Sickle Cell Disease in the DRC, Taiwan’s Battle Against the Bottle, and Globalization Mismatch

Editor's Note

There has been much talk recently about "pandemic revisionism"—that culturally and politically, many societies and their leaders are doing more to forget the lessons of COVID-19 than to remember and reform in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This week, Axel R. Pries, president of the World Health Summit and former dean of Charité, ponders that phenomenon, arguing that societies are not doing enough to reduce the mismatch that the pandemic revealed between the threadbare international economic regulatory infrastructure and the many transnational health threats that the world now faces.

Next, we feature an interview of Doña Moleka, an activist born with sickle cell disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Leon Tshilolo, a physician and leading expert on the disease. They share their insights on the stigma and challenges of treating sickle cell disease in the DRC and their hopes for the future.

To cap off the week, we continue our ongoing coverage of alcohol control around the world. Roy Rillera Marzo, director of World Catalyst Research Network, discusses how Taiwan, once known for its lax alcohol control policies, transformed into a "beacon of responsible drinking" over the past decade thanks to concerted efforts by community organizations and government, and health-care professionals.

As always, thank you for reading.—Thomas J. Bollyky, Editor