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Begin New Search Political Geography Global Focus Author Sarah Cliffe

1. The Challenge of a Lifetime: Ensuring Universal Access to COVID-19 Health Technologies

Author:
Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Michael D. Higgins, Retno Marsudi, Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Winnie Byanyima, Fitsum Assefa Adela, James Love, Mariângela Simão, Alberto Rodriguez, and Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
On September 25th, during the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, leaders from around the world came together to call for a fair and equitable approach to the development, production, and distribution of vaccines for COVID-19. This high-level event, hosted by the president of Costa Rica and co-sponsored by the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and CIC/the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, explored ways to ensure universal access to COVID-19 health technologies.
Topic:
United Nations, Peace, Humanitarian Crisis, and governance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Public Opinion, Trust, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author:
Paul von Chamier, Nendirmwa Noel, Sarah Cliffe, and Leah Zamore
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, policymakers must navigate public perceptions of coronavirus risk and government responses. This task is all the more challenging given press coverage focusing on outliers and extreme views, polarization and disinformation on social media platforms, and the relative dearth of reliable public opinion polling. These constraints notwithstanding, understanding people’s perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 and their priorities emerging from this crisis will be crucial for building back better. This two-part briefing pulls together data from several global, regional, and national polls conducted over the past month and a half to provide a descriptive summary of trends in public opinion towards COVID-19. The first part of the briefing, by Paul von Chamier, Nendirmwa Noel, and Elizabeth Angell, focuses on global polls tracking levels of public trust in government and other institutions, and public perceptions of the trade-offs involved in calibrating lockdown measures. Overall, the results suggest that most people around the world are highly concerned about the pandemic, supportive of a strong government response, and willing to suffer economic losses in order to save lives—although not without limit. The second part, by Leah Zamore and Sarah Cliffe, focuses on polling from low-income countries, especially in Africa, which find similar trends. However, the greater vulnerability of low-income households in those countries and the practical barriers to some social distancing and lockdown measures mean that public support will decline as people experience greater hardships. The briefing suggests that adequate and equitable government support is a vital prerequisite to sustaining trust—and thus the global public health response.
Topic:
Governance, Public Opinion, Humanitarian Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Food for Thought – Talking Points on Food Prices

Author:
Nendirmwa Noel and Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This short memo summarizes issues linking the COVID-19 pandemic and food prices. There is a real risk of a food price crisis emerging as a result of the pandemic, for the following reasons: Food systems are facing a complex set of demand and supply shocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes increased demand due to hoarding versus decreased demand due to containment measures; lower prices for food system inputs, such as petroleum, versus decreased supply due to disruption of production, transport and trade. There seems to be a risk that rice, and possibly wheat, see a price surge which disconnects them from the downward trend in other basic commodities. There is also undoubtedly a risk that specific countries and large urban settlements see sharp increases in prices of scarce commodities, as protests in Afghanistan and in Nigeria have already shown this week. The crisis is coming just as farmers in many parts of the world are about to begin planting, and action is therefore needed now.
Topic:
Governance, Food Security, Multilateralism, Crisis Management, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Population Movements, COVID-19, and Conflict Risk

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the globe, people are also moving in response to the threat of the virus and the actions states have taken to stem its transmission. This memo examines population movements in pandemics and offers relevant policy recommendations. In this policy memo, Sarah Cliffe, Leah Zamore, and Nendirmwa Noel detail the history of population movements during pandemics, provide an overview of the internal and cross-border movements now taking place around the world, and give examples of the restrictions and other measures governments are implementing to to respond. They also supply a number of concrete policy recommendations goverments can take now to improve their management of internal and cross-border movement in the face of COVID-19.
Topic:
Governance, Conflict, Borders, Humanitarian Crisis, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. COVID-19 and the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings

Author:
Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank conducted their first virtual Spring Meetings amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This briefing summarizes the discussions, which focused on the economic impact of the pandemic, and provides key takeaways on topics such as debt relief, financing for COVID-19 response, multilateral partnerships, and efforts to support global supply chains. In this readout of the 2020 Spring Meetings, CIC director Sarah Cliffe details the historic—but ring-fenced—debt moratorium and accelerated financing deal that were reached, as well as efforts to inject more global financing through an exceptional issue of IMF Special Drawing Rights. The briefing also covers partnerships between the United Nations and the international financial institutions, including a call for collaboration on global supply chains for medical equipment, agricultural inputs, and other goods and services.
Topic:
Governance, Finance, Multilateralism, Crisis Management, Humanitarian Crisis, IMF, COVID-19, and Supply
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. How Much Lockdown is Enough?

Author:
Sarah Cliffe, Paul von Chamier, and Nendirmwa Noel
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Lockdown measures have been an integral tool in the fight against COVID-19. But they come at a high cost, given their impacts on economies, employment and incomes, education, food systems, mental health and even the potential for civil unrest. This policy briefing by Sarah Cliffe, Paul von Chamier, and Nendirmwa Noel examines how countries are balancing the need for lockdown with policy measures to alleviate their effects and plans for reopening. It provides comparative data on the stringency of lockdowns, showing that while there has been a convergence towards more stringent measures over time, there is also wide variation among countries—even among those in the same region, or income group. A brief case study of Sierra Leone and snapshot examples of policy from ten other countries illustrates the range of answers to the question of how much lockdown is enough.
Topic:
Employment, Economy, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Africa, Sierra Leone, and Global Focus

7. UN Reforms—A Major Step Forward January 1, but Some Challenges Still to Overcome

Author:
Sarah Cliffe
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
UN Secretary-General António Guterres was appointed in 2016 on an explicit reform platform. In 2017, we published commentaries on his reform proposals. Now that those reforms that have been approved are moving into implementation, we publish this simple guide to what has been achieved and the potential potholes still ahead.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus