The Gender Gaps in COVID-19 Decision-Making

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Gender Gaps in COVID-19 Decision-Making Commentary BMJ Glob Health: first published as 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003549 on 1 October 2020. Downloaded from Symptoms of a broken system: the gender gaps in COVID-19 decision- making 1,2 3 2 Kim Robin van Daalen , Csongor Bajnoczki, Maisoon Chowdhury, Sara Dada,2,4 Parnian Khorsand,2 Anna Socha,3 Arush Lal,2 Laura Jung,2,5 6 7 8,9 Lujain Alqodmani, Irene Torres , Samiratou Ouedraogo, 10,11 2 12 3 Amina Jama Mahmud, Roopa Dhatt, Alexandra Phelan, Dheepa Rajan To cite: van Daalen KR, A growing chorus of voices are questioning Summary box Bajnoczki C, Chowdhury M, the glaring lack of women in COVID-19 et al. Symptoms of a broken system: the gender gaps decision- making bodies. Men dominating ► Despite numerous global and national commit- in COVID-19 decision- leadership positions in global health has long ments to gender- inclusive global health governance, making. BMJ Global Health been the default mode of governing. This is COVID-19 followed the usual modus operandi –ex- 2020;5:e003549. doi:10.1136/ a symptom of a broken system where gover- cluding women’s voices. A mere 3.5% of 115 iden- bmjgh-2020-003549 nance is not inclusive of any type of diversity, tified COVID-19 decision- making and expert task be it gender, geography, sexual orientation, forces have gender parity in their membership while Handling editor Seye Abimbola race, socio-economic status or disciplines 85.2% are majority men. Protected by copyright. within and beyond health – excluding those ► With 87 countries included in this analysis, informa- Received 27 July 2020 tion regarding task force composition and member- Revised 22 August 2020 who offer unique perspectives, expertise and ship criteria was not easily publicly accessible for Accepted 24 August 2020 lived realities. This not only reinforces ineq- the majority of United Nations Member States, im- uitable power structures but undermines an peding the ability to hold countries accountable to effective COVID-19 response – ultimately previously made commitments. costing lives. ► Lack of representation is one symptom of a broken By providing quantitative data, we critically system where governance is not inclusive of gender, assess the gender gap in task forces organised geography, sexual orientation, race, socio- economic http://gh.bmj.com/ to prevent, monitor and mitigate COVID-19, status or disciplines within and beyond health – ul- and emphasise the paramount exclusion of timately excluding those who offer unique perspec- gender- diverse voices. tives and expertise. ► Functional health systems require radical and sys- temic change that ensures gender- responsive and intersectional practices are the norm – rather than on October 22, 2020 at Uppsala Universitet BIBSAM Consortia. RETREATING TO THE NON-INCLUSIVE DEFAULT the exception. MODE OF GOVERNANCE ► Open, inclusive and transparent communication and The global community was unprepared as decision-making must be prioritised over closed- COVID-19 struck. As a result, countries swiftly door or traditional forms of governance. established expert and decision-making struc- ► Data collection and governance policies must in- tures through traditional processes: reaching clude sex and gender data, and strive for an inter- sectionality approach that includes going beyond out to government ministry directors, promi- binary representation in order to produce results that nent experts and heads of well- known institu- are inclusive of the full gender spectrum. tions. Most of these positions are typically held by men, as evidenced by our analysis of 115 expert and decision-making COVID-19 task task forces (table 2). For instance, the © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re- use forces from 87 countries: 85.2% of identified WHO’s first, second and third International permitted under CC BY. national task forces (n=115) contain mostly Health Regulations Emergency committees Published by BMJ. men, only 11.4% contain predominantly consisted of 23.8%, 23.8% and 37.5% women, For numbered affiliations see women and a mere 3.5% exhibit gender respectively. Expert groups, compared end of article. parity.