Covid-19 pandemic has shown humanity at its best – & at its worst: WHO DG before the UNICEF Executive Board

‘Ultimately, our fight is not against a single virus. Our fight is against the inequalities that leave children in some countries exposed to deadly diseases that are easily prevented in others; Our fight is against the inequalities that mean women and their babies die during childbirth in some countries because of complications that are easily prevented in others;

‘And our fight is to ensure that health is no longer a commodity or a luxury item, but a fundamental human right, and the foundation of the safer, fairer and more sustainable world we all want.

‘History will not judge us solely by how we ended the COVID-19 pandemic, but what we learned, what we changed, and the future we left our children.’

Read here (IPS News, Feb 11, 2021)

Covid-19 has exposed the catastrophic impact of privatising vital services

‘The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the catastrophic fallout of decades of global privatisation and market competition. When the pandemic hit, we saw hospitals being overwhelmed, caregivers forced to work with virtually no protective equipment, nursing homes turned into morgues, long queues to access tests, and schools struggling to connect with children confined to their homes. People were being urged to stay at home when many had no decent roof over their heads, no access to water and sanitation, and no social protection. 

‘For many years, vital public goods and services have been steadily outsourced to private companies. This has often resulted in inefficiency, corruption, dwindling quality, increasing costs and subsequent household debt, further marginalising poorer people and undermining the social value of basic needs like housing and water. We need a radical change in direction.’

Read here (The Guardian, Oct 19, 2020)

Families on the edge [Malaysia]: Issue 1 -- The immediate impact of the Movement Control Order period

‘In May 2020 UNICEF and UNFPA jointly commissioned the Families on the Edge study to explore the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women and children in low income urban families in Malaysia. This report is the first in a series of reports under the Families on the Edge project and describes the immediate socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on a group of 500 families with children in Kuala Lumpur’s low-cost flats, as well as preliminary insights on the relevance, adequacy and accessibility of key COVID-19 mitigation policies and other critical social services for this particularly vulnerable group. Future reports are expected to monitor the extent to which these families recover and offer critical insights for the general public and policymakers as Malaysia aims to ‘build-back-better’

Read here (Unicef Malaysia, August 2020)

Download the 36-page report here (Unicef Malaysia, August 2020)

Leaders in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America need to look carefully at alternative policies

‘Some possibilities include:

• A universal mask-wearing requirement when workers leave their homes (as masks and homemade face coverings are comparatively cheap, and such a policy is likely feasible for almost all countries to implement); 
• Targeted social isolation of the elderly and other at-risk groups, while permitting productive individuals with lower-risk profiles to continue working; 
• Improving access to clean water, hand-washing, and sanitation, and other policies to decrease the viral load; and 
• Widespread social influence and information campaigns to encourage behaviours that slow the spread of disease but do not undermine economic livelihoods. This could include restrictions on the size of religious and social gatherings or programs to encourage community and religious leaders to endorse safer behaviours and communicate them clearly.’

Read here (Foreign Policy, April 10, 2020)