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The word ‘Allah’ is for all, not just Muslims the Malaysian High Court’s recent decision

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'Allah' is for all, Malaysian court rules, not just Muslims; evangelical alliance welcomes it
(Photo: World Watch Monitor)A Bahasa-Malaysia language Bible, in which the word ‘Allah’ is used for God.

The World Evangelical Alliance has welcomed the Malaysian High Court’s recent decision that recognized as unconstitutional and invalid a 1986 government directive that banned non-Muslims from using the word “Allah” to refer to God.

WEA Secretary General Thomas Schirrmacher, on April 6, described the ruling as “a step in the right direction towards affirming religious freedom for all Malaysians and evidence that the constitutional system of separation of powers functions well.”

The March 10 ruling came in response to a case in 2008.

The government confiscated CDs from Jill Ireland when she returned from Indonesia because they contained Christian material and had the word “Allah” written on them.

Some 13 years after the incident and following a lengthy legal process, the court now concluded that the government’s action violated Ireland’s constitutional rights to refer to the Christian God as “Allah,” which is the generic word for “God” in the Malay language used by people of different faiths.

Jill Ireland has campaigned for Christians’ right to use the word since immigration officials at a Kuala Lumpur airport seized eight Christian CDs from her in May 2008 because the CDs

Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill is from Sarawak and the Melanau tribe and went through Malaysia’s national education system where she was taught in Bahasa Malaysia, the Malay Mail reported on March 24.

JILL IRELAND

Jill Ireland and her family use Bahasa Malaysia, the primary language of Malaysia, to practice their Christian faith while also using the Alkitab (or the Bible) in Bahasa Indonesia and written and audio-visual materials in the Bahasa Indonesia language.

Some Muslims in Malaysia claimed the word “Allah” to be exclusive to Islam.

However, the Malay Mail reported that the Arabic word had long been adopted into Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia in the neighboring country to refer to God.

It is also part of terms in the indigenous languages of natives in Sabah and Sarawak that refer to God. Such use can be traced back to hundreds of years ago, well before Malaysia’s Home Ministry’s written directive in 1986 to ban such usage.

After a seven-year legal battle, Ireland was given back the CDs in 2015, but she maintained that the court had failed to address her constitutional right as a Christian to use the word.

The court’s most recent decision may also have implications for a similar case going back to 2007, said the WEA.

In that case, the government in Kuala Lumpur banned the weekly Herald Malaysia, a Roman Catholic newspaper, from using the word “Allah” in its Malay-language editions, saying that using the Arabic word may offend the local Muslims.

In 2015, the High Court rejected the Catholic Church’s challenge seeking to overturn a ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah” to refer to God.

That ruling has led to the denial of the use of the word “Allah” by local Christians, who constitute 9 percent of Malaysia’s population.

“The High Court demonstrated a fair and independent approach, and we hope that this decision will be upheld and effectively implemented by the Malaysian government,” said Schirrmacher welcoming the Malaysian High Court’s March decision.

The WEA had previously raised the United Nations issue through the Universal Periodic Review mechanism at the Human Rights Council in 2018.

URGING BAN LIFT

It had urged the Malaysian government “to lift the ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Malaysian Christians, in recognition of their longstanding use of this name for God.”

No other Muslim-majority nation restricts religious minorities from using the word “Allah,” which is of the same linguistic origin as the Hebrew words for God “El” and “Elohim.”

WEAS also said there is also clear evidence that the word “Allah” had been used by Christians, Jews, and pagan believers in Arabia centuries before Islam was established.

In Malaysia itself, it has been used for more than 400 years by non-Muslims and has never been a source of confusion or offense to Islam’s followers.

OPINION: Sex, Religion, and Your High School

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OPINION: Sex, Religion, and Your High School

What is going on in your local school these days? Whether online or in-person, taxpayers, parents, school board members, teachers, principals and superintendents need to need to know what’s going on in their schools and know the law.
Recently Aspen High …

Religion follows patterns of politicization during COVID-19

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Religion follows patterns of politicization during COVID-19

Research shows people turn to religion in times of fear and uncertainty – and March 2020 was one of those times.

