The immediate health needs of COVID-19 are immense — but that doesn’t mean other health, economic, and societal needs are standing still.
“There’s a tendency to look at the pandemic in a linear way,” explains ONE CEO Gayle Smith. But by doing that, we miss the fact that it is layered and has a cascading impact on the economy, food security, and the risk of other diseases.
We gathered three experts to discuss the issues we can’t forget during this pandemic. Here’s what they had to say:
Aya Chebbi on youth unemployment in Africa
COVID-19 has disrupted education and jobs, which is particularly devastating for youth in Africa. Even before the pandemic, African youth made up as much as 80% of the total unemployed in some African countries, explains Aya Chebbi, African Union special envoy on youth.
Here’s her take on the importance of considering African youth in pandemic responses.
David Nabarro on the need for global leadership
Pandemic responses depend on a strong multilateral system — but politics is preventing that right now. “The world should be in revolt about the fact that the leadership by the multilateral system is being damaged by a small number of nations for domestic reasons,” argues David Nabarro, special envoy of the World Health Organization on COVID-19.
He has a strong call for world leaders, and he wants the world’s citizens to join his call.
Gayle Smith on the cascading effects of the pandemic
Just because we’re in a pandemic does not mean other health risks go away. There could be as many as 500,000 additional deaths from HIV/AIDS because of the singular focus on COVID and the disruption in supplies, according to the WHO.
Gayle Smith, CEO of the ONE Campaign, explains what we may be missing during this pandemic.
Catch up on the full event
Hear more from Aya, Gayle, David, and more experts on what we cannot forget during COVID-19.
