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Press Center
Welcome to the Center for Global Development's Press Center!
The Center for Global Development’s communications team is standing by to assist reporters on deadline. Our experts can provide analysis, commentary, data, and unique expertise on the global development and economic issues that are driving the news cycle. You can search for experts by their area of expertise here. To arrange an interview or to be added to our press list, please contact Holly Shulman, CGD communications director, by phone or email at +1202.416.4040 and hshulman@cgdev.org.
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CGD in the News
December 10, 2018
Article
By Alexandra Ward
From the article:
Pregnant women have been routinely excluded from the vaccination research and development process, even though this vulnerable class is sometimes uniquely affected by infectious disease outbreaks.
In an effort to address and correct this inequity in vaccination coverage, a new report by the Pregnancy Research Ethics for Vaccines, Epidemics, and New Technologies (PREVENT) Working Group, titled Pregnant Woman & Vaccines Against Emerging Epidemic Threats: Ethics Guidance for Preparedness, Research and Response, is urging vaccination researchers, policymakers, and health groups across the globe to embark on a “paradigm shift” and change the default thinking when it comes to maternal vaccination.
Inclusion of pregnant women in vaccine research and development should be the default, not the exception, the group, funded by Wellcome Trust and made up of 17 multidisciplinary members, explained.
“There is nothing about pregnancy that makes women immune from infectious disease threats, and many infections pose increased risks to pregnant women themselves, the developing fetus, and usually both,” Carleigh Krubiner, PhD, a lead author of the report appointed at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Center for Global Development, told Contagion®. “[W]hen we’re developing vaccines to combat these infectious disease threats, we need to be considering pregnant women as part of the target population—when investment decisions are made and as we conduct the research to understand safety, immunogenicity, and ultimately, effectiveness.”
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If pregnant women are sometimes uniquely susceptible to contracting infectious diseases, and can suffer distinctive consequences with some illnesses, why the historical hesitancy to vaccinate them?
“There are many factors contributing to this near categorical exclusion, including overinflated perceptions of risk in pregnancy as well as liability concerns,” Dr. Krubiner explained. “This is despite the fact there is no evidence of harm associated with the vast majority vaccines given to pregnant women, even among the category of replication-competent vaccines that give rise to the greatest concerns.”
The PREVENT team acknowledged that changing the status quo will be an uphill battle, but the risk of not doing so could have far more catastrophic consequences.
“Paradigm shifts are rarely easy,” Dr. Krubiner told Contagion. “Adopting these recommendations will require significant changes in how people think about pregnant women in the context of research and in the delivery of medical interventions. It will also require institutions to adopt new processes and, in some cases, make additional investments. But changing from business as usual is critically important, both as a matter of social justice and to have successful public health responses to outbreaks.”
Read the full article here.
December 10, 2018
Article
By Katherine Bortz
From the article:
Researchers in bioethics, maternal immunization, maternal-fetal medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, philosophy and vaccine development and policy have collaborated to provide guidance promoting the inclusion of pregnant women in vaccine studies for emerging diseases.
Carleigh Krubiner, PhD, associate faculty at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and project director at the Center for Global Development, said that this guidance was spurred by the Zika epidemic, where pregnant women “could not be ignored in the response.” After the group developed guidance on including women in the response to Zika epidemics, they expanded their scope to include vaccination against other threats, including Ebola, Lassa fever and “Disease X.”
“Unless there are good scientific or ethical reasons showing that the risks of vaccination are likely to be greater than the protection it may offer against an infectious disease threat, pregnant women should be offered the option to be vaccinated,” she told Infectious Diseases in Children. “Our 22 recommendations identify concrete solutions and actions to make this the reality, to close the evidence gap for pregnant women in epidemic responses and ensure that they have fair access to safe and effective vaccines just like other affected populations.”
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The researchers acknowledged that these and the other recommendations provided in the guidance may be difficult to follow, but “addressing inequities in biomedical research and public health rarely comes cheaply or without hard work.”
“Because the guidance addresses a complex problem that is reinforced by existing norms across multiple systems, the recommendations are targeted at a wide range of actors in a position to make needed changes, including policymakers, funders, vaccine researchers, ethics committees, regulatory authorities, providers and aid workers,” Krubiner said. “Essentially, we are calling for a paradigm shift in the way people think about pregnant women in the contexts of vaccine research and epidemic responses.”
Read the full article here.
December 5, 2018
Article
By Alison Griswold
From the article:
New York City voted Tuesday (Dec. 4) to enact a first-of-its-kind pay floor for ride-hail drivers, who as independent contractors are not protected by federal or state minimum-wage laws.
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It’s notable that New York City and its driver advocacy groups have successfully ushered in what promises to be a material improvement to driver livelihood just as other efforts to do the same—a driver union in Seattle, employment classifications lawsuits in the UK and around the US—remain mired in litigation.
Back in October, a research paper from the Center for Global Development on gig work argued that “the focus should be on improving the working conditions of independent workers… rather than continuing to pretend that regular, formal, contracted employment is the way that people—particularly youth—want (or even should want) to earn a living.”
Read the full article here.
December 5, 2018
Article
By Allie Garnham
From the article:
Dear EarthTalk: How can I minimize energy and packaging waste this holiday season?
