharing of data and the hunt for treatments and vaccines against Covid-19, warned Dr Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance in the United States, whose research into emerging diseases led to the identification of the bat origin of Sars, among others. Daszak is one of 27 prominent public health scientists from nine countries who have signed the statement published by the Lancet medical journal. They include Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust in the UK, Jim Hughes, former director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases in the USA, Rita Colwell, former head of the US National Science Foundation and other leaders in infectious disease research and public health….”
US News - China Virus Outbreak Threatens Global Drug Supplies
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-02-17/china-virus-threatens-global-antibiotics-supply-european-business-group?src=usn_tw
“
The world's pharmacies may face a shortage of antibiotics and other drugs if supply problems from China's coronavirus outbreak cannot soon be resolved, the head of a European business group in China warned on Tuesday…”
ABC - World Health Organisation division tackling coronavirus underfunded and facing internal corruption allegations, audits reveal
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-17/coronavirus-who-underfunded-internal-corruption-allegations/11970382
Went viral this week. “
The World Health Organisation division leading the global response to the coronavirus outbreak is so chronically underfunded it has repeatedly been found to pose a "severe" and "unacceptable" level of hazard to the organisation, recent audits reveal. The WHO Health Emergencies Program, established in 2016, scored the highest risk rating in 2018 and 2019 because a "failure to adequately finance the program and emergency operations [risks] inadequate delivery of results at country level"….”
Covid-19 Contributions tracker
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donors-and-partners/funding
“
The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan calls for a total resource requirement of US$675m, of which US$61.5m is for WHO’s urgent preparedness and response activities for the period of February to April 2020.”
Cfr
tweet Anthony Costello: “
Three weeks ago WHO asked the world to contribute $675 million to tackle the threat of a Coronavirus pandemic. "Commitments" to date: $120 million. Received: $1.2 million. https://who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donors-and-partners/funding You couldn't make it up. A pandemic could wipe many trillions off the global economy”.
FT - Official account questions Xi Jinping coronavirus timeline
https://www.ft.com/content/3da73290-5067-11ea-8841-482eed0038b1
(from last weekend). An official magazine reveals Xi was issuing orders on the outbreak much earlier than thought.
Meanwhile, in China,
a ‘wartime campaign’ against the coronavirus is ongoing. See for example the NYT -
China expands chaotic dragnet in coronavirus crackdown (from earlier this week) The campaign is not uncontroversial, to say the least.
Cfr a tweet: “…
To stop the spread of the coronavirus much of China has effectively shut down. What’s not been fully appreciated is how extensive the closures are. By our calculations 760 million are living under some kind of residential lockdown.” See also
NYT.
See also Guardian –
Dissent becomes the next victim of coronavirus as China cracks down
“
Analysts say epidemic poses gravest threat to authorities since Tiananmen Square – and Beijing’s tight control could backfire.” A few critics (of Xi’s handling of the outbreak) have already ended up in jail or disappeared otherwise.
South China Morning post- Coronavirus: places and airlines restricting China transit
https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/world/article/3051149/coronavirus-travel-restrictions-on-china/index.html
Extensive overview (and neat map) of the travel restrictions vs China, an
increasingly isolated country now due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
For a similar (and constantly updated)
global tracker of travel restrictions (vs China), see also
Think Global Health
Stat - The global responders: Who is leading the charge against the coronavirus outbreak
https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/17/who-is-leading-charge-against-the-coronavirus-outbreak/
Some of the names leading the outbreak response. Focus here on WHO, China & US.
Some additional links:
Not everybody is totally convinced about this slowing of infections in China, see for example FP -
Are China’s Coronavirus Figures Reliable?
“
The meeting was organized by WHO and hosted at Facebook’s Menlo Park campus, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNBC.”
“
The U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday the virus outbreak that began in China poses “a very dangerous situation” for the world, but “is not out of control.” Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Antonio Guterres said that “the risks are enormous and we need to be prepared worldwide for that.” Guterres said his greatest worry was a spread of the virus to areas with “less capacity in their health service,” particularly some African countries. The World Health Organization is looking into how to help handle such a development, he added…”
And
a few more links related to the situation in Africa in particular:
Science
We stick here even more to steno-style as other newsletters are far more specialized in this area:
Resource: WHO database on Covid-19
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/global-research-on-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov
New WHO database of publications on
#COVID19, which gathers the latest scientific findings and knowledge on the disease.