* Similarly, 81.2% (n=65) of these task with decision- making committees, more Correspondence to forces were headed by men (table 1). frequently had higher proportions of women Ms Kim Robin van Daalen; Men were overrepresented in global task or gender parity, reflecting potential societal krv22@ cam. ac. uk forces to a similar extent to that of national biases and stereotypes in terms of gender van Daalen KR, et al. BMJ Global Health 2020;5:e003549. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003549 1 2 BMJ GlobalHealth Table 1 Identified national COVID-19 task forces Type of task Women head Women head of # Country (Reference) Name of the task force convened force Gender of force Public gov Note 1 Albania23 Technical Committee of Experts(for Covid-19) Expert 8W; 3M (11 Unknown Yes No, Edi Rama N/A “Komiteti i Ekspertëve” total) 72.7%W 2 Algeria24 National Committee for Monitoring and Follow- up of the Expert 0W; 11M (11 No, Yes No, Abdelaziz N/A Corona Virus (Covid-19) total) Abderahmane Djerad W Ben Bouzid%0 نوروك سوريف يشفت ةعباتمو دصرل ةيملعلا ةينطولا ةنجللا 3 Argentina25 26 Committee of medical and scientific experts Expert 4W; 6M (10 Unknown Yes No, Alberto N/A “Comité de expertos médicos y cientificos” total) Fernández 40%W 4 Armenia27 28 Interdepartmental Commission for Coordinating the Decision- 4W; 10M (14 No, Arsen Yes No, Nikol N/A Prevention of the Spread of the new Coronavirus making total) Torosyan Pashinyan “միջգերատեսչական հանձնաժողով” 28.6%W IT working group modelling spread of coronavirus in Expert 0W; 12M (12 Unknown Yes Photo Armenia total) reference(s) (No formal name) 0%W were used to determine gender composition. 5 Australia29–32 Australian National COVID-19 Coordination Commission Decision- 2W; 6M (8 No, Neville Yes No, Scott N/A making total) Power Morrison 25%W Australian Health Protection Principal Committee Decision- 3W; 6M (9 No, Brendan Yes N/A making total) Murphy 33.3%W 6 Austria33 Coronavirus Taskforce Decision- 6W; 4M (10 Unknown Yes No, Sebastian N/A “Hausinternen Stabs der Coronavirus- Taskforce” making total) Kurz 60%W Advisory Team to the Coronavirus Taskforce Expert 5W; 13M (18 Unknown Yes N/A “Beraterstabs der Coronavirus- Taskforce” total) 27.8%W 7 Bahamas34 35 National Coordination Committee on COVID-19 Decision- 6W; 11M (17 Yes (co- chair), Yes No, Hubert Minnis N/A making total) Pearl McMillan 35.3% and Matt Aubry 8 Bahrain36 National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus Decision- 2W; 3M (5 Unknown Yes No, Khalifa bin N/A (COVID-19) making and total) Salman Al Khalifa expert 40% انوروك سوريفل يدصتلل ينطولا قيرفلا 9 Bangladesh37 National Committee for Prevention and Control of Decision- 4W; 28M (32 No, Zahid Yes Yes, Sheikh N/A Covid-19 making total) Maleque Hasina “জাতী붼 কমিটি কোভিড -১৯ এর প্রতিরোধ ও নি붼ন্ত্রণের জন্য” 12.5%W 10 Belgium38 39 Scientific Committee for Coronavirus Expert 3W; 2M (5 No, Steven van Yes Yes, Sophie N/A “Wetenschappelijk comité Coronavirus” total) Gucht Wilmes “Comité scientifique Coronavirus” 60%W Continued van Daalen KR, et al. BMJ Global Healthcopyright. 