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COVID-19
Newsletter
Volume 7 | May 5th, 2020
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Dear Colleague,
We hope that you and yours are staying safe during the pandemic.
Last week, CUGH hosted a webinar on preventing pandemics through strengthening the Global Health Security Agenda, closing unsanitary wildlife markets, decreasing environmental degradation, and reducing wildlife trafficking and its consumption. To view this webinar, please see
here
. Additional webinars and prior newsletters can be found on our website,
www.cugh.org
.
This newsletter includes a sign on letter you can join that calls for policymakers to adopt specific actions that will reduce the trade in wildlife and disease spillover.
To assist you in our common goal to save lives due to this global, public health crisis, CUGH is aggregating and sharing useful resources in this newsletter from around the world. We are also advocating for the implementation of policies needed by health systems to combat this pandemic. To access this information, click on the underlined texts below.
Please send us any important public health guidelines/articles/advocacy efforts related to the pandemic to
info@cugh.org
. We will share some of this information via these weekly updates.
Thank you in advance for sharing this newsletter widely.
Best wishes,
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Keith Martin MD
Executive Director
CUGH
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This newsletter is divided into the following sections:
- Advocacy efforts
- Resources for educators
- Resources for researchers
- Resources for health practitioners
- Member requests
- Other resources
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 at 10 AM EDT
Countries in Africa and Latin America are particularly vulnerable to a pandemic. The challenges they face and the opportunities that exist to strengthen health systems in these regions receive too little attention. This webinar brings together leaders from these regions who will discuss challenges these regions face and also what can be done to address them.
Thursday, May 14th, 2020 at 1 PM EDT
COVID-19 has shone a bright light on deep disparities in the United States. African-Americans, First Nations and other minority groups have sustained far higher rates of mortality and morbidity due to this pandemic. This reflects a chronic lack of access to opportunities, programs and services that create structural barriers to good health and social-economic advancement. This webinar will highlight these deep challenges and present policy solutions on how to address them.
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COVID-19 has highlighted the risks posed by the spillover of deadly infectious diseases from animals to humans. We urge policymakers to invest in known interventions that can reduce the threat of future pandemics and provide additional benefits that can improve the health of people and that of the planet.
Experts from around the world shared what we can do to achieve these goals by:
- Reducing disease spillover and pandemic prevention
- Strengthening the Global Health Security Agenda
- Reducing the trafficking and consumption of endangered species: a risk factor for spillover and a major cause of the current extinction crisis which is a neglected threat to human health
View all previous CUGH webinars
here
.
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"We are now at the moment to join forces across nations, sectors, scientific disciplines and civil society to ensure that never again does high-risk wildlife trade lead to a global pandemic." Sign on to this letter to support these efforts.
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In partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation, Global Health Council hosted a discussion on the challenges and opportunities of resource mobilization in response to COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Speakers shared updates on how organizations are responding to COVID-19 with an in-depth analysis of priority LMICs and COVID-19 funding trends. To view all of Global Health Council's previous townhalls, see
here
.
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In this article, Stephen Morrisson and Anna Carroll from CSIS, respond to President Trump's freezing of the World Health Organization. They discuss the ramifications of such a move as well as what can be done in the COVID-19 pandemic response
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To prevent future major viral outbreaks such as the COVID-19 outbreak, impacting human health, well-being, economies, and security on a global scale, WCS recommends stopping all commercial trade in wildlife for human consumption (particularly of birds and mammals) and closing all such markets.
Rigorous enforcement of existing laws, regulations, and international treaties that deal with wildlife trade and markets is critical and necessary, but this is simply not enough. A new paradigm is needed if we are to avoid a pandemic such as the one we are experiencing today.
WCS recommendations do not pertain to subsistence hunting by Indigenous Peoples and local communities for household consumption, for whom there are often few or no other sources of protein.
The policy examines in more depth:
- What Governments Should Do Now
- Background on Health
- Background on Wildlife Trade
- The Importance of Protecting Nature for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Food Security
The policy document is available in English, Spanish, and French.
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Public health policy comes with an implicit responsibility to protect the health of populations as a whole as opposed to the health of a single individual. This poses a challenge to the protection of human rights, which Dr. Benjamin Meier, from University of North Carolina, addresses in this article.
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Global Health Technology Council has created a new resource to help policymakers and advocates navigate the complex infrastructure of US government programs engaged in research to combat COVID-19 and other health security threats.
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In this letter to the editor, members of the New Jersey One Health Steering Committee highlight the importance of the One H
ealth Initiative amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Thursday, May 7th, 2020 at 8:30 am (ET)
Pathfinder and Women in Global Health are launching a new partnership that will establish Women in Global Health chapters in several countries where Pathfinder operates—Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, and Pakistan. During this event, the two organizations will launch that partnership and host a panel discussion on how we can elevate the leadership of women from low- and middle-income countries in the response to COVID-19. Panelists will discuss how women’s leadership is essential to ensuring the needs of women and girls are considered in response and recovery efforts.
