Health systems across the globe experienced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a year, many vaccine candidates received emergency approval; however, from discovery to herd immunity, it poses challenges, primarily in its development, affordability, accessibility, and acceptability. Developed countries faced challenges mostly in its acceptability, while developing countries faced challenges in its rollout, […]
Category: COVID-19
Faith leaders in the fight against the pandemic
A 2020 study by Afrobarometer revealed that across 34 countries in Africa, faith leaders are more widely trusted than any other public leaders. According to another survey by Pew Research Center, American adults who regularly attend religious services said they would trust their clergy’s advice on vaccines. Faith leaders, in general, command great respect […]
COVID-19 could slow the humanitarian response for the Ukraine crisis
COVID-19 incidence is decreasing after a recent surge across Europe. However, 2.8 million deaths were reported in the week 20th April just after COVID-19 precautions throughout the EU have been scaled back dramatically. Poland, which has welcomed the majority of Ukrainian refugees, ended its indoor mask mandate on March 28 for all public spaces […]
COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States: Where is the data on race?
The United States has shifted its focus on tracking COVID-19 cases to the use of hospitalizations as a primary metric in assessing “community level risk,” based on the recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, COVID-19 hospitalization data remains murky, inhibiting public health officials to accurately understand who is […]
The COVID-19 pandemic response: A microcosm of neocolonialism that hurts us all
Modern colonization drastically differs from what it was historically. Today’s control does not require economically rich countries to invade, set up physical colonies, or exert military control in less powerful countries. Instead, the neo-colonial power dynamics and approaches of today are more complex. A key difference is the emergence of global health in the […]
COVID-19 response allowing epidemics like tuberculosis to mount a comeback
Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck such a ferocious blow to the global health community, there was a trend in the right direction in eradicating other longstanding infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2015 and 2020, global tuberculosis (TB) incidence fell by 11%. Now, unfortunately, it seems that we’re losing that […]
How COVID-19 exposed crevices in Uganda’s health workforce
At the outset of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in December 2019, the magnitude and impact of the current global pandemic was inconceivable. As it ravaged one country to another, trepidation grew in Uganda. Locally, we wondered whether we could mount and coordinate an effective response: how would we cope with inextricably high patient loads, access […]
We must increase people’s access to and willingness to take COVID-19 vaccines
Recent research published by the journal Nature shows that people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are more willing to take COVID-19 vaccines than their counterparts in high-income countries. The researchers analysed 15 COVID-19 vaccine acceptance surveys involving 44,260 respondents across 13 countries – Burkina Faso, Colombia, India, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra […]
Beyond health: Connecting art, COVID-19 and the Sustainable Development Goals in the rural plains of Nepal
Art and the SDGs is a public engagement project between artisans from the Janakpur Women’s Development Centre (a centre of Mithila art and culture) in the southern plains of Nepal, researchers at UCL Institute for Global Health and the United Nations in Nepal to promote dialogue between students and artisans about local meanings of […]
Stigma related to COVID-19 threatens to divide humanity further
. The global spread of COVID-19 has been accompanied by a deeply troubling rise of stigma. Stigma related to COVID-19 included stereotyping, blaming and ostracizing groups or individuals that were infected or associated with the disease. This pattern of stigmatization has been fueled by political rhetoric, inequity, and mistrust . Many of these stem from […]