To find the impact of religion during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Landon Schnabel, the Robert and Ann Rosenthal Assistant Professor of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, analyzed responses from 11,537 Americans surveyed March 19-24, 2020, shortly after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health pandemic.

Religion protected mental health of members of several faith groups, Schnabel reports in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, but also constrained crisis response among some of the same groups, ultimately undercutting the overall effectiveness of public health efforts to contain the virus.

“Religion limited the negative mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, with highly religious Americans and especially evangelicals experiencing less distress than more secular Americans,” Schnabel wrote. “However, that mental health benefit came at the cost of less concern about and support for addressing an important real-world problem: saving lives during a pandemic.”

According to Schnabel, “the most obvious explanation for this pattern is the politicization of the pandemic and the fact that … Republicans and conservatives simply were not as concerned about the pandemic and less likely to think they needed to worry about social distancing, etc.”

Intensely religious white people tend to hold conservative values and embrace Republican politics, Schnabel wrote – the same political positions that downplayed the threat of the virus, especially in the early days of the pandemic.

Schnabel based his conclusions on data from Pew Research’s American Trends Panel (ATP), made available by the Cornell Roper Center for Public Opinion Research as part of a growing collection of public opinion data related to COVID-19.

The survey asked questions about mental distress, perceived health and economic threats posed by the pandemic, and opinions on public health restrictions and social distancing behaviors. It also collected data about religious affiliation and behavior, and about political party affiliation.

Schnabel’s analysis confirmed a documented benefit of religion: increased mental health.

“Regularly attending and evangelical Americans did not experience as much increased distress during the early stages of COVID-19 as Americans who attended less regularly or who were not evangelical,” he wrote. “This suggests that religion, typically implicated in rates of distress, mitigated the increased anxiety most Americans were feeling in the early days of the pandemic.”

Schnabel’s analysis also confirmed previous research documenting the close alignment of religion and politics in the U.S. “In the contemporary United States, religion has become politicized and is now viewed as entangled with conservative politics,” he wrote.

“In sum, religion therefore could paradoxically buffer the hardship caused by the pandemic yet structure attitudes and orientations about public health and science in ways that ultimately increase it,” Schnabel wrote.

It is within the power of religious people and faith organizations to glean mental health benefits of religion without endangering public health, Schnabel said.

“Religious organizations should consider how they can promote the things that are helpful for mental health and not promote anything harmful for physical health,” Schnabel said, such as building community through virtual gatherings and providing virtual tools to provide psychological resources without risk of exposure. “The ideal scenario would be to figure out how to get the mental health benefits while avoiding the things that were unhelpful for containing the pandemic,” he said.

The data for this study came from early in the pandemic, Schnabel wrote. “It remains to be seen the exact extent to which religion will continue to protect mental health as we enter the second year of the pandemic.”

Kate Blackwood is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.

EU vows to attract investment in hydrogen energy

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EU vows to attract investment in hydrogen energy

LISBON, April 7 (Xinhua) — The Council of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday defined the attraction of international investments in hydrogen energy as a priority, in a consensus built during a virtual meeting with representatives of the member states promoted by the Portuguese presidency of the EU.

The European leaders of the energy portfolio highlighted the need to create a “stable regulatory framework” for hydrogen in the European Union, noting that it is a competitive and predictable market.

“Public and private investment must ally, and governments have a responsibility to give the right signals, creating the conditions for the private sector to invest with stability and security,” said Portuguese Minister of Environment and Climate Action Joao Pedro Matos Fernandes.

The Netherlands Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Bas van’t Wout urged for mobilizing public sector investment for the implementation of the European strategy.

The planning of the necessary infrastructure for the production and distribution of hydrogen is crucial, said Germany’s Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Energy Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker.

“It is time to accelerate investment and political decisions” in a bid to lay the foundations for stable investment, said Spain‘s Secretary of State for Energy Sara Aagesen Munoz.

Luxembourg’s Energy Minister Claude Turmes called on the EU to establish “a transparent system, because the private investor will only be interested in moving forward if there is transparency.”

Conference on the Future of Europe: launch of the citizens’ platform on 19 April

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Press release

  • Invitation to EU citizens: “The future is in your hands”
  • Work continues for the launch of the Conference’s digital platform, set for 19 April
  • Preparation for a formal event on 9 May (Europe Day)

At its meeting on Wednesday, the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe continued preparations to get the Conference started

The Executive Board endorsed the multilingual digital platform that will allow citizens from across the EU to contribute to the Conference. It also agreed on its working methods and advanced preparations for a formal event on Europe Day (9 May).

