Lebanon is on the verge of bursting. With an ineffective government, high inflation, overwhelming numbers of refugees from both Syria and Palestine, as weak as dwindling opportunities for its youth, the Lebanese people have been protesting since late last year for change. But with COVID19 now added to the mix, Lebanon is now on the verge of complete collapse and burst, taking a toll on its most vulnerable populations. We are joined by Halim Shebaya, Interim Executive Director of the Arab Association of Constitutional Law and Christophe Martin, the Head of Delegation at the International Community of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon to discuss more about both the political and economic explosion in the country and the effect it is having on the most vulnerable of the Lebanese community.
Episode 52: COVID-19 and the developing world - the real story
While COVID 19 has been primarily ravaging Western and Developed Nations such as China, Italy and the USA, the developing world has not been immune to the coronavirus - or COVID 19 - either In fact, many experts fear it will be worst in Africa, Asia and Latin America due to the poor medical infrastructure and general social dynamics. But as the weeks progress, the reality has been different than what the media is portraying. But what are the repercussions of COVID 19 in this part of the world? Whether on its economy and socio cultural dynamics that will cause it to suffer more than what the virus can do? We speak with Dr Theodora Pepera (a British-Ghanaian OBGYN based in Accra), Dr Ryan Lloyd of Centre College in the USA who specialised in Latin American affairs, and Lauren Anders Brown (award winning humanitarian film maker) to discuss COVID 19 in Africa, Latin America and the vulnerable communities in the refugee camps around the world to discuss the reality on the ground.
