Covid-19 and its effects on global health / Medicus Mundi Switzerland

The impact of COVID-19 on women

"The year 2020, marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, was intended to be ground-breaking for gender equality. Instead, with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, even the limited gains made in the past decades are at risk of being rolled back. The pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems which are in turn amplifying the impacts of the pandemic." (Photo: UN Women Asia and the Pacific/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

COVID-19 threatens women’s and girls’ well-being & requires men and boys to come on board

"The current Covid-19 pandemic is a major gender and inequity challenge at various levels of society, including in the home. Many governments have ordered lockdowns – citizens are urged to stay in their homes to limit the spread of the virus. With this arrangement, however, the threat of gender-based violence lurks around and the burden of care work in households will be a heavy burden carried by women and girls, creating stress and anxiety that could make them susceptible to disease." (Photo: DFID - UK Department for International Development/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

'Crime against humanity': Trump condemned for WHO funding freeze

"Leading health experts have labelled Donald Trump’s decision to cut funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “crime against humanity” and a “damnable” act that will cost lives. The move also drew a rebuke from the head of the United Nations, who said the WHO was “absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against Covid-19”. (Photo: Jonathan Cutrer/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

The Global Impact of COVID-19 and Strategies for Mitigation and Suppression

"The world faces a severe and acute public health emergency due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. How individual countries respond in the coming weekswill be critical in influencing the trajectory of national epidemics. Here we combine data on age-specific contact patterns and COVID-19 severity to project the health impact of the pandemic in 202 countries. We compare predicted mortality impacts in the absence of interventions or spontaneous social distancing with what might be achieved with policies aimed at mitigating or suppressing transmission. Our estimates of mortality and healthcare demand are based on data from China and high-income countries; differences in underlying health conditions and healthcare system capacity will likely result in different patterns in low income settings." (Photo: Prachatai/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

After the pandemic: How will COVID-19 transform global health and development?

"The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruption for the global health and development community. Organizations fighting infectious disease, supporting health workers, delivering social services, and protecting livelihoods have moved to the very center of the world’s attention. But they find their work complicated by challenges of access, safety, supply chain logistics, and financial stress like never before." (Photo: Public Services International/flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

COVID-19: A Gender Lens

"Disease outbreaks affect women and men differently, and pandemics make existing inequalities for women and girls and discrimination of other marginalized groups such as persons with disabilities and those in extreme poverty, worse. This needs to be considered, given the different impacts surrounding detection and access to treatment for women and men. Women represent 70 percent of the health and social sector workforce globally and special attention should be given to how their work environment may expose them to discrimination, as well as thinking about their sexual and reproductive health and psychosocial needs as frontline health workers." (Photo: Nik Andr/flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak

"Policies and public health efforts have not addressed the gendered impacts of disease outbreaks. The response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appears no different. We are not aware of any gender analysis of the outbreak by global health institutions or governments in affected countries or in preparedness phases. Recognising the extent to which disease outbreaks affect women and men differently is a fundamental step to understanding the primary and secondary effects of a health emergency on different individuals and communities, and for creating effective, equitable policies and interventions." (Photo: UN Women/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

WHO-Direktor sagt warnend: «Afrika muss sich auf das Schlimmste vorbereiten»

"Noch gibt es erst wenige Corona-Fälle auf dem Kontinent. Dennoch droht das Virus Afrika in seiner Entwicklung um Jahre zurückzuwerfen. 769 Infizierte, 19 Tote: Nimmt man die bisher bestätigten Covid-19-Fälle in den Ländern Afrikas als Massstab, scheint der Kontinent bisher nur am Rande betroffen von der weltweiten Corona-Krise. Bis dato wurden in 33 von 54 Staaten Infektionen nachgewiesen. Am meisten sind es in Ägypten (210) und Südafrika (150)." (Foto: President Cyril Ramaphosa briefs media on South Africa's first case of Covid-19 Coronavirus/GovernmentZA/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

« Die WHO kommt nicht unbeschadet aus dieser Pandemie hervor »

Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) ist regelmässig sowohl uneingeschränktem Lob als auch bissiger Kritik ausgesetzt. Wurde sie 2009 gegenüber der Schweinegrippe dafür kritisiert, überreagiert zu haben, warf man ihr 2014 gegenüber der Ebola-Epidemie in Westafrika vor, zu zurückhaltend gewesen zu sein. Der Leiter des Instituts für globale Gesundheit an der Universität Genf, Antoine Flahault, vermutet gegenüber der Zeitung Le Temps, dass sich die WHO nach der gegenwärtigen Krise tiefgehenden Fragen stellen müsse, die ihre Funktionsweise, ihre Gouvernanz, ihre Unabhängigkeit und ihre Mittel betreffen. (Foto: COVID-19 - Coronavirus/Tim Dennell/flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

OPINION: What fight against tuberculosis can teach us about fighting COVID-19

"As we fight COVID-19, we must seize the opportunity to rethink our approach to health security and break out of the cycle of panic and neglect. As governments around the world struggle to contain spiraling infections and an ever-increasing death toll from COVID-19, it’s worth reflecting on what lessons we can draw from the long and still unfinished fight against tuberculosis (TB) – the world’s most deadly infectious disease that kills nearly 1.5 million per year." (Photo: SBT4NOW/flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

WHO Declares COVID-19 “Pandemic”; European Countries & Iran Adopt Aggressive Measures To Contain Growing Threat

"As cases of COVID-19 surpassed 120,000 around the world, the World Health Organization on Wednesday declared a pandemic – a move the organization stressed was intended to “trigger” even more aggressive action from governments against the virus rather than surrender to its rapid spread. In line with current trends, numbers of COVID-19 cases, deaths and number of affected countries will “climb even higher,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Wednesday, before they decline." (Photo: Corona-Pandemie/ Michael Gubi/flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

The rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless must be protected in COVID-19 response

"In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, we are all vulnerable. The virus has shown that it does not discriminate – but many refugees, those forcibly displaced, the stateless and migrants are at heightened risk. Three-quarters of the world’s refugees and many migrants are hosted in developing regions where health systems are already overwhelmed and under-capacitated. Many live in overcrowded camps, settlements, makeshift shelters or reception centres, where they lack adequate access to health services, clean water and sanitation." (Photo: United Nations Photo/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak

"In March 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, to be a pandemic, due to the speed and scale of transmission. WHO and public health authorities around the world are taking action to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Certain populations, such as those with disability, may be impacted more significantly by COVID-19. This impact can be mitigated if simple actions and protective measures are taken by key stakeholders." (Photo: Camp ASCCA/flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Priorities for the Health Financing Response to COVID-19

"By now, every country in the world is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to act is urgent, but the response must be coherent. It will be of little help if the urgency of the moment leads to chaos in how countries and the global community respond. This requires distinguishing what needs to be done – actions in service delivery, financing, and governance – from the objectives to be achieved in terms of health security and universal health coverage (UHC). The choice is not between health security and UHC. Investing in core health systems-functions is key to both, complemented by public policy actions beyond the health system." (Photo: United States Mission Geneva/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

CORONAVIRUS Dans le Sud, le pire est à venir. Quelle solidarité du Nord?

"Dans les pays en développement, le pire sur le front du coronavirus reste à venir. Mais déjà aujourd’hui les mesures de confinement prises par divers gouvernements du Sud, notamment en Afrique, ont un impact dévastateur sur la vie et l’économie de pays particulièrement vulnérables. En début de semaine, l’ONU a lancé un cri d’alarme en demandant que les Etats du Nord débloquent 2500 milliards de dollars d‘aide en faveur du Sud."

The Global Impact of COVID-19 and Strategies for Mitigation and Suppression

"The world faces a severe and acute public health emergency due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. How individual countries respond in the coming weekswill be critical in influencing the trajectory of national epidemics. Here we combine data on age-specific contact patterns and COVID-19 severity to project the health impact of the pandemic in 202 countries. We compare predicted mortality impacts in the absence of interventions or spontaneous social distancing with what might be achieved with policies aimed at mitigating or suppressing transmission. Our estimates of mortality and healthcare demand are based on data from China and high-income countries; differences in underlying health conditions and healthcare system capacity will likely result in different patterns in low income settings." (Photo: Prachatai/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

