Throughout the developing world, organizations have seen decades of progress fighting poverty, disease, and violence undone by the outbreak of COVID-19. I spoke with Anne Lynam Goddard, President & CEO of ChildFund International, to see how their organization has responded to the destabilizing effects of this global pandemic.

As the United States continues to fight COVID-19 at home and around the world, health care workers are at the front lines of the response. I recently spoke with Dr. Paul Lynch, an anesthesiologist— and a member of USGLC’s Arizona Advisory Committee—who traveled to New York City to offer his services at epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. While working at the hospital, he contracted COVID-19.

Despite the uncertainties, what is clear now is COVID-19’s threat to food security, as it strains supply chains and prevents agricultural activity. We need a long-term approach to economic development that recognizes the role of market actors in responding to periodic shocks and supporting recovery.

Innovative measures that respond to local conditions are crucial to the fight against COVID-19. Munyaradzi Dodo, a young citizen journalist from Zimbabwe, has worked with other young changemakers to develop a platform that tracks cases of COVID-19...

While half of the planet is on COVID-19 lockdown, more than 17 million South Koreans— including two 116-year-old women— left their homes last Wednesday to vote in the country’s parliamentary election. Thanks to South Korea’s successful response to the crisis, voters like 36-year-old Kim Yu-jin felt safe enough to go to the polls with her husband and daughter.

The catastrophic domestic and global effects of coronavirus begs the question: why was the world so unprepared for this virus? In search of some answers, I recently spoke with Ambassador Roger Meece, former U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004 – 2007) and Malawi (2000 – 2003) and a member of the USGLC’s Washington State Advisory Committee.

Colombia’s President Ivan Duque met with President Trump at the White House last week, and at the top of their agenda was Venezuela. Colombia has played a critical role in managing the regional migration crisis, taking in more than 1.7 million Venezuelan refugees—more than a third of the 4.5 million who have fled the country in recent years following political upheaval and economic collapse.

The MOMs Initiative (short for Maternal Outcomes Matters) takes a catalytic financing approach, providing capital that small businesses need to grow and have a greater impact. Within this approach, Merck for Mothers offers grant financing and uses its expertise in maternal health to identify the businesses and promising solutions to invest in.

On his first trip to Africa as Secretary of State, Secretary Mike Pompeo announced a new partnership earlier this week between American company, Weldy Lamont and Senegal’s national electric company — stating that the partnership will build on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)’s $550 million Senegal Power Compact to “provide energy to rural areas … generating electricity throughout the country.”

By addressing the growing need for water, sanitation, and hygiene services in Kenya, the KIWASH project has not only improved water security in rural communities, it has led to even greater opportunities across the country. The support of USAID and DAI has given local business owners the means to provide more reliable water services to their communities. As a result, communities can worry less about water-related diseases and focus more on their education and livelihoods, allowing for a better quality of life for all.