Democracy, Human Rights, and COVID-19
Democracy, Human Rights, and COVID-19
Better health begins with ideas
Editors' Note President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy, which kicked off on Thursday, underscores the need to rethink global health's role in foreign policy, writes CFR Senior Fellow David P. Fidler in Think Global Health. Continuing our omicron coverage, an epidemiologist from Namibia examines the consequences of high-income country bans on travelers from southern Africa.
A surge in vaccine nationalism has revived doubts about international law and human rights safeguards during health emergencies, posits our next author. We also bring you a primer on vaccine contracts (that even readers not interested in contracts will find fascinating). Mental health care has experienced a tremendous shift during COVID-19. And our last article assesses how the tobacco industry has quietly built influence over the past two years.
We also hope you'll check out the Council on Foreign Relations' "Seven Charts That Explain the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2021," which features some of our data visualizations.
As always, thank you for reading. —Thomas J. Bollyky and Mary Brophy Marcus, Editors
This Week's Highlights 
by David P. Fidler As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, this week's summit underscores the need to rethink global health in foreign policy
by Mareli Claassens "Travel bans are based on political agendas, not on science, and certainly not on respect," says a physician from Namibia
by Rana Moustafa The pandemic exposed a troubling gap between the letter and the spirit of human rights law
Stat of the Week 25 Percent The number of people around the world living with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders increased by more than a quarter in 2020
Recommended Feature
by Bridie Telford, Julia Barnes-Weise, and Laura Hoemeke 
by Katherine Leach-Kemon, Damian F. Santomauro, Alize J. Ferrari, and Ruri Syailendrawati 
by Mary Assunta For the tobacco industry, the pandemic has been a golden opportunity to build global influence
What We're Reading Facing Economic Collapse, Afghanistan Is Gripped by Starvation (New York Times)
New Zealand Plans to Eventually Ban All Cigarette Sales (New York Times)
We Don't Need Universal Booster Shots. We Need to Reach the Unvaccinated (Washington Post)
Omicron Wave Sees South Africa's Weekly Excess Deaths Almost Double (Bloomberg)
WHO Warns Against Rich Nations Hoarding Jabs to Fight Omicron (Al Jazeera) 
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