Reuters - Speed Science: The risks of swiftly spreading coronavirus research
https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-RESEARCH/0100B5ES3MG/index.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=twitter
“153 studies have been published on the new coronavirus. 92 were not peer reviewed…”
Nature - More than 80 clinical trials launch to test coronavirus treatments
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00444-3
“As HIV drugs, stem cells and traditional Chinese medicines vie for a chance to prove their worth, the WHO attempts to bring order to the search.”
See also
Wired -
China Launches a Crush of Clinical Trials Aimed at Covid-19.
Nature – Scientists question China’s decision not to report symptom-free coronavirus cases
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00434-5
(20 Feb) “
Researchers are concerned that China’s official reports on the number of coronavirus infections have not been including people who have tested positive for the virus but who have no symptoms. They fear the practice is masking the epidemic’s true scale. But public health experts say China is right to prioritize tracking sick patients who are spreading the disease….”
Other links:
Cidrap -
Studies show COVID-19 likely has multiple infection routes
“
As the COVID-19 outbreak grows in China and abroad, new studies attempt to answer questions on how the virus is shed and the range of clinical outcomes, with two studies indicating that shedding—and therefore transmission—likely occurs via multiple routes. Currently, testing for and confirmation of infection with COVID-19 is conducted via oral swabs. But in a study published in Emerging Microbes & Infections, Chinese scientists report evidence of an oral-fecal transmission route for COVID-19 viruses and show that, in hospitalized patients, viral RNA was found in anal swabs and in blood samples….”
Nature News (18 Feb) -
When will the coronavirus outbreak peak?
“
Epidemiologists are working to understand when the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak will peak and the number of new infections per day will start to decline. Explore the scenarios, from the optimistic — it’ll happen any day now — to the possibility that the peak is months away and that the virus will infect millions more people first.”
Caixin Global –
Will Warming Weather Kill Off Covid-19? Scientists Aren’t Sure
Bloomberg - Coronavirus could infect two thirds of globe, researcher says
(modelling estimate from last week). See also
Stat -
Disease modelers gaze into their computers to see the future of Covid-19, and it isn’t good (14 Feb).
Guardian -
Doctors look to HIV and Ebola drugs for coronavirus cure (20 Feb)
“
Early results of trials on Covid-19 patients expected in March.”
Analysis
Lancet Editorial – COVID-19: fighting panic with information
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30379-2/fulltext
The Lancet’s take (21 Feb). Concluding: “…
Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Feb 15, 2020, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “we're not just fighting an epidemic; we're fighting an infodemic.” The ease through which inaccuracies and conspiracies can be repeated and perpetuated via social media and conventional outlets puts public health at a constant disadvantage. It is the rapid dissemination of trustworthy information—transparent identification of cases, data sharing, unhampered communication, and peer-reviewed research—which is needed most during this period of uncertainty. There may be no way to prevent a COVID-19 pandemic in this globalised time, but verified information is the most effective prevention against the disease of panic.”
Lancet - Authoritarianism, outbreaks, and information politics
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30030-X/fulltext
By
M Kavanagh. You know you have to read this. “
Are autocratic states such as China better equipped than their more democratic counterparts to respond to disease outbreaks?...” The answer is no.
He concludes: “
Is there an authoritarian advantage in disease response? It seems that authoritarian information politics inhibited a rapid response to the 2019-nCoV outbreak in China, which could have limited the crisis. It is not yet clear if the extraordinary cordons and influx of resources enabled by autocratic rule will prove a successful public health strategy. Yet, in building capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks, democratic openness and competitive politics seem more asset than inadequacy.”
Economist – Diseases like Covid-19 are deadlier in non-democracies
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/02/18/diseases-like-covid-19-are-deadlier-in-non-democracies?fsrc=gp_en?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/diseaseslikecovid19aredeadlierinnondemocraciesdailychart
“Democracies tend to be better than other forms of government at containing and treating outbreaks of disease.”
