COVID-19
The Open Society Foundations are working for a humane global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, shaped by justice, accountability, and inclusion.
Vaccine Justice
The Quest to Boost Africa’s Fight Against COVID-19
![A production scientist works with samples at Afrigen Biologics in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 3, 2022. Photo credit: © Shelley Christians/Reuters A scientist wearing protective gear in a lab](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/6794c2bd-c07a-4477-a7ee-4d4ec108c726/20221005-christians-south-africa-vaccine-hub-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C63%2C3000%2C1875)
While Africa consumes 25 percent of the world’s vaccines, only one percent of vaccines are manufactured there. The mRNA vaccine manufacturing hub in South Africa is working to change that.
Fighting COVID-19
A $100 Million Booster for Vaccine Equity
![A health care worker administers a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination event in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on April 5, 2021. Photo: © Ulet Ifansasti/Getty A nurse administering a vaccine to a woman sitting in a car with a temple in the background](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/61a2afc0-425b-44d5-a9e5-1db5de40c807/20220414-ifansasti-indonesia-covid-19-vaccination-3000.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1875)
As the fight against COVID-19 continues, all countries need access to vaccines, not just the rich ones. Open Society’s $100 million commitment to COVAX will help deploy millions of vaccines to the nations most in need.
Vaccine Justice
Q&A: Africa’s Fight for Vaccine Equity
![Medical staff prepare COVID-19 vaccine doses for school teachers and staff in Tembisa, South Africa, on June 23, 2021. Photo credit: © Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images/Getty Two women holding vaccination vials and syringes](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/a2717e01-3cee-4994-80ef-114b807b684d/20220321-south-africa-vaccination-teachers-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C63%2C3000%2C1875)
As the pandemic enters its third year, African Alliance founder Tian Johnson shares reflections on how to make progress in the push for vaccine equity and what African civil society organizations are asking for now.
Gender-Based Violence
Tackling a “Shadow Pandemic” of Gender-Based Violence
![Women from Kayan Feminist Organization call for end to gender-based violence during a 16-day campaign in Yaffet Al-Nasreh, on November 25, 2019. Photo credit: © Kayan Feminist Organization Woman holding a young child and a sign](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/bb1f9956-758f-4ddd-8edc-340b9760d293/20191125-kayan-beirut-gender-based-violence-demonstration-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C125%2C3000%2C1875)
Gender-based violence spiked globally during the pandemic. In the Middle East and North Africa, feminist groups stepped up to aid women under threat.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
A Looming Debt Crunch Demands New Thinking
![A vendor counts out Nigerian banknotes in a shop in Abuja, Nigeria, on June 3, 2020. Photo credit: KC Nwakalor/Bloomberg/Getty A vendor counts out Nigerian banknotes in a shop](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/2db714ae-9cfd-45ce-afc8-954bedb5b191/20210602-kwakalor-nigeria-economy-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1875)
Policymakers worried about the post-pandemic global economy need to take a hard look at the impact of credit rating downgrades on indebted countries.
Voices
For Essential Workers, Labor Rights Are Essential
![Trash pickers in the Alexandra township of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Thursday, June 11, 2020. Photo credit: © Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Trash pickers pull a cart past a mural](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/440fa436-764f-4ae1-abe2-9cb1b5ed5caa/20210514-swiegers-johannesburg-trash-pickers-essential-workers-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C125%2C3000%2C1875)
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor rights movement has made gains in the struggle for essential workers’ rights. These gains are welcome—but many of them are temporary. Here's why more must be done.
Economics of Equity
For a Just Recovery, Reform Sovereign Debt
![Volunteers distribute food to children at a soup kitchen in a community experiencing record high unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa, on June 25, 2020. Photo credit: © Dwayne Senior/eyevine/Redux Kids being handed food at a soup kitchen table](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/222cd473-8a9b-491b-b361-110c3eda9d30/20211008-senior-south-africa-soup-kitchen-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1875)
As the global economy continues to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic, civil society groups have a rare chance to push policymakers toward bold reforms to free struggling nations from sovereign debt.
A Just Recovery
How to Ensure a Truly Global Recovery
![People wait in line for food in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on June 17, 2020. Photo credit: © Rodrigo Abd/AP A group of people waiting in line outside](https://opensocietyfoundations.imgix.net/uploads/6cc33514-2b1f-4dfd-b446-344ea0e17c7f/20210318-abd-peru-coronavirus-3000.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=200&q=80&rect=0%2C63%2C3000%2C1875)
The Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains how policymakers on the international level can make sure that the post-pandemic recovery doesn't make economic injustice even worse.