Summary
Welcome to the second of our six-monthly newsletters of the AHEAD research network. AHEAD unites researchers in various research disciplines (economics, epidemiology, public health, sociology of health and environment...) from both developed and developing countries working on current topics relating to health and environmental issues.
We open the current issue with an introduction to the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of developing countries, the little we know about its likely incidence, and what we can learn from the experience of the data rich countries of the Global North. Next, Mohammad Abu-Zaineh and Sameera Awawda actively assess the preparedness of the health systems of the MENA region countries in coping with the current Covid-19 pandemic, and provide key recommendations from their findings. Following the discussion of Mohammad and Sameera, we next meet Ahcene Zehnati who has been researching the Algerian health care system. Ahcene tells us about the need to reform the Algerian health care system, and more particularly the need to address the growing pay gap between private and public sector pay, and to regulate the private delivery of health care services. From Algeria, we next travel to Europe and the USA with Kelley Sams. Kelly discusses the work she is currently undertaking on the social impact of the containment and health measures introduced to limit the transmission of the current pandemic in Italy, France and the USA, and highlights the potential of the current crisis in enacting positive change for the future.
The newsletter concludes with the usual sections reporting on recent AHEAD network news as well as an update on selected upcoming scientific events. Needless to say, I am greatly indebted, and want to thank the production team as well as the contributors in the current newsletter for their generous input.