Think Global Health – What’s next for Covid-19
Tom Frieden;
https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/whats-next-covid-19
Analysis as of 18 Feb. Well worth a read. “
Containment of the coronavirus would make an enormous difference to health around the world. Is it still possible?”
“…
The odds of containment look vanishingly small, but not (quite) yet zero. There are at least half dozen good reasons to be pessimistic about containment, which may be why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is foreshadowing that containment may be impossible:… … On the other hand, all is not yet lost, and the benefits from containment would be enormous. There are at least half a dozen reasons not to give up hope:…”
Guardian - China's handling of coronavirus is a diplomatic challenge for WHO
Sarah Bosely ;
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/18/china-coronavirus-who-diplomatic-challenge
“
The World Health Organization is having to perform a diplomatic balancing act over the new coronavirus outbreak, caught between China – whose draconian measures to contain the disease have delayed transmission to the rest of the world –and China’s critics, who say its behaviour is typical of its disregard for human rights. At every press briefing, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has defended China’s handling of the epidemic in the face of critical questions, very often from US journalists….”
“
Tension between China and the US is playing a significant part in the handling of the outbreak, causing difficulties for the WHO as it continues to monitor the situation. Both nations have been using the situation to score points….”
See also
M Pillinger - Pandemics do have borders (focusing on Hong Kong & Taiwan (commotion) here).
Foreign Policy - How China’s Incompetence Endangered the World
L Garrett;
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/15/coronavirus-xi-jinping-chinas-incompetence-endangered-the-world/
“As the deadly coronavirus began to spread, Beijing wasted the most critical resource to fight it: trust.”
IDS - Social dimensions of the COVID-19 outbreak in China and beyond
https://www.ids.ac.uk/news/ids-researchers-attend-world-health-organization-forum-on-coronavirus/
“
IDS Director Professor Melissa Leach and Research Fellow Dr Hayley MacGregor have been working with colleagues at the Wellcome Trust and the WHO on integrating social sciences into the COVID-19 response, as the virus continues to cause concern globally. A new report has now been published on the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP), summarising discussions and research action points from a workshop of social scientists at the Wellcome Trust around; the social contexts and dynamics of transmission and spread; public health responses and communication and messaging. As well as covering the preparedness and response in China the report also covers preparedness, capacities and political dynamics should an outbreak occur in Africa….”
HPW - Laws Governing Global Health Emergencies Need Reform, Experts Say
https://www.healthpolicy-watch.org/laws-governing-global-health-emergencies-need-reform-experts-say/
Great report by
Priti Patnaik of an expert panel meeting in Geneva last week. Must-read.
“
A high level panel of experts reviewed key concerns and possible solutions last week at the Geneva launch of the Legal Determinants of Health – The Lancet Commission, Global Health & the Law Report – hosted by UNAIDS on the margins of WHO’s Executive Board meeting….”
Chatham House - Explainer: Why Investment in Public Health Can Fight Epidemics
https://www.chathamhouse.org/file/explainer-why-investment-public-health-can-fight-epidemics
Rob Yates’s take. “
Rob Yates explains why the spread of the coronavirus beyond China continues to highlight disparities between nations that have invested in public health services and those that have not.”
CNN - These bonds were supposed to help fight diseases like coronavirus. They've never paid out
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/02/15/business/pandemic-bonds-coronavirus/index.html
Including this quote: “…
Olga Jonas, a senior fellow at the Harvard Global Health Institute who spent 33 years at the World Bank, described pandemic bonds as a "publicity stunt" that will not help to stop outbreaks or prevent pandemics. The money, she argues, would never arrive quickly enough to make a difference. "Only the reinsurers and investors came out ahead," said Jonas, who spent seven years coordinating the World Bank's response to pandemics…”
RPT-World Bank pandemic bond under pressure as coronavirus spreads
https://uk.reuters.com/article/china-health-worldbank-pandemic/rpt-world-bank-pandemic-bond-under-pressure-as-coronavirus-spreads-idUKL8N2AJ685
(20 Feb) Having said that, there might be some “immanent justice” after all : )
“
A World Bank bond designed to deliver funding to help the world’s poorest countries to tackle fast-spreading diseases has lost half its value as the coronavirus outbreak in China has fanned fears that investors could face hefty losses. After the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak that ravaged Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia and killed at least 11,300 people, the World Bank launched bond and insurance instruments under its Pandemic Emergency Financing umbrella in 2017 to establish a mechanism that would speedily deploy funds where needed. …. However, the World Bank’s two so-called pandemic bonds came under scrutiny after the second-worst Ebola outbreak on record. With the coronavirus outbreak having infected more than 74,000 people and claimed more than 2,000 lives, prices for the IBRD pandemic bond with the highest investment risk - the Class B notes - have come under increasing pressure….”
