India's pandemic reach, carbon accounting + more
🌎 Your briefing from the WorldWise desk.
Welcome to WorldWise, a newsletter to help discerning readers get truly global insight where current affairs meet humanity, written by Anita Makri.
This is a Weekly Briefing with key headlines curated to make sense of the news.
👉 If you missed last week’s Work with the Media post, catch up here.
The word “catastrophe” keeps popping up.
Media attention to and scrutiny of India’s tragic pandemic wave continues to be intense for the second week.
There is, however, a slight shift. We now see more notes of caution about what the country’s experience means for the rest of the world—in particular, poor countries and the African continent (Guardian + NYT + VOA + Guardian + WaPo + FT + Al Jazeera).
This goes beyond the availability of vaccines, a concern we highlighted in this April 6 briefing that led with signs that India was emerging as a COVID hotspot. (There were even earlier signs, on March 23.)
Now, it’s the presence and potential of new variants that’s taking centre stage. It’s yet to be confirmed whether the new variants—which we highlighted on March 30th—are behind what’s unfolding in India. Several reports are careful to point out that scientists are not yet convinced this is what’s driving the surge (NYT + Axios + WaPo + Reuters + Al Jazeera + FT). But there seems to be an assumption—or perhaps a precautionary stance—that they are. The WHO has said that the primary variant of concern has been spotted in at least 17 countries.
This same scenario, of a tragic surge in cases and deaths linked to a new variant, first unfolded in Brazil, and the city of Manaus in particular—reports of which WorldWise captured in this and other March briefings. It’s a scenario that may be repeated elsewhere: there are now signs of a rise in the proportion of recorded deaths accounted for by low and middle-income countries.
Brazil’s story failed to capture the world’s imagination in the way India’s has. Let’s hope the second time around brings home the message that what happens outside the Global North is far from irrelevant. Inequality is bound to boomerang.
Catching up with Covid-19
SNAPSHOTS FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH | India’s case numbers keep rising, with daily death counts now at around 400,000 and total confirmed cases thought to run in the millions (Reuters + MIT Tech Review + VOA). Many experts believe both cases and deaths are undercounted (Economist + Al Jazeera + Gizmodo). Like last week, this is a brief summary: capturing all the reports would take a separate issue of this newsletter. Neighbouring countries are on alert: cases are surging in Nepal and in Pakistan.
Brazil continues to deal with a huge number of cases and deaths—now around 400,000—and a struggling health system (VOA + Al Jazeera + LAHT + WaPo). The rest of the region also remains a hotspot: one in four Covid-19 deaths worldwide was in the Americas about two weeks ago (NYT + CNN).
The virus is also accelerating in Thailand, the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia (LAHT + WaPo + Straits Times/Reuters + LAHT). Even Fiji and other parts of the Pacific, which were more-or-less untouched by the pandemic so far, now find themselves facing the prospect of lockdowns (Guardian + Conversation). The WHO has warned of a spike in the Middle East and North Africa too.
📝 LONGREAD | ‘We are witnessing a crime against humanity’: Arundhati Roy on India’s Covid catastrophe - Guardian
PANDEMIC RESPONSES | Debates continue on how ‘vaccine passports’ can open up travel routes and social gatherings (FT + Economist + Economist). Also ongoing is the search for answers on what makes for a successful or failed response. Populist leaders like India’s Modi and Brazil’s Bolsonaro are under the spotlight when it comes to blame (WaPo + CNN + BBC + Nature). Religious institutions aren’t beyond reproach (FT + LAHT). On the other hand, it helps to close borders and find ways to stretch healthcare capacity (Vox + Vox).
VACCINES | Two new vaccines are entering the pool of viable candidates: Moderna’s jab, which the WHO has now approved for emergency use and is enlisting for global sharing, and the vaccine by Novarax, a newcomer on the scene (Al Jazeera + Politico + Devex). Meanwhile, Brazil’s health authority has rejected and won’t be importing Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, citing safety concerns (WaPo + AP + NYT + France 24). Still, it’s been used successfully for diplomatic reasons—the same with China’s Sinovac vaccine. Meanwhile, hesitancy remains a problem around the world, even though evidence suggests there are generally fewer vaccine side effects than expected before rollout.
SCIENCE AT A GLANCE | A single dose of a COVID vaccine can nearly halve transmission of virus (Guardian/PA + FT). There’s more evidence that obesity raises the risk of severe illness, even in young people. Hundreds of deaths among pregnant women have been linked with the virus in Brazil, raising alarm (LAHT + Guardian). The search for its origins continues, and some scientists are leaving the possibility of a lab accident on the table (Science + Bloomberg).
🔹 Other headlines that caught my eye
Researchers are closing in on 'long COVID' - Economist
In Indonesia, lab workers are arrested and accused of reusing nasal swabs in thousands of coronavirus tests - NYT
DRC to return 1.3M COVAX vaccine doses before expiry - Devex
South Africa’s daunting Covid-19 vaccine rollout - TNH
Can Cuba beat COVID with its homegrown vaccines? - Nature
These dogs can tell if you have Covid-19 by smelling your sweat - Euronews
Beyond the pandemic
CLIMATE CHANGE | Carbon dioxide emissions may be much higher than what’s being reported by countries—their accounting methods differ and tend to overestimate how much carbon is being absorbed by forested land (TRF + WaPo). Glaciers have been melting much faster since the year 2000. Climate migration has a neglected flipside: those who can’t move and are left behind. Nepal’s indigenous groups have scored a rare win against a hydropower project bankrolled by the European Investment Bank, after pointing out that its analysis of social and environmental impacts wasn’t up to scratch.
AID POLICY | The full impact of the UK’s aid cuts is slowly being revealed—the latest: funding for the UN Population Fund’s family planning work is to be cut by 85%; polio funding to be slashed by 95%; disaster preparedness and COVID research are also set to suffer cuts (Devex + Euronews + Devex + Guardian + Nature). The G7 group of countries have agreed on a global plan to send 40m more girls to school (BBC + Guardian).
HUMANITARIAN CRISES | The number of people in need of humanitarian aid in the Sahel is reaching a record 29 million. In Ethiopia’ Tigray region, over five million face extreme hunger. At least 30% of Afghanistan’s population is facing acute food insecurity. Displacement is affecting tens of thousands in Somalia and the Central African Republic (UN News + LAHT). In Latin America, a rising number of Venezuelans are fleeing to Colombia and the Caribbean in search of a better life (INTERSOS + TNH). In Myanmar, the military coup and violence are pushing thousands into poverty or to neighbouring countries (VOA + Al Jazeera). Some Rohingya people who were exiled to a Bangladesh island have reportedly been tortured after trying to flee.
HEALTH | The DRC’s recent Ebola outbreak has come to an end after claiming six lives—a toll that could have been higher without a new vaccine. But 60 vaccination campaigns for a number of diseases have stalled in 50 countries (Devex + WHO). In northwest Syria, there’s a sharp rise in the number of suicide attempts and deaths, signalling a mental health crisis. The UN has passed its first-ever global resolution to prevent incidents of drowning.
🔹 Other headlines that caught my eye
Flooding and mudslides add to St. Vincent’s volcano woes - WaPo
Vanuatu libel bill prompts fears for free speech - Guardian
Afghanistan: women with disabilities face systemic abuse - Human Rights Watch
Israel is committing the crime of apartheid, new report says - WaPo
Lessons from the Indian farmers’ protests - Africa is a Country
It’s a hard sell but Africa must invest in art and imagination - Guardian 🌍
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