An open and inclusive participatory democracy debate

As from 19 April, thanks to this new multilingual digital platform, citizens from across Europe will have the possibility to provide their views on any topic that they consider important for the future of the EU. This will enable citizens – for the first time at EU level – to put forward their ideas, comment on other people’s ideas, create and participate in events. The platform will be the Conference’s central hub, a place where all contributions to the Conference will be brought together and shared, including decentralised events, the European Citizens’ Panels and Conference Plenaries.

 

A specialised feedback mechanism will aggregate and analyse key points raised, so that they can also be taken into account during the European Citizens’ panels and Conference Plenaries. The platform will also provide information on the Conference’s structure and work, as well as resources for event organisers including a catalogue of key events through which they will be able to promote their initiatives at local, regional, national, and European levels. Citizens will easily be able to look up events in which they wish to participate thanks to an events map.

 

Following the meeting, the co-chairs of the Executive Board stated the following.

 

The European Parliament’s Guy Verhofstadt (RE, BE) said: “We need to make this discussion as lively as possible, and in times of Covid that means to experiment with digital platforms as much as we can. With this platform, we offer the tools to give everyone a chance to get actively engaged in this debate, and we will make sure these ideas feed into the analysis and conclusions of the Conference. It’s their future, so it’s their Conference.”

 

The Portuguese Secretary of State for EU Affairs on behalf of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Ana Paula Zacarias, commented that “The Digital Platform will bring Europeans into the public space. It will allow them to express their concerns, share their dreams and expectations and to engage with their representatives. The Union needs the power of its citizens behind it to make it stronger. This is a decisive moment, and this will allow us to debate differing views frankly and without taboos.”

 

Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, stated: “The launch of the Digital Platform in ten days’ time will provide a unique space for our citizens to engage in conversations and debates right across Europe. It will allow people to share their ideas, concerns, hopes and dreams – and in all official EU languages. Momentum is now growing and I look forward to seeing the outcome.”

 

The Conference’s official hashtag #TheFutureIsYours is an invitation to EU citizens to contribute and define the EU’s future: “The future is in your hands”.

Inaugural event on Europe Day

Additionally, the Executive Board made significant progress in preparing for the Conference’s inaugural event on Europe Day (9 May), health conditions permitting. It also adopted the Board’s own working methods and held a first discussion on the draft rules for the composition and work of Conference Plenary sessions.

Next steps

The Executive Board will meet again in two weeks, in order to finalise their discussion on the rules of procedure, and to address other prerequisites for the organisation of the Conference.

Youth Forum: UN chief calls for ‘tangible improvements’ in the face of injustice, poor governance

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Youth Forum: UN chief calls for ‘tangible improvements’ in the face of injustice, poor governance

He described the gathering online as “the UN’s foremost platform” for tackling the many pressing challenges facing young people today, including the impacts of COVID-19, which, among other things, have rendered one-in-eight young people – the majority girls – without access to education. One-in-six are without jobs and mental health problems are rising fast. 

“In this context, we should not be surprised that both online and in the streets, young people have been expressing their impatience with the pace of change…and their frustration with injustice and poor governance”, Mr. Guterres said, stressing the need to listen to youth to rebuild trust. 

Leading the way forward 

The UN chief underscored that “tangible improvements” are required in education, employment, environmental protection and digital connectivity – “through a just, inclusive, green and sustainable recovery”. 

“The UN’s first-ever system-wide Youth Strategy, Youth2030, is our commitment to strengthen our work with and for young people”, he said, referring to the UN monitoring platform on how it is responding to the needs of youth in the COVID crisis and its work in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

“Yet more must be done [and] we need you to continue showing the way on critical issues, such as racial justice and gender equality. And we need you help us make peace with nature and forge a transition that takes us beyond fossil fuels into a world of renewable energy and net zero emissions”, he told the participants. 

‘Walking the talk’ 

Author of the latest Youth2030 Progress Report, found here ,UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake, enthusiastically revealed that more than 11,000 young people from all over the world had converged virtually for the Forum, making it the largest gathering of youth at the UN in the Organization’s history. 

