Geopolitics

The Mental Health and Well-Being of Internally Displaced Female Yazidis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: A Realist Review of Psychosocial Interventions and the Impact of COVID-19

November 4, 2022

Global Mental Health This article explores how the global evidence on psychosocial interventions for female survivors of conflict-related sexual violence applies to the context of the female Yazidi population in Iraq during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also explore the impact of COVID-19 on the effectiveness of the interventions. Journal Article

How the COVID Vaccine Rollout Exposed Inequality in the Middle East

August 19, 2022

Middle East Eye This article shows how the pandemic and the subsequent rush towards vaccination illustrated the tremendous gap between rich countries and poorer countries and also the immense inequities that exist between countries and regions themselves. The article points to the Middle East as the region where inequities have been most intense. Article

Regional Connectivity Drove Bidirectional Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle East during Travel Restrictions

August 15, 2022

Nature Communications This article investigates the relative contributions of regional and intercontinental connectivity to the source-sink dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 for Jordan and the Middle East. By integrating genomic, epidemiological and travel data, the authors show that the source of introductions into Jordan was dynamic across 2020, shifting from intercontinental seeding in the early pandemic to…

Egypt Loses $23 Billion from COVID-19, Ukraine Conflict

June 21, 2022

Egyptian Streets Egypt’s Minister of Finance declared during his proposed budget speech that the country had lost 440 EGP, about 23.4 billion dollars due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and the COVID-19 pandemic over the span of the last two years. Article

An Ineffective Humanitarian Buffer Has Hampered COVID-19 Vaccination in Northern Syria

May 4, 2022

Doctors without Borders This article from MSF reports on the failure of the COVID-19 vaccine Humanitarian Buffer (HB) in its mission to support populations hit by the pandemic and struggling to have access to immunization. The HB is part of the COVAX mechanism from the WHO and aims to assist populations who do not have…

Tunisia: COVID-19 Vaccines and Access to Health in Rural Tunisia

April 25, 2022

Amnesty International Amnesty International reports on many barriers preventing residents from getting their vaccines in a mountainous area by the Tunisian-Algerian border where the organization has conducted field research. They say that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the weakness of right to health protections in Tunisia and particularly when it came to vaccine rollout programs and…

The Geopolitics of the North African Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic: Opportunities and Challenges

April 15, 2022

Journal of International Women’s Studies This article examines the response of the North African countries to the COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunities and the challenges facing the region, and the lessons learned in order to be better prepared for impending crises. Journal Article

COVID Diplomacy in the Era of Pandemic Response: The Case of United Arab Emirates

April 1, 2022

Journal of International Women’s Studies This article explores how foreign aid and COVID-19 assistance, including medical supplies and COVID-19 vaccines’ supply, have created a new source of soft power for the UAE. It presents an overview of UAE’s history of humanitarianism, conceptual and theoretical framework, methodology, factors enabling UAE’s COVID diplomacy, and the UAE’s contribution…