Published in World Economic Forum By Robert Muggah The world is entering a volatile and unstable new phase. Scientists are increasingly confident that the COVID-19 pandemic threat will persist, possibly for years. The global economy is headed for an economic nose dive that could rival, even exceed, the…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world’s bustling cities to a screeching halt

Published in Internet Governance Project By Louise Marie Hurel Late February this year, Brazil published its first national cybersecurity strategy. With more than 100 countries worldwide having released their strategies and considering that Brazil is the biggest economy in Latin America, one might ask: why has it taken…

Our cities will not be the same after COVID-19.

Published in Project Syndicate By Robert Muggah This year’s annual IMF/World Bank spring meetings may be taking place virtually, but the challenges facing the world’s finance ministers and central-bank governors are frighteningly real. In particular, will multilateral efforts succeed in preventing the coronavirus from causing…

Published in Foreign Policy By Robert Muggah The world is convulsed by the novel coronavirus, but that is not the only pathogen that afflicts us. Criminal violence is also endemic, contagious, and highly virulent. More than 464,000 people were killed in homicides in 2017 (the last…

To understand more about the crisis confronting the urban poor, The New Humanitarian interviewed Robert Muggah, principal of The SecDev Group and co-founder of the Igarapé Institute,

Published in The Humanitarian By Robert Muggah To understand more about the crisis confronting the urban poor, The New Humanitarian interviewed Robert Muggah, principal of The SecDev Group and co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, a think tank focused on urban innovation that has worked with the World Health Organisation to…

As coronavirus gales across the Americas, officials from Mexico to Chile have puzzled over how to keep millions locked down at home

As coronavirus gales across the Americas, officials from Mexico to Chile have puzzled over how to keep millions locked down at home

Published in Financial Times By Robert Muggah With president Jair Bolsonaro dismissing the pandemic as “sniffles” and criticising regional lockdown measures, the country’s drug gangs and paramilitary groups have stepped in to enforce social distancing to combat the spread of coronavirus. “Whoever is caught on…

Published in Washington Post By Robert Muggah Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are jailed in crammed cells under unsanitary conditions, fertile ground for the spread of the coronavirus, but many governments have yet to adopt measures that could prevent the pandemic from…

Published in Bloomberg By Robert Muggah At midnight on March 17, Paraguay closed down the Friendship Bridge to Brazil. It was the first time in more than half a century that traffic stopped on the emblematic land link between the two South American neighbors, where…

With COVID-19 infections now evident in 176 countries, the pandemic is the most significant threat to humanity since the second world war. Then, as now, confidence in international cooperation and institutions plumbed new lows.

Published in Financial Times By Robert Muggah With president Jair Bolsonaro dismissing the pandemic as “sniffles” and criticising regional lockdown measures, the country’s drug gangs and paramilitary groups have stepped in to enforce social distancing to combat the spread of coronavirus. “Whoever is caught on…