2020;by 5:e003549.Protected doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003549 BMJ Glob Health: first published as 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003549 on 1 October 2020. Downloaded from from Downloaded 2020. October 1 on 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003549 as published first Health: Glob BMJ http://gh.bmj.com/ on October 22, 2020 at Uppsala Universitet BIBSAM Consortia. BIBSAM Universitet Uppsala at 2020 22, October on Table 1 Continued Type of task Women head Women head of # Country (Reference) Name of the task force convened force Gender of force Public gov Note 11 Benin40 Interdepartmental Committee Decision- 0W; 4M (4 No, unknown Yes No, Patrice Talon N/A “Comité interministériel” making total) 0%W 12 Bhutan41 Health Emergency Management Committee Decision- 2W; 11M (13 Yes, Lyonpo Yes No, Lotay N/A making total) Dechen Tshering 15.4% W Wangmo Technical Advisory Group Expert 2W; 11M (13 No, Sithar Yes N/A total) Dorjee 15.4%W 13 Bolivia42 Scientific Advisory Council Expert 2W; 6M (8 No, Carlos Yes Yes, Jeanine Añez N/A “Consejo Científico Asesor para la lucha contra COVID-19 total) Javier Cuellar en Bolivia” 25%W 14 Botswana43 COVID-19 Task Force Team Expert 0W; 4M (4 No, unknown Yes No, Mokgweetsi N/A total) Masisi 0%W 15 Brazil44–49 Interministerial Executive Group on Public Health Decision- 1W; 8M (9 Unknown Yes No, Jair N/A Emergency of National and International Importance making total) Bolsonaro “Grupo Executivo Interministerial de Emergência em Saúde 11.1%W Pública de Importância Nacional e Internacional” Crisis Committee for Supervision and Monitoring of Unclear 1W; 21M (22 Unknown Yes N/A Covid-19 Impacts total) “Comitê de Crise para Supervisão e Monitoramento dos 4.5%W Impactos da Covid-19” 16 Bulgaria50 Medical Council Expert 5W; 11M (16 Unknown Yes No, Boyko Committee “медицинския мозъчен тръст" total) Borisov was dispersed 31.3%W (functioned until 4 April) 17 Burkina Faso51 Name unknown Decision- 5W; 14M (19 Unknown No No, Christophe N/A making & total) Joseph Marie Expert 26.3%W Dabiré 18 Cape Verde52–54 Council of Ministers Decision- 3W; 12M (15 Unknown Yes No, Ulisses N/A “Conselho de Ministros” making total) Correia e Silva 20%W BMJ GlobalHealth 19 Canada55–59 Cabinet Committee on the federal response to the Decision- 4W; 4M (8 Yes, Chrystia Yes No, Justin N/A coronavirus disease (COVID-19) making total) Freeland Trudeau 50%W Special Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Expert 12W; 11M Yes, Theresa Yes N/A (23 total) Tam and Sadiq 52.2%W Shahab Continued 3 van Daalen KR, et al.
Recommended publications
  • Using the COVID-19 Pandemic to Reimagine Global Health Teaching in High-Income Countries
    Editorial Using the COVID-19 pandemic to BMJ Glob Health: first published as 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005649 on 1 April 2021. Downloaded from reimagine global health teaching in high- income countries 1,2 3 4 5,6 Salla Atkins, Ananya Tina Banerjee, Kathleen Bachynski, Amrita Daftary , Gauri Desai,7 Aeyal Gross,8 Bethany Hedt- Gauthier,9 Emily Mendenhall,10 Benjamin Mason Meier,11,12 Stephanie A Nixon,13 Ann Nolan,14 Tia M Palermo,7 Alexandra Phelan,15 Oksana Pyzik,16 Pamela Roach,17 Thurka Sangaramoorthy,18 15 19 20 21 Claire J. Standley, Gavin Yamey , Seye Abimbola , Madhukar Pai To cite: Atkins S, Banerjee AT, INTRODUCTION educate students to address health disparities Bachynski K, et al. Using The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how wherever they occur, not just in LMICs. While the COVID-19 pandemic to reimagine global health we live, work and communicate. Global health the online format offers many challenges, teaching in high- income teaching is no exception. Across universities, we believe there are ways to increase student countries. BMJ Global Health professors like us have had to quickly rede- engagement and reduce fatigue (box 2). 2021;6:e005649. doi:10.1136/ sign our courses, and deliver them virtually, bmjgh-2021-005649 even as the pandemic continues to bring new challenges every day. Out of that struggle, USE COVID-19 AS A TEACHABLE MOMENT Received 8 March 2021 Even before the pandemic, students in HICs new learning opportunities have emerged. 2 Accepted 11 March 2021 This editorial, coauthored by 20 professors have shown great interest in global health.