“…For all the good intentions and the prospect that a payout to poor countries might be on the cards, the bonds remain under fire for failing to deliver sufficient or timely aid. One point of contention is the length of time before a payout is triggered. In the case of a coronavirus outbreak for the Class B notes, this is 84 days from when the World Health Organization (WHO) publishes its first “situation report”. In the current outbreak, that would be in mid-April. Think tanks and some policymakers say the focus should be on shoring up healthcare systems and early detection facilities in vulnerable parts of the world that are already overburdened with cases of Ebola, measles, malaria and other deadly diseases.”
NYT – To prevent the next coronavirus, stop the wildlife trade, conservationists say
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/health/coronavirus-animals-markets.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Science
Cfr a tweet Seth Berkley: “…if
we want to prevent epidemics that originate in animals, we need to end the global wildlife trade. Trading tens of millions of animals isn’t just a conservation issue, it’s a public health problem.”
Ebola DRC
UN News - Newly licensed vaccine, ‘milestone in the fight’ against Ebola in Africa, UN health agency
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/02/1057461
From late last week: “
Four countries in Africa have licensed an Ebola vaccine to “cement hard-fought progress” in keeping their people safe from the deadly disease, the UN health agency said on Friday. For the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Ghana and Zambia, the vaccine licensing means that the manufacturer can stockpile and widely distribute it to those nations at risk of Ebola virus outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And once licensed doses are available, use of the vaccine will not require clinical trial or other research protocols….”
See also
Devex -
Ebola vaccine given the go-ahead in 5 African countries.
AMR
FT Health - AI discovers new antibiotics effective against certain diseases
https://www.ft.com/content/e5bb4e4e-5332-11ea-8841-482eed0038b1
“
Artificial intelligence has been used to discover new antibiotics effective against untreatable diseases, marking the advent of a major new tool in the global fight against drug resistance. In a paper published on Thursday in the journal Cell, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported the discovery of a potent new antibiotic, halicin, which was able to able to kill 35 powerful bacteria. Among the pathogens targeted were Clostridium difficile, tuberculosis and Acinetobacter baumannii, an effectively untreatable infection often seen among US veterans, which enters wounds and frequently causes death….”
See also
the Guardian -
Antibiotic that kills drug-resistant bacteria discovered through AI
UHC
Forbes - Let’s Worry About Diagnostic Capacity, Not Just During Outbreaks
M Pai;
https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2020/02/19/lets-worry-about-diagnostic-capacity-not-just-during-outbreaks/#7daa28671234
“… Undoubtedly, diagnostics are a fundamental component of a successful outbreak containment strategy, enabling evidence-based control strategies to be implemented without delay in order to contain the outbreak, minimize response costs and save lives. But why is diagnostic capacity discussed only during outbreaks and emergencies? The answer is: neglect. The global health community has neglected diagnostics for decades. Instead of investing in diagnostics and laboratory systems, undue emphasis was placed on empirical or syndromic management for many years. This explains why an Essential Medicines List was developed in the 1970s, but an Essential Diagnostics List was only developed in 2018….” M Pai argues:
there’ll be no UHC without diagnostics.
See also
BMJ Blog -
Laura Hallas: Covid-19 is a timely reminder we need to improve global diagnostic capacity for a similar message.
Lancet Global Health - The global nursing workforce: realising universal palliative care
W E Rosa, P Farmer et al ;
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(19)30554-6/fulltext
“…
WHO's declaration of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife makes 2020 the ideal time to promote nursing contributions to palliative care policy, training, and services in low-income and middle-income countries….”
