Showing 1 - 10 of 26
Foreign aid, the powerful US soft power, is gone
Oped, Jeffrey Frankel, Published on 23/05/2025
» 'Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." When Joni Mitchell sang that line in 1970, she was lamenting the destruction of the environment, but the sentiment applies to many issues. Today, we can add official development assistance (ODA) to the list.
Covid narrative redux
Postbag, Published on 18/05/2025
» Re: "Protectionism will not protect", (Opinion, May 16).
Protectionism will not protect
Oped, Winnie Byanyima & Michael Marmot, Published on 16/05/2025
» As many Global North countries turn inwards, foreign assistance has become an easy target. The decimation of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has dominated headlines, but the United Kingdom and many European countries have also cut their foreign-aid budgets. Policymakers in these countries view this spending as a form of charity and think that bolstering their economic and military might can deliver more benefits for more people.
Multilateralism can bring success
Oped, Emmanuel Macron, José Manuel Barroso & Mohamed Cheikh El Ghazouani, Published on 21/06/2024
» Multilateralism, we are told, is in retreat. But we cannot let retrenchment and fragmentation take over. From climate change and biodiversity collapse to the conflicts, geopolitical tension, and turbulence afflicting today's world, we know that overcoming global challenges requires renewed and strengthened forms of global cooperation.
Time to prepare for 'Disease X'
Oped, Tom Achoki, Lawrence Were & Ahmed Ogwell, Published on 04/06/2024
» On Dec 12, 2019, a group of patients in Wuhan, China, started showing symptoms of an atypical pneumonia-like illness that did not respond well to standard treatments. Ninety days later, with more than 118,000 cases reported in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic.
Asean centrality in a changing world
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 30/04/2024
» What is Asean centrality? It can mean different things to different people, but broadly, it can be seen as a regional framework that supports Asean's role as the dominant regional platform to overcome common challenges and engage with external powers.
The key to transforming a health crisis
Oped, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 25/04/2024
» Despite the relentless stream of bad news from around the world, there are still reasons for optimism. One notable example is the renewed push to localise pharmaceutical production in Africa, demonstrating how even catastrophic events like a pandemic can lead to positive, unforeseen outcomes.
What pandemic preparedness would look like
Oped, Joseph E Stiglitz, Published on 06/10/2023
» Humanity was caught off guard by the Covid-19 pandemic, even though we had effectively been warned by smaller-scale outbreaks -- of Sars, Ebola, Mers and avian flu -- for decades.
The precarious life of gorillas
Oped, Assaf Levy, Published on 27/09/2023
» Have you ever wondered what it is like to stand face to face with a creature so powerful yet so achingly human in its gaze? Imagine, for a moment, to be in the heart of Africa's mystical forests, surrounded by towering trees and the ethereal sounds of nature. And there, in that sacred realm, you find yourself in the presence of gorillas -- these gentle giants, our kin in the animal kingdom, who hold a mirror to our own humanity.
Time to prepare for the next health emergency
Oped, Mamta Murthi, Published on 09/02/2023
» The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses and lack of preparedness of health systems globally. When the virus was at its peak, many low- and middle-income countries struggled to save lives while sustaining essential medical services such as maternal health care, routine childhood immunisation, and the treatment of non-communicable diseases.