    [Show full text]
  • Melbourne Law School Covid-19 Research Network
    MELBOURNE LAW SCHOOL COVID-19 RESEARCH NETWORK ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF COVID-19 LEGAL LITERATURE Updated 1 July 2020 Note: the annotated bibliography below is arranged A) Literature B) Organisations and C) Blogs, journals and websites. A briefer version of this bibliography, containing citations only, is available on the Melbourne Law School website at https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/hlen/covid-19/scholarship. The literature in Part A includes scholarship and selected professional literature and is divided into broad topics, beginning with general literature followed by specific topics. We have only included each article under one topic heading, even if it is appropriate to be listed in two or more topics. A note on the jurisdiction is included if this is not immediately obvious from the citation. We have only included literature written in English. Part B lists selected organisations with dedicated COVID-19 legal publications pages. Part C lists selected blogs or other online fora. This bibliography will be regularly updated. This bibliography was compiled by the Melbourne Law School Academic Research Service, using the following journal article databases: Index to Legal Periodicals (EBSCO), AGIS (INFORMIT), Westlaw UK Journals, Westlaw Canada Journals, HEIN, SSRN and Google Scholar. In order to publish scholarship quickly, many scholarly journals have introduced ways to fast-track publication, including a faster peer- review process, and publishing accepted manuscripts, so much of the scholarship listed is in its pre- publication form. Much pre-published scholarship is also available on open access on SSRN, which has a dedicated Coronavirus Hub for early stage non-peer reviewed research to help researchers freely share their latest research.
    [Show full text]
  • Symptoms of a Broken System: the Gender Gaps in COVID-19 Decision-­ Making
    Commentary BMJ Glob Health: first published as 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003549 on 1 October 2020. Downloaded from Symptoms of a broken system: the gender gaps in COVID-19 decision- making 1,2 3 2 Kim Robin van Daalen , Csongor Bajnoczki, Maisoon Chowdhury, Sara Dada,2,4 Parnian Khorsand,2 Anna Socha,3 Arush Lal,2 Laura Jung,2,5 6 7 8,9 Lujain Alqodmani, Irene Torres , Samiratou Ouedraogo, 10,11 2 12 3 Amina Jama Mahmud, Roopa Dhatt, Alexandra Phelan, Dheepa Rajan To cite: van Daalen KR, A growing chorus of voices are questioning Summary box Bajnoczki C, Chowdhury M, the glaring lack of women in COVID-19 et al. Symptoms of a broken system: the gender gaps decision- making bodies. Men dominating ► Despite numerous global and national commit- in COVID-19 decision- leadership positions in global health has long ments to gender- inclusive global health governance, making. BMJ Global Health been the default mode of governing. This is COVID-19 followed the usual modus operandi –ex- 2020;5:e003549. doi:10.1136/ a symptom of a broken system where gover- cluding women’s voices. A mere 3.5% of 115 iden- bmjgh-2020-003549 nance is not inclusive of any type of diversity, tified COVID-19 decision- making and expert task be it gender, geography, sexual orientation, forces have gender parity in their membership while Handling editor Seye Abimbola race, socio-economic status or disciplines 85.2% are majority men. within and beyond health – excluding those ► With 87 countries included in this analysis, informa- Received 27 July 2020 tion regarding task force composition and member- Revised 22 August 2020 who offer unique perspectives, expertise and ship criteria was not easily publicly accessible for Accepted 24 August 2020 lived realities.
    [Show full text]
  • 9780520282650.Indd Iii 18/12/15 7:59 PM Chapter Eleven
    Chapter 11 Excerpt Public Health Law Power, Duty, Restraint Third Edition Lawrence O. Gostin and Lindsay F. Wiley university of california press Gostin - 9780520282650.indd iii 18/12/15 7:59 PM chapter eleven Public Health Emergency Preparedness Terrorism, Pandemics, and Disasters Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world, yet somehow we fi nd it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads from a blue sky. There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise. —Albert Camus, The Plague, 1948 Terrorist attacks, novel infl uenzas, emerging infectious diseases, and natural disasters have prompted a reexamination of the nation’s public health system. The jetliner and anthrax attacks of 2001, the SARS out- break of 2003, hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, the 2009 H1N1 infl uenza pandemic, Hurricane Irene in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Texas fertilizer plant explosion in 2013, and the West African Ebola epidemic in 2014–15 have focused attention on public health prepared- ness. In the years following the 2001 attacks, “the conceptual frame- work of emergency preparedness and response subsume[d] ever larger segments of the fi eld of public health.”1 The outpouring of resources and attention to biosecurity has supported a public health law renaissance. Perceived government failures in response to public health emergencies continue to stoke public anxiety, adding political pressure for more eff ective preparedness planning. All-hazards and resilience have become watchwords in preparedness.2 Vertical strategies targeting specifi c threats (e.g., development of patho- gen- or toxin-specifi c vaccines and treatments) remain a priority.
