Opinion Pieces Discuss Various Issues Related To COVID-19, Including Global Need To Strengthen Health Systems

Financial Times: World Bank: Coronavirus highlights the need to strengthen health systems
David Malpass, president of the World Bank Group

“…[A]ddressing emergency health and economic impacts from this outbreak must be followed by longer-term investments to build stronger and more resilient health systems. This makes sense both from a health and an economic perspective. … All governments should increase their health security. Strong primary health systems are the most effective way to do that. … This outbreak can be contained. Actions taken now by countries and the international community can save lives. The breadth of the response will be crucial to its effectiveness. Countries must … strengthen their health surveillance and primary health systems, which are essential to stopping the spread of this and any future outbreaks” (3/4).

The Atlantic: It’s Not Too Late to Fight the Coronavirus
Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law and director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law (3/5).

Bloomberg: Coronavirus Just Made Iraq’s Political Crisis Worse
Bobby Ghosh, columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board (3/3).

CNN: The Trump administration’s ludicrous approach to coronavirus vaccine
Jeffrey Sachs, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University (3/5).

The Conversation: Yes, washing our hands really can help curb the spread of coronavirus
Karen Hofman, professor and program director at the SA MRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science – PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa) at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Susan Goldstein, professor at the School of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand (3/4).

Foreign Policy: Don’t Count on Disaster Diplomacy as a Path to Peace
Ilan Kelman, professor at University College London and the University of Agder in Norway (3/3).

IPS: Coronavirus Exposes Global Economic Vulnerability
Anis Chowdhury, adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales and Western Sydney University, and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, assistant director general and coordinator for economic and social development at the U.N. FAO (3/4).

New York Times: Letters to the Editor: Vaccine Development: The Ebola Example
Julie L. Gerberding, infectious disease doctor and chief patient officer at Merck (3/4).

New York Times: Coronavirus: Revenge of the Pangolins
Wufei Yu, Chinese journalist and contributor to Outside Magazine (3/5).

Project Syndicate: How America Can Beat COVID-19
James K. Galbraith, professor and chair in government/business relations at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and author (3/4).

Project Syndicate: Will the Coronavirus Topple China’s One-Party Regime?
Minxin Pei, professor at Claremont McKenna College and non-resident senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (3/4).

STAT: How innovation is helping mitigate the coronavirus threat
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association and author (3/4).

Washington Post: Trump’s coronavirus response puts his authoritarian instincts on full view
Frida Ghitis, writer for the Washington Post (3/4).

Washington Post: Has Australia’s leader learned from the catastrophic fires? The coronavirus is a test.
Richard Glover, presenter of the ‘Drive’ show on ABC Radio Sydney and author (3/4).

Washington Post: Does the World Health Organization have the freedom to do what it needs to do about covid-19?
Jeremy Youde, global health politics researcher and dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth (3/4).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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