Najam Interviewed on Global Inequality and “The World After Coronavirus”
Adil Najam, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed by Noticias de Álava on the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future‘s “World After Coronavirus” video series in which Najam explored the challenges and opportunities we will face in the post-coronavirus future with global leaders.
In his remarks, transcribed in an article titled “El covid ha enseñado al mundo lo caro que resulta un mal sistema de salud” (covid has taught the world how expensive a bad health system is), Najam commented on the pace of progress in the post-COVID era, the need for global healthcare reform, hyper globalization, and more. The interviewer noted that many experts that Najam spoke with during the Pardee Center series were pessimistic about the state of the world and its path forward; Najam noted that we have yet to create a more supportive society in the midst of the pandemic, pondering, “we have the knowledge, we have the money, but do we have the wisdom to unite in that solidarity and in that collective action?”
An excerpt:
Globally it has been a story of inequality and injustice. It is a pity that, despite the fact that we are so rich globally, even though we are so scientifically advanced and have so much knowledge, the coronavirus has also brought out personal selfishness both in individuals and in nations. For example, the multilateral approach has been totally missing. Therefore there are still billions of people left out of the system.
The fully transcribed interview can be read on Noticias de Álava‘s website.
Adil Najam is a global public policy expert who also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. He is the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Dean Najam on his faculty profile.