    [Show full text]
  • Making America a Better Place for All: Sustainable Development Recommendations for the Biden Administration
    Columbia Law School Scholarship Archive Faculty Scholarship Faculty Publications 2021 Making America A Better Place for All: Sustainable Development Recommendations for the Biden Administration John C. Dernbach Widener University Commonwealth Law School, [email protected] Scott E. Schang Wake Forest University School of Law, [email protected] Robert W. Adler University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, [email protected] Karol Boudreaux Landesa John Bouman Legal Action Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Environmental Law Commons, International Law Commons, and the Law and Economics See next page for additional authors Commons Recommended Citation John C. Dernbach, Scott E. Schang, Robert W. Adler, Karol Boudreaux, John Bouman, Claire Babineaux- Fontenot, Kimberly Brown, Mikhail Chester, Michael B. Gerrard, Stephen Herzenberg, Samuel Markolf, Corey Malone-Smolla, Jane Nelson, Uma Outka, Tony Pipa, Alexandra Phelan, LeRoy Paddock, Jonathan D. Rosenbloom, William Snape, Anastasia Telesetsky, Gerald Torres, Elizabeth A. Kronk Warner & Audra Wilson, Making America A Better Place for All: Sustainable Development Recommendations for the Biden Administration, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER, VOL. 51, NO. 4, P. 10310, 2021; WIDENER UNIVERSITY COMMONWEALTH LAW SCHOOL LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER NO. 21-12 (2021). Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2752 This Working Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Scholarship Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors John C. Dernbach, Scott E. Schang, Robert W.
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Health Coverage UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE
    September 2019 A collection published by The Harvard Global Health Institute and The BMJ Universal health coverage UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE EDITORIAL 1 Delivering on the promise of universal health coverage Ashish Jha, Fiona Godlee, Kamran Abbasi ANALYSIS 2 Rethinking assumptions about delivery of healthcare: implications for universal health coverage September 2019 EDITORIAL OFFICES Jishnu Das, Liana Woskie, Ruma Rajbhandari, Kamran Abbasi, Ashish Jha The Editor, The BMJ BMA House, Tavistock Square 7 Climate change threatens the achievement of effective universal healthcare London, UK, WC1H 9JR Email: [email protected] Renee N Salas, Ashish K Jha Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7387 4410 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7383 6418 BMJ - Beijing 13 Achieving universal health coverage for mental disorders A1203 Tian Yuan Gang Center Vikram Patel, Shekhar Saxena East 3rd Ring North Road Chaoyang District 16 Motivating provision of high quality care: it is not all about the money Beijing 100027 China Mylène Lagarde, Luis Huicho, Irene Papanicolas Telephone: +86 (10) 5722 7209 BMJ - Hoboken BMJ Publishing Inc 21 Overcoming distrust to deliver universal health coverage: lessons from Ebola Two Hudson Place Liana R Woskie, Mosoka P Fallah Hoboken, NJ 07030 Tel: 1- 855-458-0579 email [email protected] 26 Global health security and universal health coverage: from a marriage of convenience BMJ - Mumbai 102, Navkar Chamber, A Wing to a strategic, effective partnership Marol, Andheri - Kurla Road Andheri (East) Mumbai 400059 Clare Wenham, Rebecca Katz, Charles Birungi, Lisa Boden,
    [Show full text]
  • Misconceptions About Weather and Seasonality Must Not Misguide COVID-19 Response ✉ Colin J
    COMMENT https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18150-z OPEN Misconceptions about weather and seasonality must not misguide COVID-19 response ✉ Colin J. Carlson 1 , Ana C. R. Gomez2, Shweta Bansal3 & Sadie J. Ryan 4 Weather may marginally affect COVID-19 dynamics, but misconceptions about the way that climate and weather drive exposure and transmission have 1234567890():,; adversely shaped risk perceptions for both policymakers and citizens. Future scientific work on this politically-fraught topic needs a more careful approach. Since the first weeks of the pandemic, substantial scientific and public attention has focused on how the weather could reduce or alter COVID-19 transmission. Whether due to increasing scientific attention on climate change and health or simply because the novel pandemic virus has forced us to look to other diseases for ideas, many were expectant—if not outright hopeful—that SARS-CoV-2 might show environmental sensitivity that curbed epidemic risk in some way. Now, clarifying and refining those expectations with available evidence is urgent, particularly in terms of how scientists communicate with policymakers and the public. How and why weather could affect COVID-19 transmission A convincing argument that weather influences COVID-19 can be formulated in three parts: (1) experimental data suggest SARS-CoV-2 persistence on surfaces or in the air is sensitive to temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet light; (2) other environmentally sensitive respiratory viruses are seasonal, and more common in winter; and therefore, (3) climatic effects could be protective over space (hot, dry places might have less transmission) and time (summer might see reduced transmission compared to winter).