She underscored it as an opportunity to celebrate their “resilience, drive, creativity, and leadership in building a more sustainable, just, and inclusive world for all, as envisioned in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” 

It also shines a light on where young people are most often left behind, excluded and marginalized. 

“We need to show the generations before us that those of us who are Millennials and Generation Z are walking the talk when it comes to inclusivity and equality”, said Ms. Wickramanayake, urging everyone to “hold decision-makers accountable for their actions” and to advocate for more youth representation where decisions are being made. 

 At a crossroad 

The Youth Envoy pointed out that over 1.8 billion youth face issues “that no other generation has encountered”, including the climate crisis, conflicts and systems of inequality that “pose a threat to young people’s lives and futures”.  

“We are at an intersection. Despite the hardships of the past year, we have an unprecedented opportunity to recover better together, reimagine the status quo and build a new normal based on values of justice, equality, intersectionality, and sustainability — with young people front and centre”, said Ms. Wickramanayake. 

Tasks at hand 

ECOSOC President Munir Akram saw the forum as a time to reflect on a decade filled with crises, as well as achievements. 

To address the challenges, he outlined the need to defeat the Covid-19 virus by equitably vaccinating “everyone, everywhere”, and maintained that efforts must be made to recover from the pandemic-induced recession and “revive the prospects” of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.  

He said “economic, social, racial [and] gender inequalities”, were now endemic, saying “we must defeat the rising forces of racism, extremism and fascism”. 

“The future belongs to you, the youth”, he added. “We need your energy, your ideals, your boldness, your imagination, your innovation, to build the structure of a peaceful, prosperous and equal world order”. 

Passing the mic to youth 

Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly said young people had been hit hard: “Youth is not a homogenous group”, he said, imploring each young person to speak up, share their experiences and amplify the voices of “peers who have been silenced”. 

“We are passing the mic to you”, said Mr. Bozkir. “But it is your responsibility to pass it along, to the most vulnerable voices” that have not yet reached the UN, to promote the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development during recovery. 

Power of youth 

“Never doubt your power”, he said, calling young people the “problem-solvers who will find the solutions to the existential challenges humanity will face in the future”.  

“You are the defenders of the equal, inalienable and fundamental human rights for all. You are the keepers of peace, the guardians of the [UN] Charter”, he said.  

At 1.8 billion strong, the Assembly president upheld that youth would forge a “pathway to 2030 and beyond”, asserting that “we are with you every step of the way”.

Acute hunger looms in the DRC warns UN – Vatican News

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Acute hunger looms in the DRC warns UN - Vatican News

By Robin Gomes

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), food insecurity remains critical, with one in three people suffering from acute hunger, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FA) and World Food Programme warned on Tuesday.  

One in three hunger

The two United Nations agencies raised alarm after the latest Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) analysis showed that around 27.3 million people out of 96 million people analyzed are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This makes the central African country home to the record number of people in urgent need of food security assistance in the world.

“For the first time ever, we were able to analyze the vast majority of the population, and this has helped us to come closer to the true picture of the staggering scale of food insecurity in the DRC,” said Peter Musoko, WFP’s representative in DRC.  He said the country should be able to feed its population and export a surplus. “We cannot have children going to bed hungry and families skipping meals for an entire day,” he said.

Conflict a leading factor

Armed conflict and inter-communal violence remain a key cause of hunger, with large swathes of the conflict-affected eastern provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu and Tanganyika, as well as the central region of the Kasais, the scene of recent conflict, the worst hit.

Other key factors compounding this crisis include the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 restrictions and the slump in DRC’s economy.

“The recurring conflicts in eastern DRC and the suffering they bring remain of great concern. Social and political stability is essential to strengthen food security and boost the resilience of vulnerable populations. We need to urgently focus on growing food where it is needed most, and on keeping people’s sustenance-giving animals alive. The main agricultural season is around the corner and there is no time to waste,” said Aristide Ongone Obame, FAO Representative in DRC.


Displaced and migrants are worst affected

With a displaced population of 5.2 million, the DRC is currently host to the second largest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the world. The country also hosts some 527,000 refugees from neighbouring countries.