27 Apr 2020 : The Gates Foundation's new move

"Director-General Tedros and other senior officials at WHO have today been retweeting an interview from the Financial Times in which Bill Gates announces that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is refocusing all of its efforts on the COVID-19 response: “We’ve taken an organisation that was focused on HIV and malaria and polio eradication, and almost entirely shifted it to work on this [COVID-19] … This has the foundation’s total attention.” (Photo: UN Geneva/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Covid-19 tracking app must satisfy human rights and data laws

"The government’s plan to exit lockdown through a tracking app will need detailed justification to satisfy human rights and data protection laws, a report has warned. A centralised system for contact tracing, which it is thought the government may well choose, would result in “significantly greater interference with users’ privacy and require greater justification”, the report – given as a legal opinion – concludes." (Photo: Aaron Yoo/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

Test, test, test: COVID-19 and HIV testing updates

"The International AIDS Society (IAS) is organizing a series of webinars on the topic of COVID-19 and HIV to discuss the pandemic and its impact on people living with HIV. Through these webinar sessions, the IAS would like to provide an opportunity for discussion around the latest science, in addition to sharing learning and best practices in relation to COVID-19 and HIV between countries at different stages of the pandemic, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. The webinars are recommended to HIV professionals, government representatives working in the field of HIV, public health specialists, programme managers, service providers, civil society representatives and members of organizations supporting key and vulnerable populations."

The Global Fund makes laudable efforts to tackle COVID-19, but questions remain

"Early March, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria recognized the threat that the novel coronavirus that causes the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses to the health systems of its beneficiary countries. The Global Fund issued a first guidance note allowing countries to redeploy underutilized assets, repurpose grant savings and, in exceptional cases, reprogram up to 5% funding from existing grants to fight COVID-19. The Secretariat estimates the costs of these flexibilities at $500 million. A month later, the Global Fund announced an additional $500 million to a newly created COVID-19 Response Mechanism."

The Coronavirus pandemic and the irrelevance of the SDGs: Time for a new Jubilee

"According to Remco van de Pas, SDG3 on health and wellbeing has been irrelevant to address global challenges in this area. The futility of this SDG and limits of the World Health Organization are today painfully clear in the approach of the covid-19 pandemic. Although the crisis was not unexpected, WHO member states have insufficiently invested and left much scope for charities and private investors. The author scrutinizes global public health policies and advocates the creation of a new Jubilee Campaign for indebted countries."

Coronavirus Global Response: €7.4 billion raised for universal access to vaccines

"Today, the Commission registered €7.4 billion, equivalent to $8 billion, in pledges from donors worldwide during the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event. This includes a pledge of €1.4 billion by the Commission. This almost reaches the initial target of €7.5 billion and is a solid starting point for the worldwide pledging marathon, which begins today. The aim is to gather significant funding to ensure the collaborative development and universal deployment of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines against coronavirus." (Photo: LIBER Europe/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage

"UNFPA aims to achieve three world-changing results by 2030, the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. These are: Ending unmet need for family planning, ending gender-based violence including harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage, and ending all preventable maternal deaths. COVID-19 pandemic could critically undermine progress made towards achieving these goals." (Photo: Bread for the World/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Covid-19 crisis raises hopes of end to UK transmission of HIV

“In the war against any infectious virus,” says Dr Alan McOwan, “You’re trying to win various battles. You have to keep clobbering it from every direction you can.” That’s true for coronavirus, he says, as well as for other viral conditions. An HIV specialist at London’s 56 Dean Street sexual health clinic, McOwan sees similarities between Covid-19 and HIV. Both are viruses without a working vaccine, you can be infectious without knowing it, and both rely mostly on close human contact to spread." (Photo: NIAID/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Opinion: How to prevent the 2020s from becoming a lost decade for children

"A few short months ago, we were talking about the 2020s as the “decade of delivery” for the Sustainable Development Goals. Now, we are facing a “lost decade” as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to roll back the hard-won gains of the last 30 years. Can we prevent a great reversal in development? That is the question hanging over millions of the world’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. The health, the hopes, and, in some cases, the lives of these children are on the line — not that you would know it from the international response." (Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

COVID-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health

"Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental health crisis as well, if action is not taken. Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently." (Photo: Liberal Democrats/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

