Global Health

commentary

America Can Still Deliver on Global Vaccine Diplomacy

It is hard to see how science alone can end the pandemic without the rallying power of global diplomacy. The United States has played a leadership role in previous outbreaks, such as Ebola. It could play a similar role now to help consign the current pandemic to epidemic status.

Krishna B. Kumar

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U.S. 'Entanglement,' Global Health Cooperation, Community Stress: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on competing claims about U.S. partnerships and allies, responding to Russia's tactics in Ukraine, helping communities recover from stress, and more.

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Global Health Data Sharing: The Case of China and the Two Coronavirus Pandemics

Tensions over the coronavirus seem to be prompting China to isolate itself in terms of data sharing. But the first coronavirus pandemic in 2003 actually helped open China to health collaborations with other countries. World leaders may be doing their citizens a disservice when they allow toxic geopolitics to undercut trust and international collaborations that took decades to build.

Jennifer Bouey @BoueyHuang

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Split-Screen Recovery from Pandemic Isn't Sustainable

In a world connected by commerce and the air we breathe, it's hard to see how any COVID-19 recovery that's confined to specific segments of the population is sustainable. Failing to address gaps in the pandemic response would run the risk that a future mutation of this virus could send us scurrying for cover. Again.

Krishna B. Kumar

blog

Vaccine Hesitancy, Working from Home, Arctic Diplomacy: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on vaccine hesitancy as a symptom of ‘Truth Decay,’ how to make remote work beneficial for all, U.S. Arctic diplomacy, and more.

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Vaccine Patents Debate Risks Becoming a Sideshow in the Global Battle Against COVID-19

As COVID-19 cases continue to surge around the world, the debate is raging over whether patents on existing vaccines should be waived. But the global community could view patent waivers as just one of many available tools for speeding up vaccine delivery worldwide.

Krishna B. Kumar

commentary

America Could Do More to Get the World Vaccinated

After waging its own withering battle with COVID-19, the United States appears to be coming to grips with the pandemic and its economy is recovering. Now could be the time for America to play a greater role in global vaccination, both out of generosity and self-interest.

Krishna B. Kumar

blog

President Biden's First Address to Congress: Insights from RAND

President Joe Biden addressed a joint session of Congress, summarizing his administration's early COVID-19 response and outlining plans that aim to loosen the pandemic's year-long grip on a weary nation. The speech reflected the fact that the United States faces policy challenges across a wide range of domains.

commentary

Equal, Rapid Access to Vaccines Is More Important Than Ever as New COVID-19 Variants Emerge

Vaccine nationalism could prolong the pandemic and lead to preventable deaths. If some countries don't receive timely access to vaccines, then the virus will continue to spread in some populations, mutate further, and potentially render existing vaccines less effective.

Marco Hafner, Christian Van Stolk

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Vaccine Nationalism May Seem Inevitable, but There Are Real Economic Consequences

Vaccine nationalism, in which countries prioritize their domestic needs at the expense of others, will have significant global economic consequences. Major economies actually have more to gain by helping to make an effective COVID-19 vaccine widely available globally.

Marco Hafner

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What Elinor Ostrom Teaches Us About Avoiding the 'Tragedy of the Commons' in Delivering the Public Interest in the Post COVID-19 World

The public interest can be an elusive concept, especially when trying to distinguish between shared and individual interests, a problem brought into sharper focus as we try to find the right path to a post COVID-19 world. Governments are seeking to do the best for their societies with limited information. As more data is being acquired, how can public policy achieve common interest?

Tom Ling

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Needed: A Blueprint for a Post-Vaccine World

When a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, many in rich countries may be able to afford it while the poor and uninsured may not. The time to plan for equitable access, financing, intellectual property rights, and global production is now.

Krishna B. Kumar, Mahshid Abir, et al.

q&a

Coronavirus Outbreak Intensifies: Q&A with RAND Experts

Cases of the coronavirus have now spread to several dozens of countries, infecting thousands and thousands of people across the globe. With concerns about the disease rising, we asked a group of RAND researchers to answer a wide range of questions about the crisis.

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Is Coronavirus Another SARS?

In 2002, the SARS pandemic infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774. How is the coronavirus outbreak similar? And how is it different?

Jennifer Bouey @BoueyHuang

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Artificial Intelligence, Refugees, Global Health Security: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the Pentagon's artificial intelligence strategy, technology's role in the refugee crisis, threats to global health security, and more.