Behind these numbers are the stories of parents deprived of access to their land, or forced to flee for their lives, watching their children fall sick for lack of food. WFP staff have met families who have returned to their village to find their home burnt to the ground and their crops entirely looted. Some have been surviving by eating only taro, a root that grows wild, or only cassava leaves boiled in water.

The most affected populations are mainly the displaced, refugees, returnees, host families and those affected by natural disasters (floods, landslides, fires) as well as female-headed households. Added to this are the poorest populations in urban and peri-urban areas and those living in landlocked areas with low purchasing power and access to food through markets. 

FAO, WFP appeal

The UN agencies are recommending four main thrusts in actions to reverse the situation in the DRC.  They are calling for an end to inter-communal violence and conflicts, immediate and urgent humanitarian assistance to populations experiencing high levels of food insecurity, support to the livelihood of households in crisis and strengthening nutritional screening, support the capacity of the country’s health facilities.

Specifically, FAO is focusing on increasing households’ access to tools and seeds; providing quality livestock, which plays a key role in improving nutrition; supporting food processes and storage; and helping small farmers in the fight against animal and plant diseases. This year, FAO aims to provide life-saving livelihood assistance to 1.1 million people in areas affected by high acute food insecurity.

As part of its famine prevention work, WFP is providing life-saving food to 8.7 million people in DRC. In addition, WFP needs notably to be able to continue its work in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, which affects 3.3 million children in the country. Malnutrition in early childhood affects children for the rest of their lives, impairing their ability to realize their full potential and contribute to their communities.  

In a move towards a longer-term solution, FAO and WFP are investing in resilience-building projects that support community farming to boost yields, reduce losses and spur access to markets. These projects help communities build their lives and create a pathway to peace. 

The IPC yardstick 

The IPC is a common global system for classifying the severity and magnitude of the food insecurity and malnutrition situation in countries around the world and identifying its key drivers. The IPC Classification System distinguishes and links acute food insecurity, chronic food insecurity and acute malnutrition to support more strategic and better coordinated responses. The protocols used by the IPC are harmonized across three individual scales: IPC Acute Food Insecurity, IPC Chronic Food Insecurity, and IPC Acute Malnutrition.  (Source: FAO)

Sydney Books reviews ‘Daisy Jones and The Six’

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Sydney Books reviews ‘Daisy Jones and The Six’
By Sydney Rose April 7, 2021


'Daisy Jones and The Six' book review Gerald Sastra/The Cougar

Gerald Sastra/The Cougar

A book like “Daisy Jones and The Six” is able to tell a story in a non-traditional novel format that both showcases a different time period and an environment not many know about.

Set in the 1970s, “Daisy Jones” focuses on a fictional rock band as they go through the typical motifs of drug culture, relationship dynamics and handling fame.

“Daisy Jones and The Six” will be getting a television adaption soon into a mini-series from Amazon. There was no set release date for the project, but production began before the pandemic and was postponed until later.

Part of what makes author Taylor Jenkins Reid, who also wrote “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” have a book that is readily available for a TV script is the format in which “Daisy Jones” is in.

Set up like an interview, the book reads as a character’s name and then their dialogue, no action description, quotes or parenthesis.

This shows the storytelling aspect from each different character in the band or related to the band, giving the reader different angles of the story and not letting them know which character is telling the truth.

This comes across differently in the physical copy of the book than the audio book, which if a reader prefers audio books, this is certainly one to consider.

The audio book version of “Daisy Jones and The Six” has different voices reading for each character and samples of the instrumentals for songs mentioned in the book.

One thing to love about “Daisy Jones” is the music component. Even when the characters are frustrating or you don’t know where the plot may be going, the music is a strong part of the novel, all written by Reid herself, who is not a songwriter by any means.

And one thing to think about as you read “Daisy Jones” is the characters themselves and their dynamics. From talks about the book that can be seen on social media platforms, first time readers would assume the main characters, Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne, would be a couple.

Then, you met a character named Camila Dunne, described as Billy’s wife.

Throughout the book you see Billy Dunne’s character development from washed up rock star going to rehab, to getting better for his wife and his kids, to meeting Daisy Jones, who is not a good influence on his character whatsoever.

