KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

Trump Administration Warned, Held Simulations About Respiratory Disease Outbreak, Experts Say; Senate Democrat Proposes Legislation Calling For Permanent Pandemic Coordinator As Kushner's Coronavirus Team Sows Confusion

The Hill: Senate Democrat introduces legislation requiring permanent pandemic coordinator
“Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced legislation on Thursday requiring the administration to appoint a permanent pandemic prevention and response coordinator to the National Security Council (NSC) amid concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. The proposed legislation follows President Trump’s decision in 2018 to scrap the post, which was first created under the Obama administration to combat the Ebola crisis…” (Axelrod, 3/19).

Kaiser Health News: Was The Novel Coronavirus Really Sneaky In Its Spread To The U.S.? Experts Say No.
“…Public health researchers have warned for years about the threat of a pandemic. And members of the Trump administration have been sounding the alarm for months now — even while, just earlier this month, Trump was still comparing the virus’s severity to the flu, and arguing that it ‘will go away’ if people ‘stay calm.’ We contacted the White House, which declined to comment on the record. Meanwhile, independent experts told us this claim is deeply misleading…” (Luthra, 3/19).

New York Times: Before Virus Outbreak, a Cascade of Warnings Went Unheeded
“…The [Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services’] simulation’s sobering results — contained in a draft report dated October 2019 that has not previously been reported — drove home just how underfunded, underprepared and uncoordinated the federal government would be for a life-or-death battle with a virus for which no treatment existed. … Many of the potentially deadly consequences of a failure to address the shortcomings are now playing out in all-too-real fashion across the country. And it was hardly the first warning for the nation’s leaders. Three times over the past four years the U.S. government, across two administrations, had grappled in depth with what a pandemic would look like, identifying likely shortcomings and in some cases recommending specific action…” (Sanger et al., 3/19).

TIME: Under Fire For Coronavirus Response, Trump Officials Defend Disbanding Pandemic Team
“…Now architects of the [National Security Council (NSC)] reorganization are speaking out, defending the White House’s decision by arguing that they merely streamlined a bloated organization and put pandemic and bioweapons experts in the same room, a move that was tested in real time by the 2018 upsurge in cases of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Former officials say that the outbreak has been largely defeated, proof that the current White House can readily respond to such threats if given enough warning. They instead blame China, claiming the country waited weeks, if not months, to warn the world early enough to stop the spread of COVID-19, with Trump and other officials now calling it the ‘Chinese virus.’ China alerted the World Health Organization to several unusual cases of pneumonia on Dec. 31…” (Dozier/Bergengruen, 3/19).

Washington Post: Was the White House office for global pandemics eliminated?
“…One can see the dueling narratives here, neither entirely incorrect. The office — as set up by Obama — was folded into another office. Thus, one could claim the office was eliminated. But the staff slots did not disappear and at least initially the key mission of team remained a priority. So one can also claim nothing changed and thus Biden’s criticism is overstated. The question that cannot be answered — at least perhaps until a congressionally mandated commission examines the U.S. preparation for this crisis — is whether a separate directorate would have had more clout to bring the issue immediately to the president’s attention…” (Kessler/Kelly, 3/20).

Washington Post: Kushner coronavirus team sparks confusion, plaudits inside White House response efforts
“Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser, has created his own team of government allies and private industry representatives to work alongside the administration’s official coronavirus task force, adding another layer of confusion and conflicting signals within the White House’s disjointed response to the crisis…” (Abutaleb et al., 3/18).

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Media Outlets Profile Members Of White House Coronavirus Task Force

CNN: Pence’s ‘right arm’ on coronavirus response has lengthy experience battling HIV epidemic (Kelly, 3/19).

POLITICO: Trump’s new public health ‘star’ (Diamond, 3/20).

STAT: ‘A number of new stars’: The definitive guide to the Trump administration’s coronavirus response team (Facher, 3/20).

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President Trump Touts Possible Coronavirus Treatments Under Investigation; Global Search For Vaccine Continues; U.N. Working To Ensure Medical Supplies, Diagnostics

AP: Trump focuses attention on possible coronavirus treatments
“President Donald Trump focused attention on possible treatments for the new coronavirus on Thursday, citing potential use of a drug long used to treat malaria and some other approaches still in testing. At a White House news conference, Trump and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn cited the malaria drug chloroquine, along with remdesivir, an experimental antiviral from Gilead Sciences, and possibly using plasma from survivors of COVID-19, the disease the new virus causes…” (Marchione, 3/19).