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Economic Experiments for Global Impact

Implementing effective solutions for global socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation is a daunting challenge. However, RAND has seen over its decades of work in this area that data-based decisions can improve the welfare of the world's most vulnerable populations.

Krishna B. Kumar

blog

Data Breaches, Correctional Security, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how consumers respond to data breaches, new security challenges facing correctional institutions, how fentanyl is changing the opioid crisis, and more.

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The Royal Wedding's Bouquet to Public Health

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked the public to donate to charities instead of sending wedding gifts. The causes they are passionate about include helping children with HIV, homelessness, hygiene programs for women in the slums of Mumbai, and bringing sport to disadvantaged youth.

Sarah MacCarthy

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Can the U.S. Afford to Reduce Global Public Health Funding?

The United States may be preparing to downsize funding for global epidemic prevention. Without renewed funding, the long-term outlook could include an increased likelihood of global disease outbreaks.

Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein

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Why the United Nations General Assembly Session on Antimicrobial Resistance Matters

Many common infections are becoming resistant to the antimicrobial medicines used to treat them, resulting in longer illnesses and more deaths. The fact that world leaders are using the UN as a forum for discussions about AMR is a promising move toward developing a coordinated global plan.

Jirka Taylor, Elta Smith

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European and American Efforts to Tackle AMR: Great Minds Think Alike (Almost Always)

The U.S. and the EU are committed to tackling antimicrobial resistance. Their efforts share objectives around key areas for improvement, such as the stewardship of existing antimicrobials, surveillance of their use, and development of new antimicrobials.

Jirka Taylor, Elta Smith

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Health and Safety at the Rio Olympics: It's Not Just About Zika

The risk of contracting Zika in Rio de Janeiro is low. But there is a broader range of health and safety concerns for which travelers can and should take specific precautions.

Melinda Moore

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The Rio Olympics Are the Site of a Battle Against 'Super Bacteria'

Brazilian scientists detected drug-resistant bacteria growing off some of Rio de Janeiro's beaches, close to where it will host sailing and wind-surfing events, and in the lagoon where the rowing and canoeing events will take place.

Jirka Taylor, Elta Smith

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The Global Economic Costs of Antimicrobial Resistance

In addition to being a public health problem, antimicrobial resistance is also a major economic concern. It crosses sectoral boundaries, because resistant bugs can pass between animals and humans, and through food, agriculture, and the environment.

Jirka Taylor, Catherine A. Lichten, et al.

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The O'Neill Review: A Critical Step in Taking Global Action Against AMR

The O'Neill Review aims to increase global knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and generate international consensus about the nature of the problem and the necessary steps to tackle it. A RAND Europe analysis of the potential economic costs of AMR contributed to the Review.

Jirka Taylor, Elta Smith

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Know Zika to Fight Zika

Scientists across universities, governments, and industry are doubling down to gain a better understanding of the Zika virus and develop the diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic tools needed to combat it. In the meantime, the public must be actively engaged.

Melinda Moore

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Fighting the Zika Virus: What Public Health Officials Need to Do

For now, public health officials and their partners must do all they can to control Zika virus, using the tools at hand. That may include instituting a public health campaign to reduce mosquito-breeding sites and promoting prudent protection against mosquito bites.

Melinda Moore

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A Promising Approach for Expanding Health Insurance to Nigeria's Informal Sector

The Kwara Community Health Insurance program in Nigeria provides a remarkable proof of concept and template for addressing the challenge of providing risk protection for the poor in the developing world.

Adeyemi Okunogbe

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Africa Succeeds in Meeting Many Long-Term U.N. Development Goals

Over the past decade and half, Africa has made great strides toward meeting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, eight objectives that included halving extreme poverty rates, providing universal primary education, and ending the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.

Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik

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New Partnerships for Improving Global Health Research

Partnerships between public and private organizations have become a powerful mechanism for addressing longer-term and structural challenges faced by developing countries that have a high burden of poverty-related diseases.

Gavin Cochrane

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China at Home: Marrying Prosperity and Well-Being

As China strives to sustain its upward economic trajectory, it must also address its domestic problems—such as its air pollution and the challenges presented by its aging population—if its people are to share fully in the rewards of economic development and expansion.

Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich

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The Cost of Resistance and the Attack of the Microbes

If left unaddressed, the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance and the rise of 'superbugs' could devastate the world economy and pose a deadly threat to humanity.

