Bloomberg New Economy: Why Poor Nations Should Get Covid Help Now

This year, the world witnessed an epic abdication of global American leadership. Nations used to seeing the U.S. mobilize for disasters all across the globe—pandemics, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods—watched as President Donald Trump opted out of leading an international fight against Covid-19. Instead, he chose to defund the World Health Organization and bicker with China about the source of the coronavirus.

But it wasn’t just America who dropped the ball. By the time the United Nations Security Council got around to discussing the pandemic, the virus had already spread to more than 200 countries and territories, killing 90,000. That number is now 1.6 million.