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This resource page was created to help higher education institutions plan for possible campus disruption by COVID-19.
The Association of African Universities (AAU) has observed with growing concern developments related to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The life-threatening nature and rapid transmission of this disease has been felt globally – its significant impact on the global education systems is also being felt, especially in African countries. Numerous African higher education institutions (HEIs) and other educational institutions have been ordered to close in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. UNESCO (2020) monitoring estimates that 776.7 million children and youth worldwide will be obstructed by the closure of schools resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 2:00 PM (ET)
Having an efficient and attractive mix of academic programs can make the difference between a successful college and a struggling one. Join hosts Scott Carlson, a senior writer at
The Chronicle
, and Paul N. Friga, clinical associate professor at UNC Chapel Hill and co-founder of
ABC Insights
, as they explore the right mix of academic programs with two experts: Peter Stokes, managing director at Huron, and Helen Drinan, president of Simmons University. They will discuss how colleges can respond to the demands of employers and students, and how institutions might need to think in new ways about their academic offerings during and after COVID-19.
This session will offer interactive opportunities for participants to pose questions to the panelists and comment on the discussion.
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This site contains One Health lessons developed by Dr. Deborah Thomson. The lessons are for children ages 6 to 18 as well as the general public so that they can understand the inextricable connection between human health and the health of animals and the environment.
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The AAVMC and its member institutions recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the application and admission process. AAVMC CEO, Dr. Andrew T. Maccabe, has shared a letter with applicants which summarizes many of the steps the AAVMC has taken to make the process function more smoothly during the pandemic emergency.
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On March 13, the White House announced the automatic suspension of federal student loan interest accrual in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Following the announcement, Congress passed emergency stimulus legislation (CARES Act) which allows borrowers to suspend federal student loan repayment and interest accrual through September 30, 2020. AAVMC, AVMA, and VMAE have created a summary sheet.
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Lawrence Deyton, MSPH, MD, of the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences discusses the clinical public health curriculum work at GW and how these principles are being deployed in response to COVID-19. David Edelman, MD, of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons provides a student’s perspective, noting especially how interprofessional students can build on existing structures and relationships to mobilize in a crisis. Veronica Thierry Mallett, MD, MMM, of Meharry Medical College shares community strategies and approaches Meharry has undertaken to improve health equity during the pandemic and future recommendations for health care providers and policy makers.
One may also view past webinars from George Washington University on COVID-19 and the healthcare workforce
here
.
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RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS
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The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) through its agenda-setting, funding and programme implementation platform, the
Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA)
wishes to document and consolidate all research efforts towards Covid-19 in Africa with the aim of increasing awareness, improving collaboration and coordination and leveraging on each other’s strengths to maximize the response in the continent. They are thus conducting a survey to document the ongoing and planned research in all areas of science including basic science, social sciences, epidemiology and clinical trials. The
survey
will take about only 5 minutes of your time.
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Fogarty Director, Dr. Roger I. Glass, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic is truly a moment for all to appreciate the importance of global health research as information is shared globally in an unprecedented manner.
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Policy Cures Research has developed this tracker to help funders, policy makers, researchers and others understand the evolving landscape of R&D for COVID-19. The dashboards below track funding commitments for basic research and product development R&D, and the current status and makeup of the pipeline of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, allowing users to identify the key financial and scientific contributors to the global fight against COVID-19.
All of the funding and pipeline data behind this dashboard has been reviewed and validated, but Policy Cures are relying on publicly available information in a rapidly evolving situation, and as such they acknowledge that our data will never be completely comprehensive. If you identify any errors or omissions please contact them at
info@policycuresresearch.org
.
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The nationwide and global response to the COVID-19 pandemic is relying on numerous research initiatives around the country to find treatments, vaccines, and more. In this article, Research!America highlights just some of the many exciting initiatives.
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This past webinar provided a high-level overview of the most promising scientific approaches underway to create vaccines, treat COVID-19 symptoms, cure serious cases, and prevent infection. Panelists discussed how the existing R&D pipeline is being leveraged to address COVID-19 and provided examples of public-private partnerships.
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RESOURCES FOR HEALTH PRACTITIONERS
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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and FHI 360 convened a virtual panel of global experts to discuss the state of pandemic preparedness in Africa, COVID-19 prevention steps already underway and local solutions to mitigate the pandemic’s impact.
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Healthcare systems are going through unprecedented upheaval in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic – straining under the volume of patients, and struggling with a lack of key resources.
Although these challenges are new for high income countries, such issues are long-established in conflict zones and other humanitarian settings.
