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New Global Health & Gender Policy Brief: Mental Health and COVID-19
›The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching, negative impacts on health and well-being, particularly in population mental health. Mental health is strongly related to people’s social environment, and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this greatly. Many countries instituted shutdowns early in the pandemic restricting people’s movement both within and between countries. Shutdowns socially isolated people from one another and often led to poor mental health. The highest rates of mental distress occurred during time periods when COVID-19 mitigation measures were strictest and the number of COVID-19 related deaths was highest.
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Protecting Human Rights in DRC Cobalt Mines: A U.S. Priority in a Green Transition
›Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken recently reaffirmed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—a nation located in Africa’s heart—as a “geostrategic player and critical partner” for the United States. It is a country that features prominently in climate change discussions, not only because of its vast natural resources (including mineral wealth estimated to be the largest in the world, as well as possession of a forest cover second only to the Amazon Basin), but especially due to its cobalt reserves.
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Leveraging Hydropower for Peace
›Hydropower is the largest source of low-carbon electricity in the world today. And its benefits are needed more than ever. The International Energy Agency estimates that we will need to double the amount of installed hydropower capacity—which stands today at around 1360 gigawatts worldwide—in order to limit the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
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Creating an Environment of Peace Means Avoiding Backdraft
›The much-needed transition to a zero carbon, green economy offers opportunities to contribute to peace, but only if the conflict risks of transition are understood and managed to produce a just and peaceful transition. That means minimizing “backdraft”—the unintended negative impacts of transition that are a key obstacle to that goal.
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Confronting Seismic Shocks: New WQ Article Looks at “Russia’s War on Natural Resources”
›July 29, 2022 // By Claire DoyleWhen Russia struck a deal with Ukraine on July 15, there was hope that millions of tons of food would once again be able to flow from the embattled country. Under the agreement, brokered by Turkey and the UN, Russia would lift naval blockades and allow large-scale shipments of grain to leave Ukraine’s ports.
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Cascading Impacts of the War in Ukraine: Mental, Maternal, and Newborn Health
›Ukraine and its people will feel the effects of the Russian invasion for years to come. More than 6 million refugees have left Ukraine, another 8 million Ukrainians are internally displaced. Among those most impacted are Ukraine’s women and girls, who have a greater chance of experiencing gender-based violence, exploitation, and trafficking. They also face escalated maternal and newborn mortality rates stemming from lack of services and diminished care, as well as injuries and trauma due to the ongoing conflict. Less visibly, Ukrainians are confronting severe emotional distress and trauma.
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Water Diplomacy can Learn from Realist Ideas
›Guest Contributor // Water Security for a Resilient World // July 19, 2022 // By Sumit Vij, Jeroen Warner, Mark Zeitoun & Christian BréthautAs Russia’s war in Ukraine continues and nations are returning to behaviors best explained by realism, we are wrestling with these trends’ longer-term implications on water diplomacy. States are becoming inward-looking and prioritizing national sovereignty. Debates about water and climate are resurfacing, and we should better understand how hard power and inward-looking approaches can impact water diplomacy and cooperation. To inform policymakers about power sensitivities and power games played in diplomacy, water diplomats must rethink the future of water security and peace. They should reexamine leadership styles, cultural sensitivities, and knowledge exchange from the lens of realism.
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Climate Finance: Taking Stock of Investments and Opportunities to Sustain Peace
›A key pillar of the UNFCCC was a commitment by industrialized nations to cover the incremental cost of climate change mitigation for developing countries. As part of this pledge, they agreed to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance by 2020 and maintain that level of funding up to 2025. While there are questions on whether this target has been met, climate finance has undeniably become one of the largest channels of wealth redistribution from developed to developing countries.
Showing posts from category conflict.