Lancet Global Health (letter) - Medical expenditures: not the only source of financial hardship – Authors' reply
A Wagstaff et al;
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30026-7/fulltext
Replying to a
letter (by K Lönnroth) in the Lancet Global Health,
Wagstaff et al conclude:
“
UHC should remain focused on the use of health services, rather than on health outcomes, and on the expenditures associated with health service use, rather than on the overall costs of adverse health events. It is not so much a question of being cautious about the use of the term financial protection in UHC monitoring, but rather of being clear that it means financial protection in health services, not financial protection in health.”
Big Alcohol
Lancet Global Health - Alcohol: global health's blind spot
Robert Marten et al;
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30008-5/fulltext
Marten et al nail it here.
“
Non-communicable diseases constitute more than 72% of annual global deaths and are now rightfully receiving increased attention in the global health agenda. However, one of the primary risk factors for non-communicable diseases continues to be neglected: alcohol. Although the alcohol industry uses sophisticated public relations campaigns to maintain this near invisibility within the health agenda, the global health community is also culpable. Global health policy makers do not appreciate the evidence on alcohol, identify and confront interference from the alcohol industry, or prioritise resources, policies, and programmes for alcohol control….”
Excerpt
: “Global health charities also persistently ignore alcohol control. Bloomberg Philanthropies, a worldwide leader in tobacco control, convened a high-level task force with former heads of state and finance ministers to consider fiscal policies for health. The philanthropic organisation recognised that alcohol taxes were underused, and, if implemented, could indirectly save up to 22 million lives over the next 50 years. Yet, Bloomberg Philanthropies has not devoted resources to alcohol control programmes. The Wellcome Trust, which announced a major commitment of £200 million to transform research and treatment for mental health, has also invested £171 million in Anheuser-Busch InBev as of 2017. No global health charity has allocated substantial resources or prioritised investment in alcohol control, despite the fact that this neglected issue needs leadership….”
Planetary health
Lancet (Comment) – Climate change and the people's health: the need to exit the consumptagenic system
Sharon Friel;
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30257-9/fulltext
“
We … need to disrupt the consumptagenic system that encourages and rewards the exploitation of natural resources, excess production, and hyperconsumerism, and which results in climate change and health inequities. Future policy action and advocacy must focus on the operation of the consumptagenic system. Targets should be the institutions, actors, structures, and ideas that embed, facilitate, and normalise the global dominance of a consumptagenic system addicted to growth irrespective of the environmental, social, and health costs. This focus is particularly important in the industrialised food system and in the processes of urbanisation, two central cogs in this system of excessive production and consumption. … The health community must engage in policy discussions relating to the consumptagenic system and issues such as energy, macroeconomics, food, and infrastructure. Too often, health discourse retreats to the domains of health systems and individual behaviours. Acting on systemic structural factors is crucial if we are to address the common root causes of climate change and health inequities.”
Open Democracy - Breakdown or breakthrough? Degrowth and the Great Transition
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/breakdown-or-breakthrough-degrowth-and-great-transition/
Our choice is, basically, between the ‘
Great Transition’ or ‘
Great Unraveling’ in the decades to come. You find hints of both already now.
Guardian - Firms making billions from ‘highly hazardous’ pesticides, analysis finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/firms-making-billions-from-highly-hazardous-pesticides-analysis-finds
“
The world’s biggest pesticide companies make billions of dollars a year from chemicals found by independent authorities to pose high hazards to human health or the environment, according to an analysis by campaigners. The research also found a higher proportion of these highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) in the companies’ sales in poorer nations than in rich ones. In India, 59% of sales were of HHPs in contrast to just 11% in the UK, according to the analysis. The data from Phillips McDougall, the leading agribusiness analysts, are from buyer surveys focused on the most popular products in the 43 nations that buy the most pesticides. It was obtained and analysed by Unearthed, a journalism group funded by Greenpeace UK, and the Swiss NGO Public Eye….”
Guardian - How should Jeff Bezos invest his $10bn Earth Fund?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/18/how-should-jeff-bezos-invest-his-10bn-earth-fund-amazon-climate-crisis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
“
Scientists propose best use of funds pledged by Amazon founder to fight climate crisis.”
Science News - Humans are a bigger source of climate-altering methane, new studies suggest
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/only-humans-can-create-climate-altering-methane-burns-new-studies-suggest
“Global warming won’t trigger cataclysmic methane releases any time soon.” Somewhat encouraging news.
