March 11, 2022 marks two years since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. While the past two years have seen remarkable innovations in response to the pandemic’s disruptions, including new technologies and novel vaccines, the virus has also presented challenges for human capital development. In early 2021, Human Capital Initiative (HCI) […]
By Emanne Khan The global COVID-19 pandemic, now entering its second year, has upended nearly every aspect of daily life. Large sectors of the labor force transitioned to partially or fully remote work, and other sectors have been hollowed out by layoffs. Women were differentially affected by the economic dynamics and new social demands which […]
For individuals diagnosed with HIV, the prospect of starting treatment can be daunting. Antiretroviral therapy (ART), the main method of treating HIV in order to reduce patients’ viral loads and alleviate symptoms, typically involves a combination of three or more medications taken on a daily basis. However, new evidence suggests HIV treatment need not be […]
By Emanne Khan The mission of the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) is to advance interdisciplinary research on the role of human capital in human development to inform policy solutions to global challenges including poverty, women’s empowerment and sustainable economic growth through investments in education and health. In Fall 2021, HCI’s Core Faculty Members published a suite of […]
By Emanne Khan For scholars engaged in long-term research, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has complicated everything from data collection to travel. As the pandemic has stretched on for nearly two years, it has become part of daily life and researchers are learning to work within the constraints of the pandemic and when able, cautiously resume […]
Ten years ago, the medical community received conclusive results demonstrating that antiretroviral therapy (ART) is effective at preventing the sexual transmission of HIV. ART has traditionally been used to manage HIV symptoms in people living with the virus, but the strategy of treating HIV-positive individuals with ART to prevent transmission—a strategy known as treatment-as-prevention (TasP)—has […]
By Emanne Khan Although women have made remarkable strides in the professional world, the gender pay gap stubbornly persists. On average, American women earned 84 cents for every dollar men earned in 2020, a disparity that has remained relatively consistent over the past 15 years, according to the Pew Research Center. Although a substantial body […]
By Rachel Brulé and Nikhar Gaikwad One striking casualty of the global pandemic has been the decline in women’s wealth. This helps to explain two striking features of the slower-than-anticipated COVID-19 “recovery” in the US: the “great resignation” where the labor force continues to shrink despite 7 million US workers losing unemployment benefits as of […]
The area of family planning is unique in that the patient, rather than the provider, is seen as the key decision-maker in determining the best course of treatment. As such, family planning programs strive to afford women and couples the greatest degree of choice over contraceptive methods, and consequently invest significant resources into providing patients […]
Women who become pregnant less than 24 months after giving birth face numerous risks to their own health and the health of their child. As such, postpartum family planning services can help women to better space pregnancies and mitigate health risks. However, little is known about how postpartum family planning impacts women’s contraceptive use, fertility […]