On the 34^th anniversary of the assassination of Burkina Faso’s former President, Thomas Sankara, Richard Cincotta explored his legacy of economic and gender development in December’s top post. While present day Burkina Faso did not follow the development track Sankara set in motion, similar model countries, like Tunisia, were able to create social progress through similar policies.

Two other recent anniversaries were the focus of December’s second top post—the 10^th anniversary of the endorsement by all countries of the United Nations to accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the marking of 5 years since the UN officially designated December 12^th as International UHC Day. Eduardo Gonzalez-Pier explained where the implementation of UHC currently stands and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christopher Graham continued the trend of analyzing development trends by focusing on the ways in which strengthening food and water systems can reduce displacement and alleviate poverty in his examination of food and water security as climate solutions in Africa.

The final top posts of December focused on regional climate security issues. In the fourth top post, Iris Thatcher outlined the Polar Institute’s recently published “7Cs” framework for policy priorities in the Arctic. Andrew L. Oros and Andrew Gordon detailed why “the Quad,” made up of the United States, Japan, and Australia, should coordinate climate security responses to address India’s ongoing security challenges, such as population growth and poverty.

Read more:

1. Thomas Sankara’s Lost Legacy by Richard Cincotta
2. The Elusive Goal of Universal Health Coverage by Eduardo Gonzalez-Pier
3. Food and Water Security Solutions: Reflections on Mitigating Climate-induced Population Displacement in Africa by Christopher Graham
4. Navigating the Arctic’s 7Cs by Irish Thatcher
5. The Quad Should Help India Address Its Most Pressing Security Challenge: Climate Change by Andrew L. Oros and Andrew Gordon