    [Show full text]
  • The Ebola Epidemic: a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
    Georgetown University Law Center Scholarship @ GEORGETOWN LAW 2014 The Ebola Epidemic: A Public Health Emergency of International Concern Lawrence O. Gostin Georgetown University Law Center, [email protected] Daniel Lucey Georgetown University, [email protected] Alexandra Phelan Georgetown University Law Center, [email protected] This paper can be downloaded free of charge from: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1376 http://ssrn.com/abstract=2497542 312 JAMA 1095-1096 (2014) This open-access article is brought to you by the Georgetown Law Library. Posted with permission of the author. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub Part of the Health Law and Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, International Public Health Commons, Public Policy Commons, and the Virus Diseases Commons Opinion VIEWPOINT The Ebola Epidemic A Global Health Emergency Lawrence O. Gostin, JD On August 8, the World Health Organization (WHO) Fuelingdisquietaboutglobaljustice,2USaidworkers O’Neill Institute for Director-GeneralMargaretChandeclaredtheWestAfrica infected in Liberia were treated with an experimental National and Global Ebola crisis a “public health emergency of international anti-EbolaantibodypriortobeingtransportedtoAtlanta.4 Health Law, concern,”1 triggering powers under the 2005 Interna- This serum had been previously used only in nonhuman Georgetown University 5 Law Center, tional Health Regulations (IHR). The IHR requires coun- primates. Eventhoughtheserum’ssafetyandefficacyre- Washington, DC. tries to develop national preparedness capacities, in- main unknown, it sparked an international controversy. cluding the duty to report internationally significant ShouldUSworkersreceiveadruginextremelyscarcesup- Daniel Lucey, MD, MPH events, conduct surveillance, and exercise public health ply when Africans are affected in far greater numbers? Department of powers, while balancing human rights and interna- Balanced against this sense of injustice is the ethical con- Microbiology and Immunology, tional trade.
    [Show full text]
  • Using the COVID-19 Pandemic to Reimagine Global Health Teaching In
    Editorial Using the COVID-19 pandemic to BMJ Glob Health: first published as 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005649 on 1 April 2021. Downloaded from reimagine global health teaching in high- income countries 1,2 3 4 5,6 Salla Atkins, Ananya Tina Banerjee, Kathleen Bachynski, Amrita Daftary , Gauri Desai,7 Aeyal Gross,8 Bethany Hedt- Gauthier,9 Emily Mendenhall,10 Benjamin Mason Meier,11,12 Stephanie A Nixon,13 Ann Nolan,14 Tia M Palermo,7 Alexandra Phelan,15 Oksana Pyzik,16 Pamela Roach,17 Thurka Sangaramoorthy,18 15 19 20 21 Claire J. Standley, Gavin Yamey , Seye Abimbola , Madhukar Pai To cite: Atkins S, Banerjee AT, INTRODUCTION educate students to address health disparities Bachynski K, et al. Using The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how wherever they occur, not just in LMICs. While the COVID-19 pandemic to reimagine global health we live, work and communicate. Global health the online format offers many challenges, teaching in high- income teaching is no exception. Across universities, we believe there are ways to increase student countries. BMJ Global Health professors like us have had to quickly rede- engagement and reduce fatigue (box 2). 2021;6:e005649. doi:10.1136/ sign our courses, and deliver them virtually, bmjgh-2021-005649 even as the pandemic continues to bring new challenges every day. Out of that struggle, USE COVID-19 AS A TEACHABLE MOMENT Received 8 March 2021 Even before the pandemic, students in HICs new learning opportunities have emerged. 2 Accepted 11 March 2021 This editorial, coauthored by 20 professors have shown great interest in global health.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Ebola, Gender, and Conspicuously Invisible Women in Global Health