— Marianne, via e-mail
If you’re dreaming of a green holiday season this year, you’ll have to take care to shop and decorate with the planet in mind. Celebrating the holidays plays a substantial role in the creation of waste during this period as a result of packaging from gifts and surplus food being thrown away and making its way to the landfill. But whether you’re looking forward to a lavish holiday with your friends and family this year or a more minimalist celebration, you can still be green and enjoy the festivities.
One way to reduce your environmental footprint is to shop locally. While online shopping may seem greener, it involves excess packaging (think shipping boxes and padding) and pollution (from miles flown/driven by UPS and FedEX to get purchases to your door). By patronizing nearby businesses instead, you’ll be supporting the local economy and reducing pollution. If you do shop online, try to consolidate your purchases into one big order to minimize the number of special trips shippers must make to your house.
Another way to green your holiday celebrations is to switch over from those flashing lights and inflatable snowmen to more subtle displays of holiday spirit. The Center for Global Development reports that Americans consume 6.63 billion kilowatts of electricity annually on holiday lighting and decorations. Instead of being part of the problem, unplug and light some candles. All-natural soy varieties—Real Soy’s ginger or cinnamon-scented candles are popular around the holidays—are friendlier to the environment than traditional petroleum-based paraffin candles.
Read the full article here.
December 5, 2018
Article
By Nithin Coca
From the article:
World leaders are gathered this month in Katowice, Poland, for COP24, the most important global meeting on climate change since the 2015 UN Climate Conference in Paris. At the top of agenda: getting countries to agree on rules to implement the Paris climate accords for 2020, when the pact goes into effect.
Some small signs of hope
One bright spot: the Indonesian government is finally ready to begin accepting payments as part of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program. REDD+ provides direct payments for preserving intact forests, and Norway has already pledged $1 billion specifically to protect Indonesian forests.
If climate finance can get scaled up, this could be a tool to provide substantial funds into forest protection. Jonah Busch, environmental economist whose research focuses on climate change and tropical deforestation at the Center for Global Development, thinks that Brazil, which dramatically pared its own deforestation between 1996 and 2010 (though the trend has been worrying since then), could provide a model for Indonesia to reduce its own deforestation.
“Five, ten, or twenty billion [dollars] for protecting forests would have a much bigger impact,” said Busch. “That would happen when rich countries get much more serious about addressing climate change than they currently are.”
Read the full article here.
December 4, 2018
Article
By Dany Bahar, Meagan Dooley, and Cindy Huang
From the article:
Before leaving office in August 2018, outgoing Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos decreed that 442,462 undocumented Venezuelans living in Colombia—most of whom had arrived since 2015 when the massive exodus of Venezuelans throughout the continent accelerated—would be regularized, enabling them to receive residency and work permits. This is in addition to the 376,572 Venezuelans already in the country with regular migration status. This commendable action is the largest process of migrant and refugee work regularization ever seen in the region, perhaps in the world outside of Uganda. It not only demonstrates solidarity with the country’s Venezuelan neighbors, but it is also smart policy, given the massive economic opportunity these migrants could represent for the country.
Yet, successful integration of migrants into the labor force marks an unprecedented challenge for Colombia. Despite its recent admission to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, Colombia still faces important development challenges of its own. It is important that policies designed to facilitate and support the integration process seek to maximize the potential benefits and mitigate the possible costs of migrant integration.
Read the full article and download the policy brief here.
December 4, 2018
Article
By Joanne Lu
From the article:
The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) has released its latest rankings of African countries on a "Child-Friendliness Index." Every few years since 2008, the Ethiopia-based research center scores governments on their intentions to improve children's legal protections, poverty rates, health, nutrition and education – as well as the outcomes of those intentions.
Some countries are doing well — and even making strides. eSwatini (formerly known as Swaziland) was ranked 51 out of 52 countries in 2008. This year it was number 9. The reasons for the improvement? In 2012, eSwatini adopted a Children's Protection and Welfare Act that largely brought the country's laws in line with international human rights laws on children's rights. According to the report, it has also significantly improved children's access to health care, resulting in higher survival rates, more measles vaccinations and better access to sanitation.
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Caroline Lambert says that governments also have a valuable resource in other actors, especially local leaders, civil society and regional partners. She's a former fellow at the Center for Global Development who recently co-authored a book with Malawi's first female president Joyce Banda on the importance of investing in African girls.
"In a lot of African countries, the government's reach is limited," she says. "It's not about governments acting by themselves. It's about reach; it's about who can do what better; it's about mobilizing resources – not just money."
Read the full article here.
December 4, 2018
Article
By All Africa
From the article:
Last week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted the Federal Republic of Germany’s President, his Excellency, Frank-Walter Steinmmeier. This visit is a positive sign that Germany will continue to have a strong relationship with the African continent, even though one of the main champions of the relationship, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, announced in October that she will step down from her role in 2021.
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And because it is hard to erase all her legacy as evidenced by the initiatives she has championed and the approach she has used, as well as the quality of aid Germany has extended to African countries, Merkel’s successor has all the reasons to continue building her legacy. In the event, this does not happen, the African Continent should look to further their relationships with other developed countries that by default are still invested in Africa, like. France and Canada, especially, those that were recently ranked high in the recently released Center for Global Development annual index.
Read the full article here.
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