US and UK 'lead push against global patent pool for Covid-19 drugs'

"Ministers and officials from every nation will meet via video link on Monday for the annual world health assembly, which is expected to be dominated by efforts to stop rich countries monopolising drugs and future vaccines against Covid-19. As some countries buy up drugs thought to be useful against the coronavirus, causing global shortages, and the Trump administration does deals with vaccine companies to supply America first, there is dismay among public health experts and campaigners who believe it is vital to pull together to end the pandemic." (Photo: EpicTop10.com/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

COVID-19 Has ‘Severely’ Disrupted Chronic Disease Care, WHO Warns

A new survey by WHO has found that the COVID-19 pandemic has ‘severely’ disrupted the delivery of services to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in almost 80% of countries surveyed – or 122 out of 150 countries. This is of “significant concern” WHO said on Monday in a statement, because people with NCDs also are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and death. And even prior to the pandemic, some three quarters of all deaths worldwide were due to NCDs. (Photo: World Bank Photo Collection/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

COVID-19 and HIV: Adapting community-based HIV services during a pandemic

"The International AIDS Society (IAS) is organizing a series of webinars on the topic of COVID-19 and HIV to discuss the pandemic and its impact on people living with HIV. Through these webinar sessions, the IAS would like to provide an opportunity for discussion around the latest science, in addition to sharing learning and best practices in relation to COVID-19 and HIV between countries at different stages of the pandemic, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. The webinars are recommended to HIV professionals, government representatives working in the field of HIV, public health specialists, programme managers, service providers, civil society representatives and members of organizations supporting key and vulnerable populations." (Photo: IAS)

Using socioeconomics to counter health disparities arising from the covid-19 pandemic

"Principles and methods drawn from decades of work showing that lower socioeconomic status is associated with poorer health should guide efforts to monitor and mitigate the impact of the covid-19 pandemic argue Geoffrey Anderson and colleagues." (Photo: USAID U.S. Agency for International Development/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

“The Independent Panel did not meet the moment”

"The Independent Panel tasked by WHO with reviewing the global management of the COVID-19 pandemic has fulfilled its terms of reference. But despite the best efforts of the panelists, it did not meet the moment. The world might still need an Independent Panel -- but one that is transparent, accountable and participatory."

Covid-19 and its effects on global health

The impact of COVID-19 on women

COVID-19 threatens women’s and girls’ well-being & requires men and boys to come on board

'Crime against humanity': Trump condemned for WHO funding freeze

The Global Impact of COVID-19 and Strategies for Mitigation and Suppression

After the pandemic: How will COVID-19 transform global health and development?

COVID-19: A Gender Lens

COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak

WHO-Direktor sagt warnend: «Afrika muss sich auf das Schlimmste vorbereiten»

« Die WHO kommt nicht unbeschadet aus dieser Pandemie hervor »

OPINION: What fight against tuberculosis can teach us about fighting COVID-19

WHO Declares COVID-19 “Pandemic”; European Countries & Iran Adopt Aggressive Measures To Contain Growing Threat

The rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless must be protected in COVID-19 response

Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak

Priorities for the Health Financing Response to COVID-19

CORONAVIRUS Dans le Sud, le pire est à venir. Quelle solidarité du Nord?

The Global Impact of COVID-19 and Strategies for Mitigation and Suppression

27 Apr 2020 : The Gates Foundation's new move

Covid-19 tracking app must satisfy human rights and data laws

Test, test, test: COVID-19 and HIV testing updates

The Global Fund makes laudable efforts to tackle COVID-19, but questions remain

The Coronavirus pandemic and the irrelevance of the SDGs: Time for a new Jubilee

Coronavirus Global Response: €7.4 billion raised for universal access to vaccines

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage

Covid-19 crisis raises hopes of end to UK transmission of HIV

Opinion: How to prevent the 2020s from becoming a lost decade for children

COVID-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health

US and UK 'lead push against global patent pool for Covid-19 drugs'

COVID-19 Has ‘Severely’ Disrupted Chronic Disease Care, WHO Warns

COVID-19 and HIV: Adapting community-based HIV services during a pandemic

Using socioeconomics to counter health disparities arising from the covid-19 pandemic

“The Independent Panel did not meet the moment”

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