    Ebola, Gender, and Conspicuously Invisible Women in Global Health Governance The international response and rhetoric to Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola) in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in 2014 brings into stark contention a central paradox in global health governance: the conspicuous invisibility of women and gender. On the one hand women such as World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan and Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) International President Joanne Liu have been conspicuously visible in the Ebola response and actors such as Melinda Gates have a high profile in promoting reproductive health issues of women, however on the other hand the differing impacts of the disease on women and men, the gendered role of women as carers, and the role of women in health systems in West Africa have been invisible. Other than a handful of high-profile women leading global institutions, women are conspicuously invisible in global health governance: people working in global health are aware and see women in care roles that underpin health systems, yet they are invisible in global health strategy, policy or practice.1 Women are only made visible through motherhood. The problem here is not only the conspicuous invisibility of women but that of gender, as global health policy and practice ignores and subsequently reinforces gendered norms of care and social reproduction. Ebola provides an insightful case study in which to demonstrate the conspicuous invisibility of women and gendered care roles in emergency and long-term global health
    [Show full text]
  • Dr Clare Wenham (Department of Health Policy, LSE) Has 10 Years + Experience of Research and Teaching in Global Health Security and Outbreak Response
    Evidence for Foreign Affairs Committee: Global Health Security (GHS0011) Dr Clare Wenham (Department of Health Policy, LSE) has 10 years + experience of research and teaching in global health security and outbreak response. Her research has focused on the politics and policies of health emergencies including on pandemic flu, Ebola, Zika & COVID-19. Her research examines the global governance of health security, and the role of the International Health Regulations (2005) and WHO. She is an associate academic at Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security, the Vice-Chair of ISA global health section. At LSE she is the Programme Director of MSc Global Health Policy and sits on the board of LSE’s Global Health Initiative. She has consulted for European Union, UN Women, Wellcome Trust, Asian Development Bank and formally worked in policy at an NHS Trust and the Faculty of Public Health. For COVID-19 she is co- PI on 2 projects funded by CIHR and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to understand the gendered effects of the outbreak. COVID-19 reminds us of the importance of global health security Global health security: transnational efforts to prevent, detect and respond to emerging pathogenic threats, relies on international cooperation. States, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and the private sector need to work together to ensure that appropriate surveillance, disease control and surge capacity mechanisms are in place across the whole life cycle of an epidemic, from preparedness through to after action review to ensure that population and economic health is protected. COVID-19 has brought this point home most acutely.
    [Show full text]
  • The Global Health Security Agenda in an Age of Biosecurity
    Georgetown University Law Center Scholarship @ GEORGETOWN LAW 2014 The Global Health Security Agenda in an Age of Biosecurity Lawrence O. Gostin Georgetown University Law Center, [email protected] Alexandra Phelan Georgetown University Law Center, [email protected] This paper can be downloaded free of charge from: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1356 http://ssrn.com/abstract=2461850 312 JAMA 27-28 (2014) This open-access article is brought to you by the Georgetown Law Library. Posted with permission of the author. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub Part of the Health Law and Policy Commons, International Law Commons, International Public Health Commons, and the Public Policy Commons Opinion VIEWPOINT The Global Health Security Agenda in an Age of Biosecurity Lawrence O. Gostin, JD In May 2009, President Obama launched the Global Robust Detection O’Neill Institute for Health Initiative with ambitious goals of reforming for- The GHS Agenda facilitates robust detection through National and Global eign assistance, expanding programs, and coordinat- real-time biosurveillance and modern diagnostics to re- Health Law, ing agencies. Despite progress, these goals have been liably conduct 5 of 10 core diagnostic tests within a health Georgetown University Law Center, only partially achieved. Yet 5 years later, on February care setting or laboratory.Laboratory capacity should in- Washington, DC, and 13, 2014, the White House launched another bold clude IHR-notifiable diseases (eg, novel influenza sub- World Health initiative—the Global Health Security Agenda (GHS types), as well as WHO’s leading causes of death in low- Organization Collaborating Center on Agenda), a US-led diplomatic collaboration with 30 income countries.
    [Show full text]