AFRICA Reuters: Schools reopen in South Africa as parents worry about safeguards (Toyana, 6/8). ASIA Devex: Interactive: The multilaterals funding the COVID-19 response in Southeast Asia and Pacific (Buan/Sarmenta, 6/5). New York Times: New Zealand Lifts Lockdown as It Declares Virus Eliminated, for Now (Cave, 6/8). Reuters: U.N. expert says…

CNN: Acting USAID chief’s daughter rebukes him over push for U.N. to limit abortion access “The daughter of the acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development is rebuking her father over the agency’s push for the United Nations to remove abortion as an ‘essential service’ in its response…

Nature: What the growing rift between the U.S. and WHO means for COVID-19 and global health “Experts in health policy are contending with the real possibility that the United States will pull away from the World Health Organization (WHO), fracturing a relationship that began in the wake of the Second…

POLITICO: How coronavirus is changing access to abortion “As the coronavirus steamrolls the global order, reproductive health care practitioners and advocates are struggling to maintain access to contraception and abortions. Lockdowns and disrupted supply chains have prompted a flurry of action in the sector as governments, practitioners, and advocates react…

Al Jazeera: Trump sidelines CDC in push to reopen the U.S. economy (Roberts, 5/20). Devex: First came the coronavirus. And then the cyclone hit (Cornish, 5/21). Devex: Q&A: Gates Foundation adopts ‘yes, and’ strategy in response to COVID-19 (Lieberman, 5/21). The Economist: The risk of severe covid-19 is not uniform…

CNN: U.S. asks for abortion references to be removed from U.N. pandemic response plan “The Trump administration is urging the United Nations secretary general to remove any references to reproductive health, including abortions, from the U.N.’s humanitarian response plan to the coronavirus pandemic to ‘avoid creating controversy.’ ‘The United States…

UPI: USAID accuses U.N. of using pandemic to promote abortion “The Trump administration on Monday urged the United Nations to stop ‘promoting abortion,’ accusing it of using the coronavirus pandemic to advance access to the medical practice. In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, the U.S. Agency for International…

USAID: Acting Administrator John Barsa Letter to U.N. Secretary General Guterres In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa urges the U.N. to remove references to sexual and reproductive health from the U.N. Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 (5/18).

Devex: Opinion: Funding for harm reduction services is key for long-term health goals Naomi Burke-Shyne, executive director of Harm Reduction International (5/15). IPS: Finding Money for Public Health, Green Economic Recovery & SDGs John Garrett, Kathryn Tobin, and Chilufya Chileshe, all members of WaterAid’s policy team from its U.K., U.S.,…

Devex: Opinion: To deliver a COVID-19 vaccine equitably, we must start planning now Deborah Atherly, global head of policy, access, and introduction for PATH’s center for vaccine innovation and access (5/7). Devex: Opinion: The coronavirus response needs local communities and faith leaders Ruth Faber, CEO of EU-CORD, and colleagues (5/7).…