New York Times: Search for Coronavirus Vaccine Becomes a Global Competition
“A global arms race for a coronavirus vaccine is underway. In the three months since the virus began its deadly spread, China, Europe, and the United States have all set off at a sprint to become the first to produce a vaccine. But while there is cooperation on many levels — including among companies that are ordinarily fierce competitors — hanging over the effort is the shadow of a nationalistic approach that could give the winner the chance to favor its own population and potentially gain the upper hand in dealing with the economic and geostrategic fallout from the crisis…” (Sanger et al., 3/19).

Reuters: WHO working to ensure supplies of diagnostics, protective gear — Tedros
“The World Health Organization (WHO) is finalizing arrangements for Chinese suppliers to export protective gear for health workers and aims to build a ‘continuous pipeline,’ WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday. Tedros, in weekly remarks to diplomats made available by the Geneva-based agency, said the WHO was seeking to contract more laboratories to conduct independent evaluations of diagnostic kits and was working with companies to secure supply…” (Nebehay, 3/19).

STAT: With the coronavirus surging, Trump wants science to move far faster. It can’t
“For about 20 minutes on Thursday, President Trump undermined six decades of dogma on the development of safe and effective drugs. Trump, addressing a nation under shelter and quarantine from the coronavirus pandemic, said a new drug for Covid-19, yet to be proved safe and effective, was now ‘approved or very close to approved.’ Another, also not approved for coronavirus, would be ‘available almost immediately,’ in part because using it is ‘not going to kill anybody.’ … The president’s remarks ran afoul of nearly every established FDA norm — prizing data and evidence over rhetoric, for instance, and avoiding promises, let alone those that can’t be kept. But they were also a sign of his long-running impatience with the realities of drug development — an impatience that is flaring at a time when the need for new medications seems more urgent than ever…” (Florko/Garde, 3/19).

Additional coverage of efforts to develop treatments, vaccines, and diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2, as well as maintaining supply chains, is available from Bloomberg (2), The Economist, Global Health NOW, The Guardian, The Hill, NBC, POLITICO, Quartz, Reuters, STAT, The Telegraph, U.N. News, Washington Post, and Washington Times.

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Canada, World Bank, IFC Look To Roll Out Funds; U.S. Implements More Sanctions On Iran Despite COVID-19 Outbreak

CP/Globe and Mail: Ottawa to roll out foreign aid as part of the fight against COVID-19 spread
“The Canadian government will soon roll out millions in foreign aid spending to help combat the spread of COVID-19 abroad, particularly in refugee camps and developing countries, says International Development Minister Karina Gould…” (Carbert/Dickson, 3/19).

Devex: World Bank, IFC look to quickly deploy COVID-19 funds
“Using new funds, existing vehicles, and fast-track authorities, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation aim to get recently announced COVID-19 funding to the countries and companies that need it fast, to tackle immediate health needs, and also to address longer-term economic and social impacts…” (Saldinger, 3/20).

Foreign Policy: U.S. Adds More Iran Sanctions Despite Coronavirus Crisis
“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced further sanctions on Iran on Wednesday, citing the recent rocket attacks in Taji, Iraq, that killed two U.S. service members. According to a statement by Pompeo, the sanctions target ‘nine entities and three individuals’ mostly from Iran’s petrochemical industry that ‘provide revenue to the regime that it may use to fund terror and other destabilizing activities’…” (Quinn, 3/19).

New Humanitarian: Coronavirus and aid: What we’re watching
“As the coronavirus pandemic reaches new corners of the globe, its impacts are beginning to cascade on already stretched aid operations in crisis zones. The New Humanitarian is collecting updates about how the coronavirus is hitting aid responses in vulnerable communities — from refugee camps and disaster displacement sites, to border crossings and conflict zones…” (3/19).

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U.N. SG Guterres Says World 'At War' With Coronavirus, Global Recession 'Near Certainty'

AP: U.N. chief: World at war with a virus, recession near certain
“U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday the world ‘is at war with a virus’ and warned that ‘a global recession — perhaps of record dimensions — is a near certainty.’ The U.N. chief said ‘people are suffering, sick, and scared’ and stressed that current responses by individual countries will not address ‘the global scale and complexity of the crisis’…” (Lederer, 3/19).

