Friend –

Such a tough week, as the health and economic crisis grows. I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. Keep me posted on how you are doing.

This week’s GLOBAL GAB covers a lot below – with insights from the recent stimulus package to the latest in the developing world on COVID-19. There are some important items you won’t want to miss.

I also know this opening is a tad longer than normal, but I wanted to share a few thoughts:

• Last weekend, as we were working with our friends in Congress to ensure a global response was in the third coronavirus emergency funding bill, the USGLC’s military leaders – General Tony Zinni and Admiral James Stavridis – said it best: “No matter how successful we are in fighting the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic at home, we will never stop it unless we are also fighting it around the world.”
  
  
• Then, on Sunday evening at the White House, a reporter read our military statement to the president and I was pleased he spoke up on America’s global health programs (more on that below). He added that the U.S. would likely end up “economically doing something for other countries” on COVID-19.
  
  
• As Washington turns their attention to a fourth round of emergency funding, I released my own statement: “While addressing the urgent health and economic crisis facing our nation, the bipartisan response for the State Department and USAID was a good down payment. But it’s time to get real… and that means a serious commitment to global health security.”

As you know, I have written on the subject of global health preparedness for years. With great sensitivity to the crisis ahead, it is essential that we engage our fellow citizens in a critical conversation – that unless we invest in fighting this threat globally, we cannot keep Americans safe at home.

I will be reaching out to you in the weeks ahead as we launch this national conversation. Please start by sharing your thoughts with me via email.

Stay well.

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC

THE GLOBAL GAB
March 29, 2020

AN ACCELERATING CRISIS. The United States now leads the world in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. As of this afternoon, Johns Hopkins has reported more than 136,000 COVID-19 cases in the United States.

• 100K CASES PER DAY. The World Health Organization chief has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is spreading at an increasingly rapid pace, stating that “it took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases and just four days for the third 100,000 cases.” As of today, the number of global cases is increasing at a rate of more than 100,000 every other day.
  
  
• GLOBAL LOCKDOWN. One-third of the world has now entered a global lockdown with more than 2.6 billion people under some form of movement restriction. This includes India’s entire population of 1.3 billion, and more than 40% of the U.S.

WHITE HOUSE PRESSER. At the White House’s COVID-19 press conference last Sunday, President Trump said that without U.S. programs that fight AIDS and malaria in Africa “there would be tremendous death, tremendous death.”

• POTUS ON GLOBAL HEALTH. Before suggesting that there could be additional resources for the global fight against COVID-19 in the coming days, the president spoke more broadly on U.S. foreign assistance: “They said –‘It’s used to fight malaria in countries that are very poor. It's used to fight AIDS in Africa…’ I started off by saying… we could save a lot of money and [now] I say we have to keep doing that, that’s humanity.”
  
  
• FOX NEWS RADIO. Admiral Stavridis responded and told host Brian Kilmeade: “I was pleased with the president’s response. I think our first order of business obviously is the internal stimulus of our economy, but at the end of the day… we’ve got to work across borders if we’re going to solve the problem of this invisible army that is attacking us.”

EMERGENCY STIMULUS. On Friday, the president signed into law the third emergency COVID-19 funding bill passed by Congress – this time focused largely on urgent health and economic crisis at home. While, addressing these critical domestic needs, the $2 trillion bill also included $1.12 billion in funding for the International Affairs Budget to support the global COVID-19 response. See the details here.

• PENNY-WISE, POUND-FOOLISH? In the Washington Post, foreign policy commentator Josh Rogin makes the case that it’s “penny-wise, pound-foolish” when “0.05 percent of the total $2.2 trillion package” is dedicated to fighting COVID-19 overseas. He writes: “If the United States doesn’t play a leadership role in the worldwide response now, there will be damaging consequences for our security and economy down the line.”

BRETTON WOODS II? Channeling the post-World War II international order led by the United States, Dr. Mark Dybul – the first PEPFAR czar and former Global Fund chief – called for the U.S. to host a “Bretton Woods II” to reshape global development and health to meet today’s needs including pandemic responses.

IMPACT ON DEVELOPING WORLD. As the U.S. continues to battle the virus at home and abroad, the number of countries with confirmed coronavirus cases continues to rise in the developing world, with Syria, Myanmar, and Somalia reporting their first known COVID-19 cases this week.

• REFUGEE CAMPS. Humanitarian leaders are increasingly concerned about some of the world’s most densely packed places. To date, large refugee camps haven’t reported major outbreaks of the virus, but experts warn it’s “only a matter of time” as close living quarters, weak health infrastructure, and lack of resources put these vulnerable populations at risk. More on this is the USGLC’s new coronavirus series.
  
  
• AFRICA. This week, African nations reported more than 2,400 coronavirus cases, prompting local governments to take drastic containment measures, including nationwide lockdowns, curfews, and prisoner releases.
  
  
• DESERT LOCUSTS. Compounding problems, CNBC is reporting that East Africa is now facing a “dual shock” with an unprecedented desert locust outbreak – with swarms the size of cities – making its way across the continent, creating high levels of food insecurity.
  
