Yesterday, the Biden Administration announced that it would share over 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines to countries around the world—with India included as a potential recipient, since the country is an experiencing a sharp uptick in the number of COVID-related cases and deaths since March. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to devastate the country, there are real concerns that India’s health care system could collapse, and the outbreak could spread to other countries and destabilize the region—prompting the United States and others in the international community to step up to help India respond to this terrible outbreak.
While death and infection rates have drastically declined since 2000, thanks in part to integrated efforts by government, business and civil society, malaria is remarkably resilient. The mosquito-borne illness has been eliminated in many countries – like the U.S. – yet for millions of people around the world, it continues to be a daily challenge. Experts like Dr. Vicki Weldon, ExxonMobil’s Global Medical Director, have been part of a broad and sustained effort to combat this illness.
At this week’s Leaders Summit on Climate hosted at the White House, President Joe Biden underscored the need for international cooperation on the climate crisis, stating “No nation can solve this crisis on our own…all of us — and particularly those of us who represent the world’s largest economies — we have to step up.” This consensus was similarly reflected throughout the two-day Summit, as leaders from more than 40 countries alongside U.S. cabinet officials, business leaders, representatives from multilateral organizations, and even Pope Francis, discussed the immense challenge climate change poses and the cooperation needed to confront it.
The COVID-19 pandemic is the world’s most immediate health crisis, but another crisis is quietly threatening long-term global health. Climate change has worsened in recent decades and, if left unchecked, farmers and consumers will bear the brunt of the consequences. Syngenta is one of many organizations working to change the global agricultural industry for the better. Through its ‘Good Growth Plan,’ Syngenta promotes global sustainability and biodiversity—two major areas of concern for one of world’s largest agronomic developers and agricultural researchers.
Innovative ideas and technologies are driving the future of global development, and nowhere is this more evident than at Development Innovation Ventures (DIV), a flagship program at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that is leveraging innovation to meet today’s most pressing development challenges. A recent analysis of DIV’s grants found an incredible rate of return of $5 in social benefits for every dollar spent on innovations. Now, policymakers on both sides of the aisle—and practitioners alike—are focused on the role of innovation and technology in scaling development progress.
When people think about U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF), they might envision romanticized scenes from television or the movies. But what they don’t see is what goes on behind the scenes. While SOF plays a lead role in defending our country, U.S. national security also relies on the strength and support of our civilian forces—particularly our diplomatic corps and development personnel—in countries around the world.
Indonesia is one of six countries whose waters lie within the Coral Triangle, an area in the western Pacific Ocean that is under threat from overfishing and illegal fishing as well as climate change, land-based pollution, and the wildlife trade—all of which is putting a strain on Indonesia’s economy and threatening the livelihoods and food security of Indonesians. That’s why the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with Tetra Tech, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and others on the USAID SEA Project.
This week’s kick-off session for USGLC’s inaugural class of Next Gen Global Leaders was a proud moment for our organization. In 2020, we recruited nearly 100 bipartisan, diverse, and talented young leaders from 33 states to join our inaugural class of Next Gen Global Leaders. And this week, at the start of 2021, we welcomed them into the USGLC family as they signed into the Zoom classroom for their first session.
While fighting the pandemic is an international priority, global collaboration is also required to tackle critical and complex challenges facing Americans and the world alike. At the World Economic Forum last week, policymakers from the United States and around the world spoke to the need for global cooperation on health security, countering authoritarianism, humanitarian crises, and climate to solve the most pressing issues affecting Americans’ lives and people all over the globe.
With the hope of new vaccines comes the urgent need to not only distribute them equitably around the world but to shore up global public health systems and mitigate the virus’ destabilizing global health and economic impacts to truly bring the pandemic under control. As new variations of COVID-19 spread around the globe, a growing public outcry reminds us that no one is safe until everyone is safe.