Dossier

The global impacts of Covid-19

Contributions from the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung foreign offices and partners regarding the social, economic and political impacts of the Covid-19 global pandemic.

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No one is safe until everyone is safe - Global perspectives on Covid-19 vaccination

Photo essays

Bodegang bayan

Covid-19 Recovery in Southeast Asia: Snapshots from Metro Manila, the Philippines

 📷 A woman receives her vaccine shot in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Elderly (above 60 years old) and teachers are part of this vaccination round

Covid-19 recovery in Southeast Asia: Jakarta, oh Jakarta!

Cruzada São Sebastião

Photo series: The Cruzada São Sebastião in Rio de Janeiro

Articles

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Global perspectives on Covid-19 vaccination - Covid-19 vaccine access in the South Caucasus countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia

E-paper
After the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia last spring, the three countries embarked on very different courses of action to tackle the virus. While Georgia moved to quickly close its borders and initiated a strict lockdown, Armenia and Azerbaijan were slower to respond, though both eventually instituted lockdowns of their own. Over the last year, other events in the region have overshadowed the pandemic to some extent.
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Global perspectives on Covid-19 vaccination - Access to the Covid-19 vaccine in Venezuela

E-paper
The outbreak of the pandemic could have spelled disaster for Venezuela, already two decades into a political, social, economic and health crisis. The combination of a collapsed national health system and economy, a complex humanitarian emergency, a continuous stream of migration, an internal political conflict with international ramifications, a population with high levels of malnutrition, has seriously hindered the development of a successful vaccination programme. Thus far,  Venezuela has administered the fewest number of Covid-19 vaccinations in relation to its population size of all the countries in South America.
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Global perspectives on Covid-19 vaccination - COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution in South Africa

E-paper
Health inequality increased sixfold in South Africa under COVID-19, suggesting that the crisis affected the health of the poor far more than the relatively well-off. Race is not a significant predictor of vaccine hesitancy, but trusting social media as an information source is positively correlated with vaccine hesitancy. South Africa has pushed hard against opposition to the proposal for a waiver of IP for COVID-19 technologies at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
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Global perspectives on Covid-19 vaccination - Access to the Covid-19 vaccine in Israel

E-paper
The rate of COVID-19 vaccination in Israel is one of the highest in the world. However, vaccine rates are not evenly distributed among the different population groups. Arab citizens and the Ultra-Orthodox population, who have suffered the most from the pandemic, are vaccinated at lower rates than the general public. Moreover, social media disinformation campaigns that have characterized the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, in general, and the vaccine, in particular, has been one of the causes of vaccine hesitancy.
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Global perspectives on Covid-19 vaccination - Covid-19 vaccination in Chile

E-paper
The Covid-19 pandemic has become Chile’s most consequential public health challenge in a century. Chile’s measures included guidance regarding, among other items, education, health (sick leaves, diagnoses, hospital capacity, partial and spatially targeted lockdowns), mass events, border controls, supply and transportation. Since then, the evolution of the disease in the country has been similar to that of other countries around the world, with periods when cases increased followed by periods when cases declined, yet without ever declining to a point when one would assume the emergency was over.
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Shaping the Future of Multilateralism - Mobilizing resources urgently for climate action: overcoming longstanding challenges and learning from Covid-19

E-paper
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that countries can marshal significant resources quickly and at scale in an emergency. The climate crisis requires no less. First and foremost, that means resolving longstanding issues of climate finance -- definitional disputes, access to financing, the obstacle of indebtedness, and underneath them all, trust that rich nations will deliver on their outstanding and new climate finance commitments. Only then can the international system ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable people, communities, and countries can make the necessary changes the whole world needs.
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Green Ideas for the Future of Europe - Publication

Interviews
Through 20 conversations with Green decision makers and civil society actors, held prior to Germany's EU Council Presidency, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung has striven to contribute to a profound debate about the consequences of the pandemic and the future of the European project.
CovidGlobalSouth

The Covid-19 Pandemic in the Global South

Case studies
In early 2020, the world was faced with an – until then – unknown virus: Covid-19. Same as the governmental reactions to the pandemic, its impact on the political and societal situation differ from country to country. These case studies shed light on the situation in Brazil, Kosovo, Morocco, Nigeria, the Philippines and Ukraine, focusing especially on the impacts to the health systems and democratic institutions and the situation of women and girls in the respective countries. A joint project of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Washington, DC and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union offices.
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Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study: Brazil

Case study
The Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil comes in the wake of the political polarisation that was accentuated in the 2014 presidential elections and the scientific denialism used by the current government of President Jair Bolsonaro. Experts estimate that the way the president handles the most serious health crisis in recent decades is a reflection of this scenario.
 Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study - Ukraine

Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study: Ukraine

Case study
In Ukraine, especially vulnerable groups were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation has become even more challenging, considering the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine and the unstable political system.
 Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study - Kosovo

Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study: Kosovo

Case study
“In the midst of the pandemic, Kosovo became a country left with a caretaker government, crippled parliamentary competencies and entered a new political crisis” - An insight into the current situation in Kosovo.
Covid-19 in the Global South - Nigeria

Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study: Nigeria

Case study
In Nigeria, the healthcare system was not prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more about how the pandemic affected a country where more than half the population lacks access to primary medical care while Nigerian doctors seek employment abroad.
 Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study - Philippines

Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study: Philippines

Case study
With 2020 about to end, the buoyant picture of a surging Philippines economy has been replaced by the image of a country unable to find its way out of a terrible health and economic crisis.
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Covid-19 Pandemic Case Study: Morocco

Case study
What are the impacts of the pandemic in Morocco? The main challenge ahead is economic recovery: getting the economy back on track, regenerating jobs, and attracting investments are at the top of the government’s priorities.