By Lotte Pattyn of the University of Antwerp (Applied Linguistics) and Destin Bashige of the Catholic University of Bukavu (Economic Sciences)

In honour of the commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), several students of the Catholic University of Bukavu and the students of the University of Antwerp had a discussion on the theme of (de)colonisation of the DRC.

As young people active in the USOS Exchange Programme and aware of our role in North-South cooperation, we assume our responsibilities by sharing the focal points of our discussions in the hope…

By Saumya, PhD student from National Law University, Delhi and Visiting Research Student at the University of Antwerp

The world falters under the spell of the virus, and India is no exception. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is turning out to be as much a socio-economic battle in India as it is a health crisis. Initial efforts at curbing the havoc unleashed by the virus were quick, reasonably strict and commendable, which helped to keep the number of the infected comparatively low. But the herculean task of protecting more than 17% of the world’s population with limited resources could not be…

By María Elena Salgado, intern at UCA Interdisciplinary Institute of Natural Science and Eddy Moreno, political activist and former student of the UCA living in exile

Inequities are inevitably linked to the discussion of ethical criteria. The term inequity differs from inequality as inequities are preventable situations. In the context of the global coronavirus pandemic, these gaps become even more evident and one potential indicator is access to safe water and sanitation.

According to resolution 64/292 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 28th of July 2010, access to water and sanitation is recognized as a human right, and…

By Preetam Bharti, Alumnus National Law University Delhi (NLUD)

As the world continues to fight the novel Corona virus (COVID19), India has seen a drastic increase in the numbers of cases and fatalities over the past one week. With the present number of infections crossing 90,000 mark, India has entered in the list of 11 most affected countries in the world. The country reported its first positive case on January 30 from its southernmost state of Kerala. The authorities were quick to quarantine those who travelled into the country from China after January 15. Cases grew steadily thereafter and by…

By Mayte Molina-Camacho, research assistant at the Center for Molecular Biology UCA

For those of us conducting research in an experimental lab or in the field, restriction to that lab and fieldwork can have a serious negative impact on our work. In Nicaragua, the National Council of Universities (CNU) ordered the return to face-to-face classes to all the students from public universities. Meanwhile, some private ones decided to keep online classes for an undetermined period of time. …

By María Elena Salgado García, intern at UCA Interdisciplinary Institute of Natural Science

I’m writing this article on the thirty-seventh day of the self-imposed quarantine by the Nicaraguan population, after the official announcement by the government of the first coronavirus case in the country, and forty-four days after this disease was declared a pandemic by the WHO.

I would like to emphasize that this is a compilation of the country’s situation from my point of view, a young Nicaraguan from the capital, and that I have resorted to secondary information sources to substantiate my opinions.

The arrival of the coronavirus…

By TENDA NYOGOLE Daniel and MAKANGARA AKONKWA Moïse, students at the Faculté des Sciences Économiques et de Gestion de l’Université Catholique de Bukavu (UCB)

At the end of 2019, the Chinese city of Wuhan recorded its first case of Coronavirus, a pandemic that was about to affect almost all countries around the world. Four months and several million infections later, the Democratic Republic of Congo is no exception to the rule with more than 350 cases recorded, including 25 deaths. This situation has pushed Félix Tshisekedi, President of the DR Congo, to take a series of measures to prevent the…

By Brahim Kaddaoui, Mohamed amine Eddaoudi and Ibtissam Alkhatari, students of Gestion et Médiation Sociale, Université Mohammed Premier, Oujda, Morocco

On March 2nd, Morocco declared its first positive test of a Moroccan citizen coming from Italy, who was taken to Moulay Youssef Hospital for treatment.

Eleven days later, the Moroccan government announced suspending all flights and travels to and from Italy and Algeria until further notice.

It didn’t take long before Morocco announced more cases from abroad. The kingdom responded by suspending all flights and international travels and having all borders closed.

As Morocco started to discover local cases, the…