  
• SYRIA. Syria’s first confirmed coronavirus case this week sparked fears of an unmanageable outbreak in a conflict zone where there were 85 attacks on health facilities last year alone – and where the majority of functioning hospitals are unable to cope with the needs that already exist.
  
  
• YEMEN. In a look at the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, a new survey from Save the Children sheds light on the negative impact on children, commenting that with coronavirus spreading, ending this war is “more important than ever.”

THE CHINA EQUATION. NBC News writes that “As U.S. struggles to stem coronavirus, China asserts itself as global leader,” describing how China has promised ventilators and masks for Italy, a massive donation campaign to Africa, and a $20 million gift to the World Health Organization to fight COVID-19.

• FOREIGN AFFAIRS. China experts from The Asia Group and Brookings, Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi, write that Beijing is working hard to cast a larger narrative that makes “China the essential player in a coming global recovery while airbrushing away its earlier mismanagement of the crisis.”
  
  
• THE ATLANTIC. In a different take, Kathy Gilsinan writes that if China “declares success too early, it may lead the world back into disaster” and that its offer to help “may prove less than meets the eye.”
  
  
• COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS. CFR reported this week that “China’s COVID-19 response all but halted the Belt and Road Initiative in its tracks.” Projects in Pakistan, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Malaysia, among other nations, have been put on hold.

MORE ON THE GLOBAL RESPONSE. At the G-20 virtual summit, World Bank chief David Malpass spoke out on his concerns for “poor, densely populated countries… where weak health systems need massively scalable investments in human capital, supplies and infrastructure.”

• GLOBAL APPEAL. The United Nations launched a $2 billion campaign on Wednesday to combat coronavirus in 51 of the world’s most vulnerable nations. The campaign will support testing and laboratory equipment, install handwashing resources, and develop transportation hubs to efficiently move humanitarian workers and supplies.
  
  
• STATE+USAID. On Thursday, the State Department’s Jim Richardson and USAID’s Bonnie Glick announced that a total of $274 million in emergency assistance had been committed to 64 of the most at-risk countries.
  
  
• EUROPE LOOKS INWARD. After meeting virtually to discuss the COVID-19 crisis on Thursday, European leaders offered no new funding for the global fight against COVID-19 since announcing €232 million in late February. Devex reported that they were “focusing instead on how to keep their own economies afloat.”
  
  
• ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK. The ADB also announced a $6.5 billion initial financing package supporting its member countries – including Cambodia, Pakistan, and the Philippines – by helping “to protect the poor, the vulnerable” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
   
• SOLIDARITY FUND. The COVID-19 Solidarity Fund – managed by the United Nations Foundation – has now raised more than $112 million for the global response by the World Health Organization.

WORLD LEADERS TEST POSITIVE. A number of world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, joined the ranks of notable figures testing positive for COVID-19. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also went into self-quarantine this week after one of her doctors contracted coronavirus.

• IN CONGRESS. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) became the first senator to test positive for the coronavirus, causing several senators to self-quarantine. He becomes the third member of Congress to be diagnosed, joining Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Ben McAdams (D-UT). Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) shared that her husband was hospitalized with the illness this week, though he’s now back home.
  
  
• PENTAGON COUNT. On Thursday, the Defense Department reported that coronavirus cases within its ranks had more than doubled in three days to 652 – which includes civilian personnel and dependents. The State Department and U.S. development agencies have not announced a recent caseload.

 UPENDED DIPLOMACY. A few highlights from a diplomatic world that is (mostly) going online:

• GLOBAL CEASE FIRE? UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for the world to “put armed conflict on lockdown” with an "immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world this week." In his appeal – delivered via virtual press conference – Guterres said, "it is time to… focus together on the true fight of our lives.” Watch his video appeal.
  
  
• BREXIT PAUSE. Europe watchers caution that “no serious negotiations can go on right now.” According to a recent YouGov poll, the majority of Britons favor extending the U.K.’s formal exit from the EU past the original December 31, 2020 deadline.
  
  
• AFGHANISTAN PEACE? In an unexpected non-virtual diplomatic mission, Secretary Mike Pompeo announced from Kabul that the U.S. is prepared to cut more than $1 billion in Defense Department aid to Afghanistan after the nation’s top political rivals failed to form a unity government. With the COVID-19 threat, peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban restarted this week via Skype with the two sides speaking for two hours in a virtual meeting moderated by U.S. and Qatari officials.
  
  
• OLYMPICS POSTPONED. After rising global concerns on the XXXII Olympics, the Tokyo games are now officially being postponed to next summer. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and the International Olympic Committee chief joint announcement said that the games will keep the “Tokyo 2020” brand.
  
  
• HIRING FREEZE. The State Department just announced it would halt incoming classes of about 175 new diplomats indefinitely due to coronavirus health concerns. As Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer reports, this latest decision dealt a blow to an already “understaffed” agency.

BILL GATES TALKS. It’s a video that's making the rounds on social media – and it’s from 2015! Bill Gates’ 5-year old TED TALK titled “The next outbreak? We’re not ready.” Still worth watching.