With the coronavirus continuing its brutal global rampage, it takes a particular sort of malign genius to put the United States (US) in the political dock as the death toll mounts and economic devastation spreads. Yet, that is what President Donald Trump is doing.But first things first. In every country, medical workers and support staff have been on the front line fighting the pandemic on behalf of the rest of us.

If the current coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything, it is that our interconnected, globalised economies and societies are highly vulnerable to sudden shocks.The COVID-19 outbreak, and the horrendous scale of its impact, was an unforeseeable “black swan” event. Right now, the imperative is to fast-track packages and policies that help to fight the health crisis, protect the vulnerable, and pave the way to restarting our economies once the pandemic is past its peak.

As the world struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact on our lives and livelihoods, it should be clear to everyone that international cooperation is the only effective way to win the battle. National responses are vital, but in the medium term, multilateralism will be our best weapon in this fight – and our best defence against future global threats.My country, Spain, is on the front lines of the pandemic.

Intelligence agencies are used to making headlines when they fail to do their job.

When pandemics strike, world leaders and health responders must adapt quickly to the looming threat. Often the last factor they consider – if it makes their to-do lists at all – is gender. As advocates for the health and rights of girls and women, we’ve heard the excuses time and time again: “Gender isn’t a priority right now,” leaders say. “Maybe when things calm down,” they claim. “It’s not the right time,” they insist.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a pall over the global economy, making it impossible to anticipate even the near future. Restrictions on cross-border movements, along with national lockdowns, are rapidly reducing global production and consumption, and disrupting value chains. Growing uncertainties are creating a vicious circle, as the contraction in the real economy spills over into the financial sector, in turn reducing credit to non-financial firms.

COVID-19 has been slowly creeping into our communities. As we seek to ensure our families’ health and safety, to many people, food has never seemed so important, both as a source of nutrition and, for many, of comfort. The question is whether, as economic disruption continues, we can stave off a pandemic-related food crisis.What and how we eat affects our health and wellbeing.

As COVID-19 expands across the southern hemisphere, governments there have a lot to learn from Vietnam’s approach. Clear communication and government-citizen cooperation that leveraged technology are the main reasons why the country has had relatively few cases.Much attention has been paid to other models in Asia. Taiwanese health authorities investigated cases of pneumonia reported in Wuhan before community spread occurred.

This week, leaders from medicine, economics, politics, and civil society are uniting to demand immediate and coordinated international action – in the next few days – to mobilise the resources needed to address the COVID-19 crisis, prevent the current health catastrophe from becoming one of the worst in history, and avert a global depression.

The contrast between the silence of Europe’s streets and squares and the tumultuous, painful reality in many of its hospitals is heart-breaking. COVID-19 has not only Europe but the entire global community in its grip. It is already clear that the pandemic will reshape our world. But precisely how will depend on the choices that we make today. The coronavirus should be seen as the world’s common enemy.