The Guardian: World’s most vulnerable in ‘third wave’ for Covid-19 support, warn experts
“The world’s most vulnerable people could be last in line for support to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, experts have warned. Countries already dealing with humanitarian and refugee crises face a struggle to find the resources to deal with the pandemic by the time it reaches them, specialists said in a webinar hosted by the New Humanitarian news agency on Thursday…” (Ahmed, 3/20).

New York Times: Some Countries Are Better Armored for Epidemics Than Others
“No European country is escaping the economic consequences of the coronavirus, but the pain won’t be divided equally…” (Ewing, 3/19).

POLITICO: Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.
“For many Americans right now, the scale of the coronavirus crisis calls to mind 9/11 or the 2008 financial crisis — events that reshaped society in lasting ways, from how we travel and buy homes, to the level of security and surveillance we’re accustomed to, and even to the language we use. Politico Magazine surveyed more than thirty smart, macro thinkers this week, and they have some news for you: Buckle in. This could be bigger…” (3/19).

Reuters: U.N. chief says global recession due to coronavirus ‘a near certainty’
“United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that a global recession ‘is a near certainty’ and current national responses to the coronavirus pandemic ‘will not address the global scale and complexity of the crisis’…” (Nichols, 3/19).

STAT: Understanding what works: How some countries are beating back the coronavirus
“With Europe and the United States locked in deadly battle with the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, a number of countries that were hit early by the virus are doing a far better job of beating it back. China, which is now diagnosing more cases in returning travelers than in people infected at home, reported no new domestically acquired cases on Wednesday, for the first time in more than two months. South Korea, which had an explosive outbreak that began in February, is aggressively battering down its epidemic curve. Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have together reported only about 600 cases. Those successes have been bought by a layering of what are known as non-pharmaceutical initiatives — including social distancing and travel restrictions — aimed at severing chains of transmission to keep the virus from going into an exponential growth cycle…” (Branswell, 3/20).

Additional coverage of how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting nations worldwide is available from AP (2) (3), Financial Times, The Guardian, The Lancet, New Humanitarian, New York Times (2), NPR, PRI, Reuters (2) (3), Science, U.N. News (2), U.S. News & World Report, VOA News, and Washington Post.

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Experts Discuss Various Aspects Of COVID-19, Including Lessons From Ebola, Need For Coordinated International Action

Devex: An Ebola veteran shares lessons for COVID-19 (Saldinger, 3/20).

The Hill: Bill Gates says a coronavirus vaccine will first go to health care professionals (Kelley, 3/19).

PRI: Pandemic threatens stability, demands ‘coordinated global action,’ says Susan Rice (3/19).

Slate: A Reddit Ask Me Anything on Contagion, the International Response to the Coronavirus, and More (3/19).

U.N. News: Head of U.N. economic and social body underscores priority of health, safety during ‘unprecedented’ COVID-19 challenges (3/19).

Vox: ‘The virus is more patient than people are’: Obama’s Ebola czar on why the coronavirus is much worse (Klein, 3/19).

Yahoo News: Obama’s Ebola czar says coronavirus infections will ‘explode’ in next few weeks, won’t decrease until May (Smalley, 3/19).

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White House Favors Videoconference Over In-Person Meeting For June G7 Summit, Warns Americans Not To Travel Abroad

The Hill: White House scraps G-7 summit in favor of videoconference due to coronavirus
“This summer’s Group of Seven (G-7) summit has been scrapped due to concerns over the coronavirus, the White House confirmed Thursday. World leaders will instead convene via videoconference…” (Samuels, 3/19).

New York Times: As Pandemic Grows, U.S. Warns Americans Not to Travel Abroad
“The State Department announced on Thursday that Americans should not travel outside the country, and that citizens abroad should either return home or stay in place as the coronavirus pandemic grows. The department raised its global health advisory to Level 4, or ‘do not travel,’ which is the highest warning, usually reserved for nations that are war zones or facing serious disruptions such as political unrest or natural disasters…” (Wong, 3/19).

POLITICO: G-7 meeting replaced with teleconference due to coronavirus
“…Trump spoke with leaders from the seven nations this week via videoconference in what Deere said was the first time the group has met virtually. ‘The White House also informed the other G7 members that in order to continue close coordination, the President will convene the Leaders’ via video teleconference in April and May just as he did this week,’ [White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere] added…” (Semones, 3/19).

