by K. Riva Levinson

June 10, 2020

The year 2020 will be forever marked by the coronavirus, with more than 100,000 lives lost, tens of millions out of work, and the country adjusting to a new normal. But for me, it will also be remembered as a time when young Americans decided not to take their democracy for granted and when their voices were heard around the world. 

These young Americans join an activist generation abroad — particularly in Africa — that has been drawn to the streets in America’s image, because democracy — with all its imperfections — remains our greatest export to the world.

by Tom Sheehy

May 18, 2020

In a White House ceremony twenty years ago this week, former U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into law the African Growth and Opportunity Act. While AGOA hasn’t met all of its lofty goals, this trade legislation has helped lift many Africans out of poverty.  Today, with the global economy bordering on coronavirus-sparked turmoil and African economies bracing for great damage, it’s worth considering AGOA’s past and future, and celebrating the bipartisan collaboration that made this landmark initiative possible.      

by K. Riva Levinson

May 20, 2020

Here’s some good news. African nations, who have benefited from America’s years of largesse in global public health are doing an impressive job of managing the coronavirus pandemic, using a disease response infrastructure enabled by U.S. foreign assistance and a play book that America taught. They are also proving to be determined and innovative. 

But the fight has just begun, and the United States needs to double-down on helping some of the world’s poorest, because it is what we do – and have always done – as Americans. Moreover, it is in our own self-interest.

by K. Riva Levinson

May 01, 2020

It is a tale that spans continents, with heroes, heroines and a moral about our shared humanity. This is the story of Remdesivir, the anti-viral drug showing promise in the fight against COVID-19 — offering up the first glimmer of scientific hope against a global pandemic that has claimed more than 60,000 American lives and 200,000 globally. In 2009, researchers at Gilead Sciences of Foster City, Calif., developed the antiviral compound Remdesivir as a possible treatment for Hepatitis C. Unfortunately, it was not effective, and remained in closed research until 2014, when the deadly Ebola virus emerged in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.  

by K. Riva Levinson

April 15, 2020

Last week, African leaders rallied to the defense of the World Health Organization’s Director General, former Health Minister of Ethiopia Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Tedros for his China-centric approach to the global coronavirus pandemic COVID-19. "The WHO really blew it," President Trump said, adding that he was considering withdrawing funding to the UN agency. In a show of solidarity, Africa and Africans, stood with Tedros.