Through this course, one will explore the issues involved for nurses working with low resources, and what you can learn from nurses in crisis zones.
One will discover how to lead during the COVID-19 pandemic, what palliative care currently looks like, and how we can work towards recovery.
Topics covered include:
- Nursing in the COVID-19 pandemic
- Nursing and palliative care in a low-resource environment
- The importance of considering patient, provider and systems issues in developing robust health systems
- Lessons learned in humanitarian and crisis settings
- Addressing social and cultural norms and working towards recovery and adjustment
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Diabetes is one of the most important comorbidities linked to the severity of all three known human pathogenic coronavirus infections, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Patients with diabetes have an increased risk of severe complications including Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome and multi-organ failure. Depending on the global region, 20–50% of patients in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had diabetes. Given the importance of the link between COVID-19 and diabetes, an international panel of experts in the field of diabetes and endocrinology has been formed to provide some guidance and practical recommendations for the management of diabetes during the pandemic. They aim to briefly provide insight into potential mechanistic links between the novel coronavirus infection and diabetes, present practical management recommendations, and elaborate on the differential needs of several patient groups.
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Wednesday, May 6th, 11 AM (ET)
The NIEHS Global Environmental Health Program announces a new lecture series on Climate, Environment, and Health. Even as the Institute and the rest of the world struggle to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its many secondary impacts, NIEHS leadership recognizes that over the long term our Institute, staff, and stakeholders must be knowledgeable about the interactions between climate, the environment, and human health that impact all populations around the globe. Climate change has been identified as the 21st century’s leading global health threat by both the Lancet and the World Health Organization, and climate inaction identified as the leading global economic threat by the World Economic Forum, in part because of its health implications. Climate change action is closely linked to reductions in toxic air pollutants, especially fine particulate matter, and scientific analyses suggest that the economic valuation of reduced mortality associated with climate action more than pays for its cost.
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On March 11, 2020, when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by WHO, there were comparatively few cases reported from Africa. This Comment draws on early imported COVID-19 cases in South Africa, Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Egypt as case studies to discuss important mitigation strategies of COVID-19 in Africa.
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In this article, NPR highlights various solutions now being tried in low-income
countries that struggle with weak health systems, large populations of impoverished people and crowded megacities.
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In a recent
Psychology Today
post, Rahil Briggs, Psy.D. describes issues surrounding the psycho-social needs of children from zero to three years old caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains how the disease poses an outsized threat to the mental health of children in a key period of psychological growth.
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Wednesday, May 6th, 2020 at 7:00 PM (ET)
This webinar is primarily for healthcare workers, especially those who have been working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, anyone interested in the matter is able to attend/submit questions. The panel of speakers is composed of medical and mental health providers with insights into facilitating post-traumatic growth in health workers.
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The world is paying close attention to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), following its emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.
With the outbreak of a novel coronavirus declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization, people worldwide are working to address it.
In this course by LSTHM, you'll learn the latest of what we know about COVID-19, presented by international experts.
What topics will you cover?
- How COVID-19 emerged and was identified
- Public health measures for COVID-19 worldwide
- What is needed to address COVID-19 going forward
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This website from Johns Hopkins University is an outstanding resource to help advance the understanding of the virus, inform the public, and brief policymakers in order to guide a response, improve care, and save lives. It includes access to an interactive COVID-19 map.
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 Center provides tailored guidance to keep people safe. The site also contains a number of resources on the virus, including cases, data, and surveillance.
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NYU & COVID-19 COVERAGE
Ana Abraido Lanza, Ph.D., professor of social and behavioral sciences and vice dean of the School of Global Public Health at New York University, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color on NPR.
Robyn Gershon, DrPH, clinical professor of epidemiology at NYU School of Public Health, joined Chuck Todd on MSNBC to discuss whether COVID-19 will wane during warmer summer months and how re-opening states could lead to new increases in infections.
In response to a number of growing global health challenges, New York University and UNICEF designed a Behavioral Communication Strategies for Global Epidemics course that brings together United Nations professionals, government staff, and MPH (Master of Public Health) students to design innovative social behavior change communication (SBCC) strategies that address disease outbreaks and humanitarian challenges around the world. Applying a systems approach, participants in the course work on interdisciplinary teams to design strategies, develop skills, and engage in global learning. At the culmination of the course, all teams present strategies to UNICEF country offices for implementation. This innovative model for disease outbreak, public health education, and humanitarian response provides professionals with an opportunity to develop a wide range of competencies, including systems thinking, behavior change, and human-centered design and equips them with the necessary tools to develop more novel approaches to SBCC. As the number of outbreaks and humanitarian challenges increase each year, this format for learning can serve as a model for how professionals can effectively address these complex crises.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2020 12:30 PM (ET)
Communities of color, immigrant communities, and low-income communities often feel the negative effects of societal crises’ more acutely than the rest of society and Coronavirus has been no exception. Many low-income people in the United States do not have the ability to stay at home and many work in positions that may make it difficult or impossible to social distance. Additionally, lack of access to healthcare before the pandemic makes it more likely that these communities have comorbidities that put them at greater risk for infection and serious complications.