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Lancet Examines Future Of DFID Amid U.K. Political Changes

The Lancet: What now for DFID?
“The U.K. Department for International Development is a key global health and development institution, but political changes are casting doubt on its future…” (Burki, 3/21).

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Changing Weather Patterns To Increase Malaria Deaths, WHO Says

Devex: How climate change threatens the fight against malaria
“Despite being one of the oldest diseases in the world, malaria also remains one of the deadliest, killing 400,000 people — mostly children — every year. That is fueled in part by its ability to develop resistance to man-made drugs and insecticides, even as health experts continue the search for new tools. Now, another threat is emerging: changing weather patterns linked to climate change, which the World Health Organization estimates will lead to at least 60,000 more deaths from malaria between 2030 and 2050…” (Edwards, 3/19).

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Locust Swarms Threaten Food Security For Millions; Climate Change Contributing To Breeding, Spread

The Guardian: Locust crisis poses a danger to millions, forecasters warn
“The locust crisis that has now reached 10 countries could carry on to endanger millions more people, forecasters have said. Climate change created unprecedented conditions for the locusts to breed in the usually barren desert of the Arabian gulf, according to experts, and the insects were then able to spread through Yemen, where civil war has devastated the ability to control locust populations…” (Ahmed, 3/20).

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More News In Global Health

Borgen Magazine: The Global Health Security Act (Hill, 3/19).

The Economist: Africans with disabilities are at higher risk of HIV (3/19).

Forbes: New Push To Fight Biggest Global Killer Of Kids (Mohn, 3/19).

Foreign Policy: Coronavirus in the Corridors of Power (Palder/MacKinnon, 3/18).

The Hill: Women and the hidden burden of the coronavirus (Simon, 3/19).

MedPage Today: ‘It’s Not the Exact Same Virus Everywhere in the World’ (Laub, 3/19).

New York Times: Catherine Hamlin, 96, Dies; Pioneering Doctor Treated Childbirth Injury (Dahir, 3/19).
Reuters: Tributes flow for trailblazing Australia doctor who saved women in Ethiopia (Wuilbercq, 3/19).

Reuters: Teen pregnancy risk rises as schools shut for coronavirus in Africa (Peyton, 3/19).

SciDev.Net: Arthritis drug answer to pregnancy malaria: study (de Oliveira Andrade, 3/19).

U.N. News: Preventing discrimination against people with disabilities in COVID-19 response (3/19).

VOA News: Amid Challenges, South Sudan Vaccination Drive Tackles Measles (Oduah, 3/19).

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Editorials and Opinions

Editorials, Opinion Pieces Discuss Various Aspects Of COVID-19 Pandemic, Including Pandemic Preparedness

The Lancet: COVID-19: protecting health care workers
Editorial Board

“Worldwide, as millions of people stay at home to minimize transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, health care workers prepare to do the exact opposite. They will go to clinics and hospitals, putting themselves at high risk from COVID-2019. … Health care systems globally could be operating at more than maximum capacity for many months. But health care workers, unlike ventilators or wards, cannot be urgently manufactured or run at 100% occupancy for long periods. It is vital that governments see workers not simply as pawns to be deployed, but as human individuals. In the global response, the safety of health care workers must be ensured. Adequate provision of [personal protective equipment (PPE)] is just the first step; other practical measures must be considered, including cancelling non-essential events to prioritize resources; provision of food, rest, and family support; and psychological support. Presently, health care workers are every country’s most valuable resource” (3/21).

New York Times: The Epic Failure of Coronavirus Testing in America
Editorial Board

“…Social distancing is crucial to stopping the spread of coronavirus, but it is only half of the equation. To suppress and control a pandemic of this magnitude, countries also must find and isolate every person infected with Covid-19 — including those with mild cases of the disease who don’t turn up in doctor’s offices or hospitals. For just as long, however, officials in the United States have said something very different: If you suspect you’re infected, stay home. … But there is no question that the WHO’s approach works better. Every region that has managed to get a coronavirus outbreak under control has succeeded thanks to a combination of social distancing and aggressive efforts to test as many people as possible. … Epidemiological testing … is the only way to fully break the chains of transmission, says Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros, head of the WHO. Without it, the virus will come roaring back as soon as social distancing guidelines are relaxed. … [L]eaders ought to dramatically increase the number of drive-through testing sites, which help minimize exposure to others. Epidemiologists also have suggested expediting contact tracing by redeploying health workers who have been screening passengers at airports to communities dealing with active outbreaks. Using cellphone tracking capabilities … could also help…” (3/19).

