COVID-19 Webinar Series

The Response to COVID-19 in South Asia

What has been the impact of the policy response to COVID-19 on the ground in South Asia? Were these policies proportionate and appropriate? What consequences might they have? This panel provides an overview of the varied in-region responses to the virus and their impact on the health system and social sector.

Moderator
Vikram Patel, Pershing Square Professor of Global Health, Harvard Medical School

Panelists
Richard Cash, Senior Lecturer on Global Health, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health 
Sabina Faiz Rashid, Dean and Professor, BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University
Shamika Ravi, Senior Fellow of the Governance Studies Program, Brookings Institution
Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)

Interview

Assessing the Response to COVID-19 in South Asia with Richard Cash and Srinath Reddy

Read the transcript as a Word Doc here and as a PDF here

The Science Behind COVID-19

This panel provides a deeper understanding of the science behind the COVID-19 virus. Panelists explore the place of science in the COVID-19 response and transmission of the virus throughout South Asia by analyzing mobile network data.

Moderator
Jennifer Leaning, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Panelists
Caroline Buckee, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School
Victoria D’Souza, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

Article

Improving COVID-19 Data Reliability to Prioritize Front-Line Needs

Read the transcript as a Word Doc here and as a PDF here.

Educational Responses to COVID-19 in South Asia

COVID-19 has shut down traditional education programs throughout South Asia, from primary education to higher education. This panel discusses the unique challenges the region is facing in the education sector, such as access to technology and the potential long-term effects of distance learning. Additionally, the panelists address two pressing questions: 1) What will be the short- and long-term effects of this disruption to education? and 2) how are countries responding and preparing to mitigate these effects?

Moderator
Zainab Qureshi, LEAPS Director, Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD), Harvard Kennedy School

Panelists
Asim Ijaz Khwaja, Director, Center for International Development; Sumitomo-Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development Professor of International Finance and Development, Harvard Kennedy School
Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of Practice in International Education; Faculty Director, International Education Policy

Read the transcript as a Word Doc here and as a PDF here.

Entrepreneurs and the COVID-19 Global Reset in South Asia

Enterprises have found themselves caught in the COVID-19 maelstrom across South Asia. This webinar explores the extent to which entrepreneurs have been able to work with both the state and civil society to limit the damage and distress caused by the pandemic, but also to begin exploring new opportunities that a possible “global reset” has opened up to the developing world.

Moderator
Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School; Director, The Mittal Institute

Panelists
Rajeeb Samdani, Co-Founder and Trustee, Samdani Art Foundation; Managing Director, Golden Harvest Group
Osman Khalid Waheed, CEO, Ferozsons Laboratories Limited; Founder and Chair, Lahore Biennale Foundation

Interview

Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh, from the Pandemic to the Future with Rajeeb Samdani

Read the transcript as a Word Doc here and as a PDF here.

Science, Business, and Vaccine Development to Combat the Pandemic

Through the lens of a contemporary case study, this webinar explores the geopolitics of how vaccines are developed, the funding and distribution methods that are critical to the effort, and the global alliances that facilitate this in the world today, focusing on the South Asia context. Panelists discuss the mechanics and commerce of vaccine development and the critical role that science and business can play in combating pandemics such as COVID-19.

Moderator
Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School; Director, Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University

Panelists
David E. Bloom, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics & Demography, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Gagandeep Kang, Executive Director, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute; Vice Chairperson, The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
Umang Vohra, Managing Director & Global Chief Executive Officer, Cipla Ltd.

Read the transcript as a Word Doc here and as a PDF here.

The Labor of Fashion, the Global COVID-19 Crisis, and the Politics of Resistance in Bangladesh

The global apparel industry is currently facing an unprecedented crisis resulting from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Major fashion retailers in the Global North are closing their stores and laying off workers. Thousands of workers are currently out of work and facing a unique livelihood, as well as a health threat. This discussion addresses how we can engage in dialogues and organizing across borders to simultaneously hold the global retailers, governments, and factory owners accountable for ensuring workers’ safety and wellbeing.

Moderators
Dr. Elora Chowdhury, Professor, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Dr. Durba Mitra, Assistant Professor, Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Harvard University

Panelists
Taslima Akhter, Photographer and Organizer, Bangladesh Garments Sramik Shanghati
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
Dr. Seuty Sabur, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, BRAC University, Bangladesh
Dr. Dina M. Siddiqi, Clinical Associate Professor, Liberal Studies, New York University
Dr. Nafisa Tanjeem, Assistant Professor, Global Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Lesley University

Read the transcript as a Word Doc here and as a PDF here.