And a link:
Wellcome Trust -
Carbon offset policy for travel
New policy.
SRHR
Devex - Anti-prostitution case threatens localization agenda, experts warn
Devex;
(gated) “
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether global health organizations' local affiliates should adopt policies opposing prostitution. The case could undermine the U.S. government's own effort to put more health services in the hands of local organizations, some experts warn.”
Decoloniality & Global Health
You can re-watch a lecture (from this week) by
Madhukar Pai here: “
Global Health needs more than a makeover”
https://lecture.ucsf.edu/ets/Play/6078807ec0e6443685293cbce3fc36541d?catalog=e7879ae494bf4fa19fc3c3a8ca6975df21&playFrom=251412&autoStart=true
From the few tweets I’ve seen so far on this lecture, well worth it!
Health in the SDGs: Intersectoral Action for Health
https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/HealthinSDGs
New
Special issue in Globalization & Health, edited by
Sameera Hussain, Dena Javadi, Jean Andrey, Ronald Labonté and Abdul Ghaffar.
“This article collection showcases multisectoral approaches to achieving the health and well-being related goals in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that Member States aim to achieve by 2030. Goal 3 focuses explicitly on health, however, almost all other goals are related to or contribute to health and well-being. This article collection is focused on policies and programmes outside the health sector – often in collaboration with the health sector – that have health implications through commercial, cultural, economic, environmental, political, or social determinants of health. Here, we gather critical lessons on effectively engaging other sectors to enhance their health outputs, identifying co-benefits and ‘win-wins’ that enhance human health. With the exception of Brolan et al and Wright et al, all articles in this collection are funded by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization….”
Do start with the (long awaited)
introductory Commentary - Health intersectoralism in the Sustainable Development Goal era: from theory to practice
(by Sameera Hussain et al). The article gives a neat overview of the contributions to the special issue.
Lancet Global Health March issue
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/issue/vol8no3/PIIS2214-109X(20)X0003-9
A lot of fabulous stuff in this month’s Lancet Global Health issue.
After referring to the two big threats identified in the new Commission, this editorial also points out the continuing threats of unfinished agendas for children’s health.
Concluding: “
Many of us could not have predicted the substantial and rapid effects of climate change, conflict, economic inequality, and technological advances on health, yet these factors are now immediate priorities. However, we should not lose sight of the unfinished agenda of pneumonia and diarrhoea as the biggest killers of the world's children. “
In addition to the reads mentioned above (in the Highlights section), we certainly also want to flag:
“
The inclusion of people with disabilities into the global development agenda has become more visible in recent years. Disability features prominently in the Sustainable Development Goals3and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities offers a framework for more inclusion in domestic policies and international development. However, it is still a field where evidence is poor, both in quantity and quality. At the Third International Conference on Disability and Development on Nov 5–6, 2019, presenters made this abundantly clear: the evidence on the prevalence of disability and effectiveness of interventions in low-income and middle-income settings is patchy at best, and non-existent in many domains. Great work is being done, but more high-quality data from large well designed studies are needed for evidence-informed decision making….”
Some papers & reports of the week
UNU-Wider (Working Paper) - A proposal for a new universal development commitment
J Glennie et al;
https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/proposal-new-universal-development-commitment
“…
what if all countries made a universal development commitment, meaning a scaled contribution? We propose a new universal and scaled financial commitment to development, informed by but not necessarily identical to official development assistance. This paper: (i) sets out how a new era is emerging of fewer very poor countries and higher global ambitions—for example, to end poverty; (ii) proposes a new way to raise and govern international public funds; (iii) discusses the possible size and use of contributions, and the evolution in global governance and democracy that a new deal would entail. We conclude with a set of questions that the proposal raises. »
IJHPM - Beyond Talking: We Need Effective Measures to Tackle Systemic Corruption and the Power That Allows It to Persist in Health Systems; A Response to Recent Commentaries
E Hutchinson et al;
http://www.ijhpm.com/article_3757.html
14 Commentaries in total, actually. This is their response. “
We were delighted to receive 14 responses to our editorial on corruption in health systems and thank the authors for their excellent contributions. It seems that in discussing why health systems researchers are reluctant to discuss corruption, this journal has created a window of opportunity to discuss this neglected topic. Taken together, the responses represent a condensed introduction to the field and key areas of concern….”