Washington Post: A failure of leadership in Latin America
Editorial Board

“If Latin America is hard hit by the coronavirus epidemic, as it now appears it will be, two of its political leaders will bear outsize responsibility. Presidents Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico govern the region’s two most populous countries by far, with more than 325 million people between them. Yet both have minimized the risk of the novel coronavirus and resisted — or even flouted — measures to prevent its spread. … [Mexico’s lax policies around COVID-19] provided President Trump with some justification for his decision this week to curtail movement across the U.S.-Mexican border, including by asylum seekers. But Mr. Trump missed an opportunity to exert influence on Mr. Bolsonaro when he was asked Thursday about the latter’s dismissive approach to the epidemic. ‘I have no message for him’ other than ‘he’s doing a good job in Brazil,’ Mr. Trump said. In fact, Mr. Bolsonaro’s performance has been grossly irresponsible — and it soon may cost Brazil many lives” (3/19).

Washington Post: The danger of a second wave
Editorial Board

“How long will the coronavirus pandemic last? No one knows, but almost surely longer than a few weeks. Even if the initial response saves the health care system from disaster, there is a strong possibility of a second or third wave. Serious planning ought to be underway now about how to cope. … [T]he goal must be to ‘flatten the curve,’ or suppress the extent of infection enough to avoid massive overload on hospitals, as already happened in Italy. This might take two or three months, judging by China’s experience. … Is it realistic to keep in place all the strict regimens for a year or 18 months? In a second phase, the public will be fatigued and under severe economic stress. Many people may be tempted to break the routine or take risks. One of the trickiest aspects of the coronavirus is that people can be contagious when they are not yet showing symptoms. The pandemic could come roaring back. Now that China is starting to reopen somewhat, it will be instructive whether a second wave of infection shows up…” (3/19).

The Atlantic: This Is How We Can Beat the Coronavirus
Aaron E. Carroll, professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, and Ashish Jha, professor of global health at Harvard University (3/19).

The Atlantic: China is Avoiding Blame by Trolling the World
Shadi Hamid, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (3/19).

Devex: Opinion: COVID-19 a collective failure, an unprecedented opportunity
Sue Coates, executive director ad interim of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, and Catarina de Albuquerque, CEO of Sanitation and Water for All (3/19).

Devex: Opinion: Support animal health systems to prevent the next pandemic
Klara Saville, head of global animal health, welfare, and community development at Brooke (3/19).

The Guardian: I have helped control health epidemics for 25 years. There is a way to stop coronavirus
Kamalini Lokuge, medical doctor and epidemiologist (3/19).

IPS: Plagues and People — The Coronavirus in a Historical Perspective
Jan Lundius, writer for IPS (3/19).

New York Times: A French Call to Arms Against the Virus
Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director of Le Monde (3/19).

Science: Time to pull together
H. Holden Thorp, Science journals editor in chief

Wall Street Journal: Make America the Medicine Chest of the World
Arthur Herman, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and author (3/19).

Washington Post: From Ebola to coronavirus, Trump always sees disease as a foreign enemy
Marc Fisher, senior editor at the Washington Post (3/20).

Washington Post: The coronavirus is a test of our national character
David Ignatius, columnist at the Washington Post (3/19).

Washington Post: Iran’s biggest holiday of the year is about to make its pandemic even worse
Jason Rezaian, Global Opinions writer at the Washington Post (3/19).

Washington Post: Don’t blame ‘China’ for the coronavirus — blame the Chinese Communist Party
Josh Rogin, columnist at the Washington Post (3/19).

Washington Post: The next two weeks will decide Africa’s fate on the coronavirus
Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at Edinburgh Medical School (3/19).

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More Opinions In Global Health

The Conversation: Newborns in developing countries need better protection from common bacteria
Ziyaad Dangor and Sanjay Lala, associate professors at the University of the Witwatersrand (3/18).

The Conversation: Why the elimination of malaria needs much greater involvement of women
Damaris Matoke-Muhia, senior research scientist with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (3/18).

The Conversation: Finally, snakebite is getting more attention as a tropical health issue
Andreas Hougaard Laustsen, associate professor, Line Ledsgaard, PhD candidate, and Timothy Patrick Jenkins, post doctoral researcher, all with the Technical University of Denmark (3/17).

