Dialoguepk

© UNICEF/Sukhum Preechapanic During the coronavirus pandemic, mental health tips are being disseminated to children and families in the Rongwai community in Bangkok, Thailand.         14 May 2020 Health Decades of neglect and underinvestment in addressing people’s mental health needs have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN said on Thursday, in a call for ambitious commitments from countries in the way they treat psychological illness, amid a potential global spike in suicides and drug abuse. Spearheading the alert ahead of the upcoming World Health Assembly in Geneva, UN  Secretary-General António Guterres  urged the international community to do much more to protect all those facing mounting mental pressures. Launching the UN policy brief -  COVID-19  And The Need for Action On Mental Health – Mr. Guterres highlighted how those most at risk today, were “frontline healthcare workers, older people, adolescents and young people, those with pre-existing mental health conditions

14 May 2020 Author: Greg Raymond, ANU Thailand has been a treaty ally of the United States since 1954, but its political direction since 2006 — amid warming strategic ties with Beijing — is placing serious pressure on the alliance. Rumbles within the United States about the relationship have become  louder  in recent times. Some commentators say that the two countries no longer share any strategic interests. A rupture is not imminent and the military-to-military relationship remains strong — the two countries hold more than 60 bilateral exercises a year and Thailand co-hosts the region’s largest multilateral exercise, Cobra Gold. But it is worth asking: what if the United States decided to end the 66-year-old treaty alliance? The possibility arises because domestic influences are pulling Thai foreign policy in different directions. On the one hand, Thailand’s Sino-Thai business families would welcome a more overt move into China’s orbit. They led the charge for economic integration wit

13 May 2020 Author: Jason Young, New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre Small states such as New Zealand lack the decisive military power or economic leverage needed to pursue their interests unilaterally. They must live with asymmetrical power relations. An obvious example is New Zealand’s relationship with China. China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner and has been an important source of migrants, international students, tourists and investment. New Zealand represents less than one per cent of China’s total imports and exports. How is it possible for such a small state to exert influence with large and powerful states? Successive New Zealand governments have tried to leverage international law and organisations like the World Trade Organization (WTO). Such bodies provide small countries with the tools to defend their interests through agreed norms of diplomacy and treaty-making, and to ink economic agreements that are framed, supported and defended by the WTO. The 2008

13 May 2020 Author: Tim Buckley, Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. It is a truly global threat, ignoring national borders and domestic politics. But this pandemic highlights the need for a global response to a second key global threat: climate change. It is now more important than ever to listen to the advice of experts before it’s too late. Despite the current  global economic shutdown , the global energy transition is well underway. This transition is being driven by renewable energy technology that disrupts incumbent industry business models, much like the rise of the mobile phone and the internet. The technology disruption is fundamentally reshaping the global energy landscape. A key impetus is the dramatic, ongoing deflation in the cost of solar energy and battery storage. Both have seen costs drop 80 to 90 per cent over the last decade and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) expects both

13 May 2020 Author: Yan Liang, Willamette University China’s economy is now gradually recovering from COVID-19 and is entering a reopening phase. But reopening the economy carries the risk of a  second wave of outbreaks . While the reopening of China’s economy is positive news for the world economy, the global economic slowdown still poses a great challenge for China’s return to normalcy. There have been hopeful signs of economic recovery in China. From February to March 2020, China’s manufacturing  Purchasing Managers’ Index  (PMI) jumped from 35.7 to 52.0 and the services PMI rose from 29.6 to 52.3 — beating market expectations. Daily coal consumption has now reached about 90 per cent of the level seen in the past three years. The traffic congestion index for 100 cities is now over 90 per cent of that during the same period in 2019. With 50 million migrant workers still stuck in their homes and consumers still worried about the pandemic, both supply and demand will experience a slow

© UNICEF/Frank Dejongh Nurses are wearing masks and gloves to protect against the Coronavirus, in the health center of Port Bouet, a suburb of Abidjan, in the South of Côte d'Ivoire.         12 May 2020 Health As the coronavirus outbreak enters its fifth month, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the health crisis is “quickly becoming a child rights crisis”, requesting $1.6 billion to support its humanitarian response for children impacted by the pandemic. And  without urgent action , a further 6,000 under-fives could die each day. With a dramatic increase in the costs of supplies, shipment and care, the agency appeal is up from a $651.6 million request made in late March – reflecting the devastating socioeconomic consequences of the disease and families’ rising needs. Henrietta H. Fore ✔ @unicefchief The # COVID19 pandemic is a health crisis which is quickly becoming a child rights crisis. @ UNICEF is appealing for US$1.6 billion to help us respond to the crisis, recover f