Global Health Action – Responding to aid volatility: government spending on district health care in Zambia 2006–2017
Amy Jackson et al ;
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16549716.2020.1724672
“A
corruption event in 2009 led to changes in how donors supported the Zambian health system. Donor funding was withdrawn from the district basket mechanism, originally designed to pool donor and government financing for primary care. The withdrawal of these funds from the pooled financing mechanism raised questions from Government and donors regarding the impact on primary care financing during this period of aid volatility. “
“We examined the budgets and actual expenditure allocated from central Government to the district level, for health, in Zambia from 2006 to 2017 and determine trends in funding for primary care….”
Conclusion
: “The increase in the budget allocated to primary care could be an example of ‘reverse fungibility’, whereby Government accounted for the gap left by donors. However, the decline in the operational grant demonstrates that this period of aid volatility continued to have an impact on how primary care was planned and financed, with less flexible budget lines most affected during this period.”
Eurodad - Impoverished countries spending up to 40% of government revenues on repaying debt, according to new research
Eurodad;
“
A report published today shows that rapidly rising and more expensive public debt is pitting the rights of creditors against those of the world’s poorest - and in particular women and girls - as countries devote up to 40 per cent of revenue to external debt service. The new research - published by the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) to mark World Day of Social Justice - shows that in at least one of the years between 2014 and 2018, at least 20 governments in the global south spent more than one-fifth of revenue on servicing external debts. This exceeded more than 40 per cent in six countries, including Lebanon, which has been going through a financial and debt crisis and which last week called in the IMF for advice on dealing with debt payments. The other countries are Angola, Djibouti, Jamaica, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. The impact of the growing debt burden is also already playing out in cuts to health and education spending in many affected countries … …. in the 39 developing countries, among those where data is available, health expenditure per capita decreased between 2014 and 2016, while debt repayments rose.”
Tax Justice Network – Financial secrecy index 2020
https://fsi.taxjustice.net/en/
Launched on 18 Feb. “
The Financial Secrecy Index ranks jurisdictions according to their secrecy and the scale of their offshore financial activities. A politically neutral ranking, it is a tool for understanding global financial secrecy, tax havens or secrecy jurisdictions, and illicit financial flows or capital flight….” For the
ranking, see
here.
Press release -
Financial Secrecy Index 2020 reports progress on global transparency – but backsliding from US, Cayman and UK prompts call for sanctions
“
The US has overtaken Switzerland in a global ranking of countries most complicit in helping individuals to hide their finances from the rule of law – but Cayman has leapfrogged both to rank as the worst offender. The Tax Justice Network’s Financial Secrecy Index 2020, published today, has revealed that financial secrecy around the world is decreasing as a result of recent transparency reforms. On average, countries on the index reduced their contribution to global financial secrecy by 7 per cent. But a handful of jurisdictions accounting for a large share of global financial services have bucked the trend, most notably the US, Cayman and the UK. With Switzerland finally improving enough to move off the top of the index, an Anglo-American axis of secrecy now constitutes by far the greatest global threat of corruption and tax abuse. The Tax Justice Network is calling on policymakers to prioritise sanctions against these backsliders….”
Some blogs & mainstream news articles of the week
Economist – The World Bank loses another chief economist
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/02/13/the-world-bank-loses-another-chief-economist
From last week’s issue. Cfr a tweet: “
The Economist links Penny Goldberg's departure as World Bank Chief Economist to censorship of Bob Rijkers et al's WB paper apparently showing diversion of WB aid to tax havens. »
See also
FT (Alphaville) -
The World Bank paper at the centre of a controversy
Conclusion of this great analysis: "
Unless public institutions allow for research independence within their set-ups, more bad policies will remain in place, unquestioned by those who fear their career is under threat from reprisal."
You find the (notorious) paper now, at last, here:
Elite capture of foreign aid.
