Viewpoint by Inge Kaul

The writer, Dr Inge Kaul, is Senior Fellow, Hertie School, Berlin and Non-resident Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, Washington, DC.

BERLIN (IDN) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen organized two spectacular fund-raising events, one on May 4 and the other on June 27, 2020. The first drive collected €9.8 billion and the second €6.15 billion, including €4.9 billion announced together by the EU and the European Investment Bank.

According to official pronouncements, the funds will be used to make coronavirus vaccines, testing and treatments available worldwide, notably in low and middle-income countries.…

Viewpoint by Alfredo Saad Filho*

LONDON (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic has stress-tested countries, economies and political systems like never before. Nowhere has the outcome been more devastating than in Brazil, arguably the country with the worst pandemic response in the world.

Brazil’s vulnerabilities are visible in the mass graves in São Paulo and Manaus. The country is competing with the USA for the largest number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases (more than one million) and the highest number of fatalities (above 50,000 – but likely to be a vast undercount). Disturbingly, there is no sign that Brazil’s cases or deaths have peaked yet.…