GZERO Media Town Hall: Could our response to COVID help end poverty?
June 26, 2020
VIDEOSGZERO World with Ian BremmerQuick TakePUPPET REGIMEIan ExplainsGZERO ReportsAsk IanGlobal Stage
Site Navigation
Search
Human content,
AI powered search.
Latest Stories
Sign up for GZERO Daily.
Get our latest updates and insights delivered to your inbox.
Global Stage AI for Good Summit
WATCH RECORDING
Events
Presented by
GZERO Media, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Eurasia Group, today hosted its first virtual town hall on how to fight global poverty amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The panel featured Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media President Ian Bremmer, and Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The conversation was moderated by Africa No Filter's Moky Makura.
Watch the full video above.
Has the pandemic strengthened or weakened multilateral organizations?
Songwe:
- It has reinforced and strengthened them, not weakened them, by creating space for larger collaborative platforms. At the UN, we are bringing in some of the leading economists and think tanks in the world to think about how we can respond to this crisis differently. Questions about inclusion and participation are already starting to come to the table, as the UN's open platform brings in civil society voices on this subject. The World Health Organization has been a shining light, guiding us in terms of the scientific evidence, while other institutions, like the Centers for Disease Control in Africa and elsewhere, have been particularly important.
- But resources are slim. We need to shore these multilateral institutions with more professional and scientific staff, as well as more financing for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, so they can respond in a timely manner to the economic aspect of this crisis.
How do we ensure that if a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, it can reach every corner of the globe?
Suzman:
- Let polio be an example. Last week, Africa was officially declared polio-free by the WHO, meaning the only parts of the world that still have the disease are Afghanistan and Pakistan. That shows you what can be done, even in very challenging logistical environments. The world knows how to do it. GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, has probably saved more lives in the last 20 years than any collaborative effort in human history. I'm relatively optimistic. It is challenging, but we know how to do it. We have the constructs, we have the supply chains, we have the health systems.
- What we don't have is the money and resources to be able to procure at scale in sufficient volume. What is equitable distribution and how do you do it rapidly at a time when so many individual countries may try to lock up supply for their own citizens. It's an understandable impulse, but there's a risk that this kind of "vaccine nationalism" actually sets the world back.
Should low- and middle-income countries be entitled to debt relief amid the pandemic?
Bremmer:
- Sure, but under what conditions? Austerity-based reforms that Western economists believe will create more sustainable long-term growth can cause enormous hardship for populations that you don't really want to hurt. Loans are also often attached to political reforms — and that's where China is going to be critical to the debt relief equation, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where Beijing isn't going to demand the same kind of economic or political liberalization in exchange for support. Frequently the Chinese conditions are much more opaque, sometimes beholding these countries to China's economic and political interests, which may not be good for either the world or these countries' populations.
- I think we have to worry that as the global order is fragmenting, especially as the US and China are at much greater odds with each other. We could well be fighting over conditionality and debt for some of the most vulnerable countries, and that's something that we're going to have to pay attention to.
Keep reading...Show less
More from Events
Can Hezbollah really be disarmed?
July 22, 2026
What’s Good Wednesday: July 22, 2026
July 22, 2026
Invested in America's past, present, and future
July 22, 2026
Where is the world’s oldest head of state?
July 22, 2026
UK’s new prime minister faces an uphill battle
Jul 21, 2026
The new US tariffs on Brazil aren’t about Brazil
July 21, 2026
Why AI needs a global referee
Jul 21, 2026
Hard number: Clemency denied
July 21, 2026
Microsoft’s 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report
July 21, 2026
Empowering associates with comprehensive benefits
July 20, 2026
The shrinking shelf life of a British prime minister
July 20, 2026
The ‘gooolllll’ heard around the world
July 20, 2026
Is Ukraine turning the tide against Russia?
Jul 19, 2026
Can Putin still outlast Ukraine?
Jul 17, 2026
Betting on Trump
July 17, 2026
Putin, Trump, and the power of YES
Jul 17, 2026
You vs. the News: A Weekly News Quiz - July 17, 2026
July 17, 2026
Mother-son podcasting duo take on quantum computing
July 16, 2026
Hunger strike in India intensifies
July 16, 2026
Can Netanyahu survive again?
July 16, 2026
Preserving presidential history for America’s 250th
July 16, 2026
The World Bank Group's Sangbu Kim on AI and job skills
July 15, 2026
Was the NATO summit in Ankara a success?
July 15, 2026
Ukraine has won Trump's favor. Can it keep it?
July 15, 2026
The US-Iran ceasefire is over. What’s next?
July 15, 2026
China’s economic engine cools
July 15, 2026
What’s Good Wednesday: July 15, 2026
July 15, 2026
Can AI protect humanitarian aid?
July 15, 2026
One gap, six different answers
July 15, 2026
Empowering associates with comprehensive benefits
July 15, 2026
An AI revolution for Africa?
July 14, 2026
To save lives, make data collection cool
July 14, 2026
Is the Strait of Hormuz closed again?
July 14, 2026
No more father-son time for the Bolsonaros
July 14, 2026
China is a global superpower. In football, not so much.
July 14, 2026
How AI is revolutionizing weather forecasting
July 13, 2026
Annalena Baerbock: AI can't replace the basics
July 13, 2026
How AI speeds up disaster relief efforts
July 13, 2026
The complicated legacy of Lindsey Graham
July 13, 2026
Europe has one last spree of Russian gas
July 13, 2026
The green World Cup
July 13, 2026
Is Iran's regime stronger than before the war?
July 13, 2026
What's next for the Iranian people?
July 12, 2026
The human cost of Iran's war, with Yeganeh Torbati
July 11, 2026
Can JD Vance reach the promised land?
July 10, 2026
Building a safer, more equitable AI future
July 10, 2026
Zohran over Bibi?
July 10, 2026
You vs. the News: A Weekly News Quiz - July 10, 2026
July 10, 2026
Ebola death toll tops 600
July 09, 2026
Philippines impeachment trial deepens a dynasty war
July 09, 2026
Europe’s most consequential vote since Brexit starts now
July 08, 2026
How Saudi Arabia is building its AI future
July 08, 2026
What’s Good Wednesday: July 8, 2026
July 08, 2026
Tour de Heat
July 08, 2026
How do Iranians feel about their future?
July 08, 2026
The power of sports
July 08, 2026
As development funding shrinks, can AI fill the gap?
July 07, 2026
Empowering associates with comprehensive benefits
July 07, 2026
NATO summit signals stability amid Trump uncertainty
July 07, 2026
The Gen Z gender divide
July 07, 2026
Out of Le Pen-alty box
July 07, 2026
Empowering local communities using AI
July 07, 2026
Trump's FIFA intervention is indefensible
July 06, 2026
The new smoke-free craze
July 06, 2026
Africa’s fountain of youth
July 06, 2026
America's 250th birthday
July 04, 2026
GZERO Series
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer
Puppet Regime
Quick Take
ask ian
Ian Explains
GZERO Reports
GZERO Europe
The Debrief
© 2026 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group company.
GZERO Daily: our free newsletter about global politics
Keep up with what’s going on around the world - and why it matters.