Marco Hafner, Jirka Taylor

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G7 Leaders to Discuss Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance

The threat of drug resistance can be tackled with the right set of actions, including the development of new antimicrobial drugs and alternative therapies to disrupt the rise in resistance. German Chancellor Merkel has emphasized the importance of a joint global action plan for addressing this growing problem.

Marco Hafner, Jirka Taylor

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As Ebola Declines, Lessons Emerge

Lessons learned through the analysis of this most recent Ebola outbreak as well as other disease outbreaks can have far-reaching consequences, helping authorities to both improve the continuing, ongoing response and plan for the best possible response to future threats.

Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich

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Mental Health Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

Depression is the leading cause of disability throughout the world and is especially prevalent among low-income African countries, where 75 percent of the people who suffer from mental illness do not have easy access to the mental health care they need.

Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik

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Ringing the Alarm Bell for Antimicrobial Resistance

The increase in the number of bacterial and viral infections that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs poses a growing global health threat.

Jirka Taylor, Marco Hafner

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What Have We Learned from the Ebola Outbreak?

For much of 2014, the world has confronted the most deadly Ebola outbreak since the discovery of the disease in 1976. What lessons have emerged? What should the world do to better prepare for transnational outbreaks?

Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein

q&a

Your Questions on Ebola, Answered

Melinda Moore, a RAND public health physician and senior researcher, hosted an 'Ask Me Anything' session on Reddit to answer questions about Ebola, including whether a U.S. travel ban would help prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

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Declaring War on Ebola

Operation United Assistance, which includes the deployment of 3,000 U.S. military personnel to West Africa to respond to the Ebola crisis, is a welcome recognition of the range of missions the military is increasingly able to tackle, particularly in disaster-management assistance.

Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Michael Shurkin

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Ebola Outbreak: Putting the Public Back in Public Health

Medical and public health systems are crucial to controlling the transmission of Ebola and treating patients. But the public's role in becoming aware and engaged, both in West Africa and the United States, cannot be overstated.

Melinda Moore

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Probing the Barriers to Conducting Clinical Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

Developing clinical research in sub-Saharan Africa requires a more holistic approach that considers not only individuals and institutions concerned with clinical research but also the wider health and research systems in these countries.

Gavin Cochrane, Catriona Manville

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The Faceless National Security Threat

The rapid, uncontrolled spread of aggressive diseases such as Ebola is often a matter of national security. U.S. intelligence professionals must establish relevant information collection and dissemination mechanisms to deal with such contingencies.

Peter Chalk

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Six Takeaways from the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

No amount of research can save those who've already perished from Ebola in West Africa, but our capacity to learn from such tragedies is a silver lining that has historically enhanced global resilience to disease. With that in mind, here are six key lessons from the outbreak.

Jeanne S. Ringel @JeanneRingel, Peter Chalk

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An Outbreak of Outbreaks

Lately, stories about outbreaks seem to be spreading faster than the diseases themselves. An outbreak of measles in Ohio is just part of an 18-year high of U.S. cases. Meanwhile, polio continues to circulate in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, while spreading to other countries, like Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Syria.

Melinda Moore, Andrew M. Parker, et al.

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The Most Dangerous Mistake You Can Make During Flu Season

Despite public awareness campaigns in the United States and Europe, many people persist in the mistaken belief that antibacterial drugs — like amoxicillin and azithromycin — are the best treatment for flu. And many doctors simply surrender when patients demand them, ignoring the scientific and medical truth: when treating the flu, antibacterial drugs just don't work.

Jonathan Grant, Jirka Taylor

blog

For Pardee RAND Graduate School, a $3.6 Million Gift

Frederick S. Pardee, a former RAND researcher, contributed $3.6 million to support the Pardee RAND Graduate School and to create its Pardee Initiative for Global Human Progress. His generous gift will seed projects that help those in developing countries.

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Getting in the Access Loop: Mentorship for Publishing African Health Research

Mentorship at various levels could help overcome barriers to joining the access loop of international health research publishing, while also fostering greater communication and stimulating innovative, collaborative international research, writes Janice S. Pedersen.

Janice S. Pedersen

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U.S. Foreign Policy Must Include the Eradication of Dangerous Diseases

commentaries by RAND Staff: insightful commentaries on current events, published in newspapers, magazines and journals worldwide.

Kenneth Shine, C. Ross Anthony