Close

Expert opinion

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all in many different ways, but some of the hardest hit were schoolchildren. Many children and families were affected in different ways, and while there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence from the pupils, parents and teachers who experienced the challenges firsthand, we may not know the full implications of this pandemic on children for many years to come.
Marked every year on 20 June, World Refugee Day is an opportunity to understand the life-threatening plight of refugees, recognise their resilience, and offer support by giving refugees a platform, raising awareness of their situations and calling for their rights – for safety, asylum, protection – to be upheld.  
Prof Rosie Green
Last year’s National Food Strategy was a ground breaking report that called for a unified government response to the urgent issues facing the UK’s food system. It focused on tackling the obesity crisis, reducing agriculture’s impacts on the environment and shoring up our future food security, and made it very clear that these aims could only be achieved by working across multiple government departments.
1) What is it? Monkeypox is a viral infection, caused by an orthopox DNA virus, most closely related to smallpox. It occurs naturally in central and west Africa. 2) What are the symptoms? How long does it last? Do you make a full recovery?
Midwives play a critical role in improving maternal and newborn health globally. On International Day of the Midwife, we celebrate the midwives in our community, raising awareness of the challenges they face throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Susan Amongi, Midwife, Uganda
‘Net zero’ is a term we see everywhere, but how do we turn ambition into reality? Just because the phrase is widely used, it doesn’t mean its importance in tackling climate change should be diminished. Higher education institutions can and should lead by example in this mission – by drawing on research and expertise in relevant fields, maximising the commitment of the student community and rethinking travel policies.
As the world continues to face myriad health challenges, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is significant that for the first time the World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen to focus this year’s World Health Day on the theme “Our Planet, Our Health”.   Although the health impacts of climate change are increasingly being recognised, health has generally been peripheral to climate change policies and negotiations. As we approach COP27 later this year, WHO’s campaign signals it is time to change that.  
Dr Ana Bonell
Nelson Mandela famously said “the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow”. This is perhaps no more true than the role of young people in advocating for immediate action on climate change. Thanks to Greta Thunberg and hundreds of youth representatives from around the world climate change is now on the global agenda.
Prof Martin Antonio
Prof Adam Kucharski
March 2022 marks two years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the rapid and wide spread of COVID-19 to be a pandemic. It was – sadly - clear that the world wasn’t ready. Two years and more than six million deaths later, and following scores of articles about how countries could have done better, what have we learnt? Are we ready for the next threat?
Those are the words of Olga, a 71-year-old woman who lives just five kilometres from the “contact line”, in Luhansk province, in the government-controlled area (GCA) of Eastern Ukraine, speaking a week before Russia escalated its invasion of Ukraine. Her son, granddaughter and two great grandchildren live on the other side of the stretch of land, in the non-government-controlled area (NGCA). They are separated by ongoing fighting and various checkpoints, making visits difficult and dangerous. Olga lives alone and has difficulty walking because of pain in her legs and joints.