Forbes – Global Health Technologies: Time To Re-Think The ‘Trickle Down’ Model
M Pai;
https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2020/02/17/global-health-technologies-time-to-re-think-the-trickle-down-model/#4e8777e144d9
«
Technologies (e.g. vaccines, drugs, diagnostics) are critical for addressing global health needs. But the field of global health has a problem - an excessive reliance on the ‘trickle down’ model, where products and innovations are developed in the Global North, and after a decade or two, they slowly trickle down to the Global South, where the biggest needs are, and where technologies often have the greatest impact. This model is not surprising, since every aspect of global health is dominated by high-income countries. Nevertheless, the model needs a re-think. …. …. Should global health still rely on the 'trickle-down science' model? Is there an alternative? The alternative is to develop technologies & solutions in the Global South, and scale them up, to meet the pressing needs of LMICs. … “
Pai goes on, emphasizing that there are
many reasons why home-grown innovations have better odds of success than the standard trickle-down model.
Guardian - Mike Bloomberg rocked by re-emergence of sexist remarks
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/15/michael-bloomberg-booklet-sexist-remarks-abortion
“
The presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has insisted he is a “champion for women in the workplace”, after the republication of a 30-year-old booklet purporting to contain his “Wit and Wisdom” cast an uncomfortable spotlight on the billionaire former New York mayor. The Washington Post made the 1990 booklet available online as it published an investigation of how Bloomberg has “for years battled women’s allegations of profane, sexist comments”…”
Elizabeth Warren ‘rocked’ Mike “global health champion” Bloomberg a bit more during this week’s debate 😊.
See also a tweet from Warren: “
Mayor Bloomberg has made women—dozens, who knows—sign nondisclosure agreements for sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Mr. Mayor, are you willing to release all of those women from those nondisclosure agreements so we can hear their side of the story? #DemDebate”
ODI – Four expert views on the future of tax for development
ODI;
“In this blog, four of our experts provide insights on the interplay between taxation and development – from informal taxes to civil society, and tax reform to economic transformation….”
Guardian – Citizens' wellbeing should be part of G20's priorities, says report
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/20/citizens-wellbeing-should-be-part-of-g20s-priorities-says-report?CMP=share_btn_tw
“The G20 needs to move beyond economic growth and GDP as a measure of progress and factor in human wellbeing and social prosperity, one of its key advisors has said in a new report. In a hard-hitting report due to be submitted to the G20 group of leading developed and developing countries, experts said that issues including the climate emergency and mental health meant judging progress required a different yardstick of success. Against a backdrop of heightened political unrest in several major western nations despite continued growth in economic prosperity, Dennis Snower, president of the Global Solutions Initiative, a thinktank with links to the group of rich nations, said they should adopt a “recoupling dashboard” to assess wellbeing and environment alongside GDP….”
“The report, shared exclusively with the Guardian, Die Zeit and Der Tagesspiegel, said there was an urgent need for all nations to use the dashboard to dramatically increase their focus on social prosperity, as a key tool in the fightback against growing political extremism across advanced economies. … … In a proposal floated ahead of the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia later this year, the dashboard would include four separate measurements of economic and social prosperity: GDP per capita and environmental performance, as well as two new indexes assessing the “solidarity” and “empowerment” of citizens….”
A few tweets of the week
Olga Jones (former WB staff member on pandemic risk):
“”
#pandemic bonds were designed by @worldbank to fail from the outset. The cost of $115 million for fat coupons and bankers’ fees was paid from public funds intended for the poorest countries. “
Devi Sridhar
“Huge problem in #globalhealth is initiavitis- launching initiative after initiative, often focused on same issue. Why? Bc donors want to control easily, but also bc founders want to take credit for 'founding' something new. We need less ego & more humility.”
L Gostin
“I have no desire to criticize China, less so @WHO re #COVID19 This isn't a "war." It should be a ph science-based response that respects human rights, int'l law, #IHR We're trading off lives & rts of indivs in Hubei to wall off virus from int'l spread. It shouldn't work that way”
Rachel Thompson (with appropriate emoji’s )
“Are the side effects of the devastating #COVID2019 outbreak ultimately good news for the planet? 🌍😷🐝 Could this #GlobalHealth emergency be a blessing in disguise for the #ClimateEmergency ? 🤷♀️ #ClimateCrisis #Gaiatheory #Coronavirustruth #Controversial”.