IIMB expert on the impact of COVID-19 on international conventions
In the tenth episode of the IIMB Podcast Series on November 22nd, Prof. A Damodaran, from the Economics & Social Sciences at IIMB, shares insights on international conventions and the pandemic
22 NOVEMBER, 2020: The tenth episode of the IIMB Podcast Series, on November 22nd, featured a conversation with Dr. A Damodaran, Professor in the Economics & Social Sciences area at IIM Bangalore. He shared his thoughts on the implications of the pandemic on international conventions and bodies. The episode focused on the impact of COVID-19 and how it has brought significant change in the functioning of international bodies and conventions. It brought insights into how organizations like the World Health Organization could have tackled and better prepared the world for the COVID-19 outbreak. Prof. Damodaran discussed how WHO and pharmaceutical companies could leverage the proficiencies of organizations like GAVI for vaccine distribution while emphasizing that a COVID-19 vaccine should be considered by all as a global common good. On the topic of global commons and its applicability on vaccines, Prof. Damodaran talked about intellectual property rights and patents and the role of WTO in this regard.
The podcast also touched upon various aspects in the functioning of conventions like CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and the United Nations Human Rights Office during the pandemic, which are trying to tackle various social injustices, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. The podcast also dealt with the ever-looming topic of climate change, and the Paris Climate Agreement. It also delved into the subject of negotiations in a virtual world and how a global economic recovery can be made possible through multilateralism. Prof. Damodaran brought many interesting examples and insights from his experience of representing India as a negotiator at the Convention for Biodiversity and Global Environment Facility forums.
Links to Episode 10 of the IIMB Podcast Series:
On SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3lOFyAS
On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2UOqt6v
On Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3nOUDTs