The thing about a character like Daisy is that she has the aesthetic that could be likeable: woman who never wears shoes, doesn’t care what other people think if she herself knows something is good, but then she has traits that are slightly less likable.

Daisy herself is a nepotism rock star who had everything come easy. Most of her problems result from her own misguided actions as she does not listen to or respect the people close to her.

This leads to a dynamic of enemies to something more with Billy as the characters work on music together and have to be in close corners with one another.

Part of Daisy’s entitlement is believing she had the right to be in love with Billy and to have him love her back even with his wife, family and their careers at stake.

Billy showed his development by realizing while he did feel an emotional connection to Daisy, it could not cloud what he had done with his life.

Other characters and relationships shown in the book create a whirlwind of a storyline that makes the reader feel as though they are witnessing dynamics of a rock band like this of that time period.

With a steady plot, interesting characters that you do not always love and do not always hate, “Daisy Jones and The Six” can be an interesting read or listen to whoever is willing.

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Tags: book, book review, Daisy Jones


EU Leaders Warn Erdogan on Human Rights Amid Progress in Talks 

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EU Leaders Warn Erdogan on Human Rights Amid Progress in Talks 

ISTANBUL – European Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula … are core values of the European Union, and we shared with … tougher stance by the EU. 
“The EU has to start … der Leyen said the European Union was ready to consider …

COVID-19: WHO chief outlines five ‘vital changes’ to address inequities

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COVID-19: WHO chief outlines five ‘vital changes’ to address inequities

“While we have all undoubtedly been impacted by the pandemic, the poorest and most marginalized have been hit hardest – both in terms of lives and livelihoods lost,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, speaking in Geneva on Tuesday. 

A major barrier 

At the beginning of the year, Tedros called for countries to start vaccinating all health workers within the first 100 days of 2021.  Some 190 nations have meet the deadline, while the global vaccine equity initiative, COVAX, as delivered 36 million doses worldwide. 

Tedros said scaling up production and equitable distribution remains the major barrier to ending the acute stage of the pandemic. “It is a travesty that in some countries health workers and those at-risk groups remain completely unvaccinated”, he stated. 

WHO will continue to call on governments to share vaccine doses and to support the ACT Accelerator for the equitable distribution of vaccines, rapid tests and therapeutics. 

Invest in primary health care 

With the pandemic exposing the fragility of health systems, Tedros stressed investment in primary health care must also be stepped up.  At least half of the world’s population still do not have access to essential health services, while 100 million are pushed into poverty each year due to medical expenses. 

“As countries move forward post-COVID-19, it will be vital to avoid cuts in public spending on health and other social sectors. Such cuts are likely to increase hardship among already disadvantaged groups,” he said. 

Instead, governments should target spending an additional one per cent of GDP on primary health care, while also working to address the shortfall of 18 million health workers needed globally to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. 

Social protection, safe neighbourhoods 

Tedros also encouraged national authorities to prioritize health and social protection, and to build safe, healthy and inclusive neighbourhoods.  

“Access to healthy housing, in safe neighbourhoods, is key to achieving health for all”, he said.  “But too often, the lack of basic social services for some communities traps them in a spiral of sickness and insecurity. That must change.” 

Countries must also intensify efforts to reach rural communities with health and other basic services.  Tedros noted that “80 per cent of the world’s populations living in extreme poverty are in rural areas where 7 out of 10 people lack access to basic sanitation and water services.” 

For his final point, the WHO chief emphasized the need to enhance data and health information systems, which are critical to finding and addressing inequalities. 

“Health inequality monitoring has to be an integral part of all national health information systems – at present just half the world’s countries have any capacity to do this”, he said. 

Change the rules

The huge inequalities in health care also figured heavily in the statement from the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, for World Health Day, which further revealed that 10,000 people die every day because they cannot access services.  

She warned that the gaps will continue to widen as health systems increasingly become profit-led, but added that the pandemic could lead to greater commitment towards ensuring all people have access to quality healthcare.

“Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, leaders across the world have an opportunity to build the health systems that were always needed, and which cannot be delayed any longer,” Ms Byanyima said. 

“We cannot tinker around the edges—we need radical, transformative shifts. The COVID-19 response gives us an opportunity to change the rules and guarantee equality.”

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