Sandra Ceballos is a single mother who besides tending to the needs of her four children, also takes care of the environment through her recycling business. Jessica Quipainao, also the primary breadwinner in her household, preserves her Mapuche heritage by making jewelry. Johana Jurado sells garments to leave a legacy for her daughter, and therefore strives to keep this small business afloat. They are just three of the 1.5 million women entrepreneurs across five Latin American countries that are thriving with help from the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF). Thanks to this work and its development finance initiatives, the Foundation is the top contributor to gender equality, according to the latest report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The many manifestations of COVID-19 have made us susceptible to associating any of its wide-ranging symptoms to the virus and we forget that other conditions still exist and need to be tended to. More worrisome is the fact that globally, public health measures to control the pandemic, including mobility restrictions and prioritization of COVID-19 treatment, coupled with the economic crisis that is producing an increase in poverty, has made it even more challenging for low-income patients to access treatment in a timely manner. In Latin America, according to Pfizer, the number of medical consultations  and oncological visits nearly halved. Moreover, in the region, having medical coverage and access to basic health care is limited to very few people.

An agricultural engineer, a painter, a baker, a shoemaker, Jorge Domínguez is a modern day “Renaissance Man.” He is also a 63 year old Venezuelan migrant in Pamplona, Colombia that fled his country three years ago in search of a better life for his family.

2020 is a crucial year for women and girls, everywhere. We celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It also marks the five-year milestone of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s 64th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was deemed to be the big commemoration and opportunity to reaffirm these mandates. There are still significant and pervasive gender gaps in the economic and political participation of women all over the world. Progress is sluggish and if we are serious about achieving the 2030 Agenda we must step up the pace.

They are both refugees. Einstein, considered one of the greatest geniuses in history, fled Nazi occupied Germany to the United States in 1933 after his civil liberties were revoked and he was barred from his professorship for being an outspoken opponent of the government. Fortunately, Princeton University recognized his intelligence and offered him a job. A fortuitous event that changed his life and ours, yet for many refugees today, such opportunities are scarce.