COVID-19 pandemic

TrueFootprint, Ltd.: a case study in the use of SME innovation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic

Here is a case study that aims to explore the efforts of a small start-up company, whose unique solutions are being deployed in the fight against COVID-19, with encouraging results. Using innovative technology and local volunteer networks, they have set out to identify the medical needs of local care providers, while reducing the effects of

Covid-19 reverses electricity access progress

Energy access policies continue to bear fruit, with 2019 data showing important progress. The number of people without access to electricity dropped from almost 860 million in 2018 to 770 million in 2019, a record low in recent years. In India, the government announced having reached full electricity access in 2019, and effective policies have

Why COVID-19 is a litmus test for corporate attitudes to sustainability

  • ESG is growing in importance for businesses and stakeholders everywhere.
  • The pandemic is helping increase awareness that companies must focus on long-term sustainability over short-term profits.
  • It will serve as a litmus test, dividing those firms who are serious about a low-carbon future – and those who are not.

The pandemic has proven the viability

COVID-19 is increasing multiple kinds of inequality. Here’s what we can do about it

  • As well as a public health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on poverty levels and inequality.
  • Women, alongside the poor, elderly, disabled and migrant populations, have borne the brunt of the fallout from the pandemic.
  • Minorities have been hit harder and are recovering more slowly from the downturn.

Facing hard truths: The material risk of rising inequality

Inequality: A long-term trend

In the US, there has been little-to-no real wage growth for a majority of the population since the 1970s¹, and the wage gains that have manifested have flowed to the highest-paid Americans. The effects on wealth have been severe – the bottom 50% of wealth owners have experienced no net wealth growth

Colonizing the Future

E. P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class relates the story of a Manchester silk weaver who, in 1835, complained of being subjugated to the urgent demands of the market. This skilled artisan observed how capitalists determined the pace at which they worked, while workers faced externally imposed timelines. “Labour,” the weaver lamented, “is always

Don’t Let the Pandemic Set Back Gender Equality

Progress towards greater gender equality has been hesitant and halting over the past five years and the Covid-19 pandemic now risks sending it into reverse. Our analysis shows that women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable to this crisis than men’s jobs: Women make up 39% of global employment but account for 54% of overall

Investing in education and skills can improve the health of both humans and planet. Here’s why

  • Systemic factors mean those on lower-incomes are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Tackling this inequity will involve reforming the way we think about, finance and deliver health, beyond solely healthcare.
  • Investment in education and workforce development can play a large part in improving health through access to healthcare and healthy

‘Inequality defines our time’

Mr. Guterres was delivering the 2020 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, held online for the first time, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The lecture series, held annually by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, on the birthday of the first democratically-elected President of South Africa, aims to encourage dialogue by

5 ways to help the world’s most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is helping social innovators respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Social entrepreneurs are providing food, water, shelter and mental health care to vulnerable populations.
  • There are five easy ways you can help people in need right now.

Every day we engage with the some of the

Impact Investment’s Pandemic Challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic will have dangerous, far-reaching implications long into the future, especially if it derails recent improvements in many countries’ historically weak health systems. To avoid that outcome, we urgently need to move beyond merely “protecting the needy” in times of crisis. Episodic donations are not enough. Now is the time to start removing

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Virtual Medical Appointment

I’m a primary care doctor, and, in normal times, my favorite part of the job is getting to see my patients regularly. But because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve had to substantially cut down on in-person visits to help put the brakes on the spread of the coronavirus.

In this time of high medical anxiety,

6 ways social innovators are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

  • The COVID-19 pandemic increases the need for social innovations to help those most vulnerable.
  • Here are six examples of social innovators creating solutions, from communicating facts, offering telehealth services and creating microfinance loans.

Social innovators, disruptors in the service of others in situations where traditional actors or the market have failed,

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