In The News

EU Opens Borders to 14 Countries: DW

June 30, 2020
The European Union, seeking to protect its citizens from the Covid-19 pandemic and citing epidemiological factors like testing trends and serious public health responses, is opening its borders to nationals from 14 nations. The EU is also extending a travel ban imposed in mid-March for travelers from the United States, Brazil, Russia and most other countries beyond July 1. The United States, with...

Iran Reins in Family Planning: BBC News

June 29, 2020
Iran is limiting provision of family planning services at state-run facilities to counter a decline in population growth. Iran’s median age is 32, slightly higher than the world’s median age of 30. The World Bank reports Iran’s fertility rate at 2.1 children per women, which is replacement level. The government also reports that marriage rates dropped by 40 percent in a decade. “Vasectomies will...

Keep the US in WHO: Foreign Affairs

Harold Hongju Koh and Lawrence O. Gostin June 7, 2020
The United States represents about 25 percent of the world’s confirmed Covid-19 cases. US withdrawal from the World Health Organization, as proposed by the president based on false claims, would damage global health security and the rule of law. The US Congress can hold hearings and opponents can go to court, arguing the president lacks constitutional authority. Trump is correct that WHO should...

How We Broke the World: NYT

Thomas L. Friedman June 2, 2020
Global insecurity has intensified with the gradual dismantling of protections. “Over the past 20 years, we’ve been steadily removing man-made and natural buffers, redundancies, regulations and norms that provide resilience and protection when big systems – be they ecological, geopolitical or financial – get stressed,” explains Thomas Friedman for the New York Times. Obsession with short-term...

Trump’s "Withdrawal" From WHO: Just Security

Harold Hongju Koh June 1, 2020
Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, another treaty arrangement, in the midst of a pandemic. The Trump administration may be trying to deflect attention from a disastrous pandemic response, yet Harold Koh of Yale Law School focuses on legal issues: Trump, lacking legal authority, did not actually withdraw the US from WHO, and...

Covid-19 Data Suppression? Florida Today

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon May 20, 2020
Any attempt to suppress reports of Covid-19 cases by jurisdictions hoping to protect their tourism industry is a nightmare for the world. Data transparency is key in containing the pandemic, especially as nations strive to reopen their economies. Florida removed control of a public dashboard on Covid19 data from the geographic information system manager who developed the website for the Florida...

Covid-19 “Overreaction” a Success in Vietnam: BBC

Anna Jones May 15, 2020
After taking aggressive measures against Covid-19 in early January, Vietnam reported no new cases in more than a month. “Vietnam saw a small window to act early on and used it fully,” reports Anna Jones for BBC News. “But though cost-effective, its intrusive and labour intensive approach has its drawbacks and experts say it may be too late for most other countries to learn from its success.” The...