Join Duke Science & Society and its panel of experts to discuss what is being done to help underserved communities, what policy decisions have led to this problem, and what choices we need to make after the pandemic to protect the most at-risk populations.
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The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs has launched the
COVID-19 Communication Network
(CCN), a new website dedicated to curating essential, evidence-based tools and materials on the current pandemic for social and behavior change communication practitioners.
The one-stop shop will include the latest guidance, reports, training curricula, media materials and more from Johns Hopkins, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – as well as from partners on the ground around the world working to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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This book was a project developed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC MHPSS RG). The project was supported by global, regional and country based experts from Member Agencies of the IASC MHPSS RG, in addition to parents, caregivers, teachers and children in 104 countries. A global survey was distributed in Arabic, English, Italian, French and Spanish to assess children’s mental health and psychosocial needs during the COVID-19 outbreak. A framework of topics to be addressed through the story was developed using the survey results. The book was shared through storytelling to children in several countries affected by COVID-19. Feedback from children, parents and caregivers was then used to review and update the story.
Over 1,700 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world took the time to share how they were coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. A big thank you to these children, their parents, caregivers and teachers for completing the surveys and influencing this story. This is a story developed for and by children around the world. The book is also translated in various languages.
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The One Health Commission, the One Health European Joint Programme, and other groups are partnering with the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (
GOARN
) to help build capacity for the global COVID-19 pandemic response. The GOARN is a collaboration of over 200 institutions and networks that identifies experts willing and able to assist during an outbreak or pandemic in countries where they are needed most.
GOARN is seeking experts with a minimum of 5-yrs experience in relevant disciplines, including:
- Anthropology
- Case management
- Communications and media
- Data management
- Epidemiology and surveillance
- Infection prevention and control
- Information management
- Laboratory
- Operational research
- Operations manager
- Outbreak research
- Risk communications
- Social mobilization
Assistance can be provided through in-country deployment or remotely, such as assistance with training events, development or review of national guidelines/protocols/SOPs, specific pieces of analyses, communications, etc. If physically deployed, GOARN would support your deployment with flights, in-country living expenses, and medical insurance.
To be considered, please submit all required details including your CV, availability date range, and minimum and maximum duration for deployment here:
Experts who do not have access to the GOARN knowledge platform will be prompted to create a restricted user account when accessing the platform for the first time. When completing the online form you must enter under ‘Maximum duration’, “
One Health Community”
and number of weeks you are available. The GOARN Team will assess your skills against in-country needs and, if a match is identified, you will be contacted.
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Check this page for updates and articles from the Wildlife Conservation Society on COVID-19 and the environment.
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COVideo19 is an initiative led by students and faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health aimed at disseminating science-based information about COVID-19. They want to make it easy for you and your loved ones to learn how to stay safe during this pandemic that has cost so many lives around the world.
So far, they have educational videos translated into the following languages (more to come!):
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Wednesday, May 6 from 9:30-11 AM (ET)
From the closure of markets to the interruption of agricultural supply chains, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to disrupt food systems around the world. Many families, especially those in already fragile contexts, may soon struggle to access healthy, nutritious diets. Meeting the needs of these families - where they are and when they need it - is of critical importance. Alongside food aid, cash transfers and other emergency assistance, the role of household gardens as a frontline food security intervention and longer-term resilience strategy must not be overlooked.
Please join
SCALE
and a team of practitioners from Danish Refugee Council, African Women Rising, the International Rescue Committee and Helen Keller International for an interactive discussion on the contributions of household gardens to food security and nutrition. Drawing on experiences from Uganda to Vietnam and across our global FFP community, they'll explore what makes a garden resilient and key approaches for establishing them in fragile contexts.
In breakout sessions, they'll dive deeper into how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting gardening activities and discuss practical solutions to urgent challenges, including disruptions to agricultural markets, inputs and technical assistance. Throughout the call and breakout groups, they will crowdsource strategies and resources to overcome these hurdles and will begin drafting guidance for supporting household gardens throughout the current pandemic and beyond.
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In this article, Dr. Tony Goldberg at the University of Wisconsin discusses the revolving door of disease between humans and animals.
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This article from the
New York Times
focuses on increases in migration from urban to rural areas in Latin America. These relocations raise concern about the risk of spreading the epidemic to rural areas, particularly those with poor public health and healthcare infrastructure.
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Consortium of Universities for Global Health
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