The Lancet: Peace and health in Afghanistan
Editorial Board (3/21).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

Global Health Community Publishes Blog Posts, Statements On COVID-19

BMJ Opinion: Covid-19 and reproductive health: What can we learn from previous epidemics?
Benjamin Black, consultant in reproductive health for humanitarian contexts, and obstetrician and gynecologist at the Whittington Hospital, and Gillian McKay, researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (3/19).

Brookings Institution’s “Order From Chaos”: Taiwan shows its mettle in coronavirus crisis, while the WHO is MIA
Don Shapiro, senior director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (3/19).

Center for Global Development: Letter to Pelosi and McConnell: Recommendations for Coronavirus Emergency Legislation
Amanda Glassman, executive vice president and senior fellow at CGD and CEO of CGD Europe, and Scott Morris, director of the U.S. Development Policy Initiative, co-director of Sustainable Development Finance, and senior fellow at CGD (3/19).

Center for Strategic & International Studies: The Impact of COVID-19 on Humanitarian Crises
Jacob Kurtzer, deputy director and senior fellow for the Humanitarian Agenda at CSIS (3/19).

IntraHealth International’s “VITAL”: 3 Ways Our Tools and Teams around the World Are Combatting COVID-19 (3/19).

The Lancet: Health security capacities in the context of COVID-19 outbreak: an analysis of International Health Regulations annual report data from 182 countries
Nirmal Kandel, head of Unit a.i. Evidence and Analytics for Health Security (EHS) at the WHO, and colleagues (3/18).

United Nations: Secretary-General virtual press encounter on COVID-19 CRISIS (3/19).

UNFPA: As pandemic rages, women and girls face intensified risks (3/19).

UNFPA: COVID-19: A Gender Lens (March 2020).

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PAI Examines New GAO Report On Mexico City Policy

PAI: Freeze-Frame: A Snapshot of Global Gag Rule Financial Impacts From GAO
In this post, PAI examines a new GAO report assessing U.S. global health funding subject to the Trump administration’s expanded Mexico City policy (3/19).

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Brookings Experts Examine Findings From Survey On Africans' Views Of National Health Systems

Brookings Institution’s “Africa in Focus”: Figure of the week: African citizens’ views of basic health services
Anna Schaeffer, research intern, and Christina Golubski, assistant director, both for the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings, discuss findings from a survey examining Africans’ views on their national health systems (3/19).

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From the U.S. Government

President Trump, Vice President Pence, Members Of Coronavirus Task Force Provide Update On COVID-19 During Press Briefing

White House: Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing
During this press briefing, President Trump, Vice President Pence, and members of the Coronavirus Task Force provide an update on U.S. efforts to address COVID-19 (3/19).

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HHS Secretary Azar Hosts Call With G7 Countries To Share Information On COVID-19 Responses

HHS: Secretary Azar hosts call with counterparts of G7 countries on COVID-19 response
“On Thursday, March 19, Secretary Azar hosted the latest in a series of teleconferences with counterparts from the G7 core countries. The senior officials continued their sharing of information on measures being taken to combat COVID-19, as cases increase in every G7 country. They discussed some of the similar measures that are being taken, including social distancing, travel restrictions, plans for maintaining the availability of necessary medical supplies, optimizing testing procedures, and work on possible vaccines and treatments. The senior officials expressed their hope that these measures and the sharing of outcomes will help slow the spread of the disease, while new capabilities and tools become available to help manage the disease across all countries…” (3/19).

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CDC Issues TB-Focused MMWRs In Advance Of World TB Day On March 24

CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report”: World TB Day — March 24, 2020 (3/20).

CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report”: Global Epidemiology of Tuberculosis and Progress Toward Meeting Global Targets — Worldwide, 2018 (MacNeil et al., 3/20).

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From KFF

KFF Resources Examine U.S. Military's COVID-19 Response, Case Numbers Globally, Other Aspects Of Outbreak

KFF: The U.S. Military and the Domestic Coronavirus Response: Key Questions
Governors, presidential candidates, and others have asked for military assistance for domestic coronavirus response, and President Trump has stated he is working with states and the Department of Defense to have the military provide additional resources and assets. This brief answers key questions about potential U.S. military engagement in the domestic response to the coronavirus (Michaud/Moss, 3/20).

KFF: COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker — Updated as of March 19, 2020 (3/19).

KFF: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak Glossary (3/18).

Additional KFF COVID-19 resources, including those focused on the response and impact within the U.S., are available here.

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