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I am currently in the process of transitioning my M.A. level course on Science, Technology, and Development with 11 students to virtual instruction. One of my interests in engaging with COVID-19 is to examine how it (should) informs development ideologies and practices. How should students of development studies retool -- conceptually, methodologically, practically -- in wake of the pandemic?

• I looked at current French visa laws which allow for a number of humanitarian requests, including family, fear of life, and medical treatment. The current protocols do still allow for easily obtainable short stay medical visas which require the medical report from a French doctor, the long term visas have a similar application but are more challenging to obtain.
• I also researched which countries have significant numbers of tourists traveling for medical reasons, the countries in Europe, Northern America, and Asia have the most applications for medical stays in order to access otherwise unavailable treatment. There is also however significant travel to countries with less developed health infrastructure and regulation for inexpensive treatment.
• Finally, as this article focused only on the normal application process of immigrants I looked into how the humanitarian allowances for residence in France was effected during the recent increase in refugees traveling through Europe. France is actually planning to close some refugee camps against the arguments of humanitarian groups due to strain on resources, while the government wishes to find alternative locations for the refugees they claim the camp in Calais will be closed by winter regardless.

Source: The Guardian sept. 26th 2016 edition

The main argument of the article is about how child poverty is induced by several factors.  She discusses the risks of child poverty to child development, some of these factors are parental stress, mental and physical illness, child hunger, and low expectations.  Lamy addresses how families can overcome poverty struggle.

• “The response to the disaster was recognized as a bureaucratic nightmare that, regardless of the intent of the federal and state governments, appeared to homeowners as a sign of their having been abandoned.” (16)
• “And the patterns with the family too. A family is—for as close as we—were and I mean every birthday, with a big family… And now, it’s the closeness that’s all gone. And it’s not just the distance. You can blame it on the distance, use the distance as an excuse. But even when we get together, nobody wants to stay. Everyone wants to get home.” (12)
• “I haven’t had a mail box in three years, OK. I mean symbolically that’s it right now. I don’t even have a mailbox. You know, if you want to put it in one sentence. I am just tired of not having a mailbox, ya know, because I don’t know where I live.” (9)

The article presents the types of mental illness commonly associated with disasters as well as the statistics of effected individuals and the risk factors present before, during, and after a disaster.

The organization relies on all of the infrastructure and technology required to maintain a working hospital as well as advanced prosthetic equipment not often found in regular hospitals.

The data presented could be used for medical professionals to better understand the cause of similar symptoms, or to treat patients involved in a similar incidents. The methods of research presented could be used by academics and researchers in further study.

This report addresses the long term effects of a nuclear disaster and the potential health risks of radiation. The findings presented in this report are important when considering the long term effects of a disaster and the clean-up aspects of responding to a disaster that may continue for months or even years following the initial event. The Committee’s plan for the 2014-2019 period includes consideration of a network of experts to share information amongst the scientific community as a method of increasing awareness of and preparation for potential nuclear industry disasters. 

The most persuasive part of the film was when the palliative care doctor discussed the importance of understanding a patients goals. Everyone has different priorities and will make decisions on their treatment based on those priorities. The ideas presented in the film that deal with the point where treatment is no longer the best course of action are more widely accepted now but still challenge doctors whose entire professions focus on saving lives.

The program is devided into two degrees with different requirements, the rehabilitation technician degree is 18 months or in-class instruction and practical experience while the orthopedics technician degree is 2 years. Hatian citizens over the age of 18 are allowed to take the course. At the end of both courses the students must pass the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics Exam to graduate.