Life is pretty much back to normal in New York. Most aren’t masking even at the United Nations headquarters where heads of state and government ministers rush from one meeting to another during this week’s U.N. General Assembly.
But what if, in the midst of this busy week, a new virus emerges, unknowingly infecting people who travelled to the city for UNGA. Is the world ready for another outbreak?
Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and co-chair of WHO's Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness, posed this question to heads of state and government ministers on Wednesday, as they agreed with no objections on the political declaration for the U.N. high level-meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
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About the authors
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
Rumbi Chakamba
Rumbi Chakamba is a Senior Editor at Devex based in Botswana, who has worked with regional and international publications including News Deeply, The Zambezian, Outriders Network, and Global Sisters Report. She holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of South Africa.
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
