EU–Africa Partnership on Migration and Mobility in Light of COVID-19: Perspectives from North Africa

EU–Africa Partnership on Migration and Mobility in Light of COVID-19: Perspectives from North Africa

The pandemic not only acts as a multiplier of existing developmental and socioeconomic challenges in Africa – and thereby contributes to increasing
migratory pressure in and out of the continent – but it also reveals interdependencies between Africa and the EU. It is hoped that the current health and socioeconomic crisis would also act as an opportunity to substantially rethink the relations between the two continents on, and well beyond migration.

Impact of Covid-19 on adolescent mental health in Viet Nam and Tanzania

Impact of Covid-19 on adolescent mental health in Viet Nam and Tanzania

The impacts of Covid-19 on mental well-being and the mental health and psychosocial support needs of adolescents in Viet Nam and Tanzania. It is guided by two research questions:
– What impact has Covid-19 had on the mental health of adolescents in Viet Nam and Tanzania?
– What interventions (digital and non-digital) have been used to mitigate or respond to these mental health needs during the pandemic?

Overcoming Covid-19 and preventing new crises. What role will research play in the “super year” 2021?

Overcoming Covid-19 and preventing new crises. What role will research play in the “super year” 2021?

2020 was dominated by a collective global crisis on an unprecedented scale, the impact of which was felt differently around the globe and in parts of society. And the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to cast its shadow this year. The fight against Covid-19 and the recovery in the economy and society are coming at the same time as several major events in international environmental and climate policy.

A more inclusive post-Covid-19 world for persons with disabilities – how humanitarians can play their part

A more inclusive post-Covid-19 world for persons with disabilities – how humanitarians can play their part

One billion people live with a disability. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities provides a key opportunity to highlight the issues they face and take stock of how the humanitarian sector can play its part in building a more inclusive post-Covid-19 world. This is an urgent challenge.

Libya and the COVID-19 Lifecycle: From Distraction to Dissidence

Libya and the COVID-19 Lifecycle: From Distraction to Dissidence

COVID-19 has changed the world and the way we live it, establishing something of a “new normal” as states and societies battle the pandemic and learn to accommodate its multidimensional effects. For Libyans’ living in the midst of conflict, normality and a new normal are difficult to determine.

Strengthening the digital partnership between Africa and Europe

Strengthening the digital partnership between Africa and Europe

Digitalisation is the use of digital technologies and digitised data in enterprises and organisations, with far-reaching implications for how work gets done and how customers engage and interact with operations. There can be no doubt that digitalisation is transforming business models, revolutionising societies and creating new revenue streams around the globe. Now, more than ever, we need to understand and harness the power of digitalisation, to further the global common good.

Building Back Better Social Contracts - International Cooperation with Fragile MENA Countries in the COVID-19 Context

Building Back Better Social Contracts – International Cooperation with Fragile MENA Countries in the COVID-19 Context

Governments in the Middle East and in North Africa (MENA) are tackling the pandemic in different ways, many challenged by weak social systems and growing societal frustrations. In relatively prosperous (middle-income) countries – such as Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq – leaders have used the pandemic as an excuse to suppress justified protests at their lack of accountability and failure to provide basic services. For international cooperation, which supports the functioning of legitimate, accountable governments and resilient societies, this poses a critical challenge – as the case of Lebanon currently illuminates.

Health crisis and climate emergency: an opportunity to accelerate the diversification of oil companies' activities?

Health crisis and climate emergency: an opportunity to accelerate the diversification of oil companies’ activities?

The years preceding the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, marked in particular by the oil counter-shock of 2014 and the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, saw the emergence of (weak) signals of diversification of the activity and investment of certain oil companies—essentially the European majors—towards low-carbon energies. While these announcements could have a knock-on effect on the sector, they are still very insufficient in view of the effort required to initiate a rapid and profound transition of the sector towards decarbonisation,2 and are contested by several civil society actors.

Disadvantaged groups in the pandemic. How to respond inclusively to COVID-19 in the interests of the common good

Disadvantaged groups in the pandemic. How to respond inclusively to COVID-19 in the interests of the common good

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all of us, but to differing extents. Overstretched health care systems, curfews, unemployment and school closures are posing challenges and pushing people beyond their ability to cope. The consequences of the pandemic will be felt in both, the short and long term. However, the longer term health, economic and social impact can only be estimated at present.