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Countries: World, Ethiopia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (the), Lebanon, Myanmar, Norway, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic Source: Mines Advisory Group MAG has signed a new funding agreement with the Government of Norway’s Agency for development cooperation (Norad) under its ‘Humanitarian mine action & protection against explosive weapons: global’ programme. This grant will fund the clearance of land contaminated by landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive ordnance, while also providing vital risk-education across some of the world’s most affected countries. The agreement will support MAG’s mine action work through to 2029 across two complementary grants. The first, funded by the Department for Humanitarian Assistance and Comprehensive Response, will provide 190 million NOK (approximately 20 million USD) for a multi-country programme spanning Ethiopia, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Syria. The second, funded by the Department for the Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine, will provide 140 million NOK (approximately 15 million USD) to support MAG’s mine action operations in Ukraine. Speaking on these new grants, Darren Cormack, MAG CEO, said: “This support from the Government of Norway comes at a critical moment and will enable MAG and our partners to deliver sustained, locally led action in some of the world’s most affected countries. From Lebanon to Ukraine, we are witnessing the devastating impacts of landmines and explosive ordnance on civilians. But beyond the immediate consequences, we are also seeing first-hand the danger they pose for years to come. We are deeply grateful for Norway’s continued commitment to humanitarian mine action, and for standing with us as we work to make land safe once more for communities.” Gunn Jorid Roset, Norad Director, added: “Clearing mines and explosive remnants of war is essential to ensure that people can move safely, produce food and rebuild their lives. Through MAG, a highly capable partner, Norway supports life-saving mine clearance and risk education in some of the most heavily affected communities.” Across the multi-country programme, MAG will work with national partners and authorities to release land contaminated by landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive ordnance, deliver explosive ordnance risk education, support victim assistance efforts, and strengthen links between mine action, humanitarian response, development and peacebuilding. The programme will also reinforce the capacity of national mine action authorities and organisations, to support long-term, locally led responses. In Ukraine, MAG will implement this new grant in collaboration with the Ukrainian Deminers Association, among other national partners and authorities, responding to one of the most severe cases of landmine and explosive ordnance contamination in modern conflicts. Work will focus on land release in heavily contaminated oblasts, alongside risk education, capacity development, and integrated support that connects mine action with broader recovery and stabilisation efforts. The programme will prioritise localisation and strengthen national ownership, while supporting Ukraine’s National Mine Action Strategy. The agreement aligns closely with Norway’s Humanitarian Strategy 2024–2029, particularly its commitments to protection and humanitarian disarmament. MAG will continue working with partners to ensure contaminated land is safely released and returned to productive use, supporting communities to rebuild their lives.

Countries: World, Ethiopia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Viet Nam Source: UNAIDS Analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine – co-authored by experts including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, leading epidemiologist Professor Sir Michael Marmot, and Chairperson of the One Economy Foundation and former First Lady of Namibia Monica Geingos – finds economic inequality, not conventional preparedness, has been the clearest predictor of how countries fared against pandemics, upending traditional assumptions about what actions governments need to take for health security. The new research from the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics finds that while technical capacity remains necessary, it is not sufficient. To respond to and prepare for pandemics effectively, governments need to include efforts to address inequality. Call for “Inequality-Informed Pandemic Preparedness and Response” Conventional understandings of what countries need to do to be ready to face pandemics are incomplete and need to be re-thought, the research shows. Many of the countries that score highest on standard measures of pandemic preparedness—based on technical abilities like laboratory, supply chain, or emergency response capabilities—have seen some of the highest rates of infection and death during both the COVID-19 and AIDS pandemics. Countries like the United States or United Kingdom have topped official preparedness lists, but the research findings show no association between these traditional understandings of preparedness and success in the real world. Policies that only ensure technical capability are not enough. Inequality, on the other hand, is the clearest predictor of how a country fares when a pandemic strikes, with more unequal countries less successfully responding than their more equitable peers. The research shows that the prevailing conception of pandemic preparedness as synonymous with technical capacities leads governments give too little attention to addressing the sources of inequality that shape the use of those capacities. The analysis demonstrates how proven, practical approaches can enable countries to overcome the inequalities which undermine public health. This includes addressing the social determinants of health within countries—the unequal conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age—as well as between-country inequalities in the global financial system. Countries could be mounting inequality-informed pandemic preparedness and response today – but they are not. Four ways governments can break the cycle The research sets out proven, practical and affordable policies to address the inequalities driving pandemic risk, so that countries can respond more effectively to HIV, tuberculosis, Ebola and other pandemics. The actions governments need to take include: Protecting people during outbreaks: surge social protection such as paid sick leave, cash transfers and unemployment support, so no one has to choose between following health advice and feeding their family – alongside long-term investment in housing, education and secure work to build resilience before the next crisis. Governing across society, not health alone: multi-sectoral planning that brings in finance, labour and education ministries, and embeds community-led organisations in the response, drawing on hard-won lessons from the AIDS pandemic. Fixing the global financial rules: a debt-standstill mechanism for countries facing emergencies, the automatic release of emergency international financing when a pandemic is declared, and expanded pandemic lending so that every country has the means to respond. Sharing life-saving science: open licensing of publicly funded research, a global prize fund that rewards innovators while allowing medicines and vaccines to be produced anywhere, and expanded regional manufacturing of the treatments and vaccines needed to stop today’s and tomorrow’s pandemics. Expert call The analysis and call to action is outlined in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, leading epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot, Chairperson of the One Economy Foundation and former First Lady of Namibia Monica Geingos, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, and incoming Chair of the Department of Global Health and Director of the Center for Global Health Policy & Politics at Georgetown University Matthew Kavanagh. The New England Journal of Medicine article, “The Inequality–Pandemic Cycle — Rethinking Preparedness”, setting out the argument and the way forward, is available here, and the accompanying full background data analysis can be read here. They are part of an ongoing programme of research by the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, an international, interdisciplinary expert group convened by UNAIDS. “For decades the world judged how ready a country is for a pandemic by counting its laboratories, stockpiles and response plans,” said Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Co-Chair of the Global Council. “This research shows that this is not enough. High economic inequality can leave even wealthy, well-equipped nations dangerously exposed. The encouraging news is that inequality is not inevitable – it is the result of policy choices, and we know how to change them. Reducing inequality is now one of the smartest investments any government can make.” “Inequality is the ground in which pandemics take root – and this research proves it,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, which convenes the Global Council. “It also shows leaders exactly where to act. By tackling the inequalities within our societies, we can end AIDS as a public health threat and make the world safer from the next pandemic. When we address inequality, everyone thrives.” The research is being published just ahead of a special panel discussion taking place at AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro – the biennial gathering of the leaders of the international HIV response. The panel, at 10:30am Rio time on 30th July, will include Joseph Stiglitz, Winnie Byanyima and Matthew Kavanagh alongside Nísia Trindade, Former Minister of Health of Brazil, Javier Padilla Bernáldez, Secretary of State for Health of Spain, and Richard Lusimbo, Director General of The Uganda Key Populations Consortium. Pandemic emergency The AIDS pandemic, the largest disease of the last century, has killed at least 44 million people globally since the early 1980s. Approximately 40.8 million people are living with HIV globally, while over 9 million are not on treatment because of inequalities obstructing access, putting them at risk of dying of AIDS-related illnesses. COVID-19 and