Check out the latest news from Duke Center for International Development! An alumnus helps save lives at the peak of India's Covid crisis. Happy retirement, Phyllis! Faculty members publish in The National Interest, Brookings Institution, Social Forces and an Oxford publication. Alumnus receives award from U.S. Department of State. Read these stories and more below!

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Anil Bhardwaj distributes food during the 2020 lockdown in India.

Alumnus Anil Bhardwaj helps save lives during India's Covid crisis

When Anil Kumar Bhardwaj, MIDP 2015, witnessed the death and devastation that COVID-19 brought to his community in Faridabad, India, he began developing a low-cost and efficient solution to help citizens easily access oxygen refilling stations. Read more about how he stepped up during a critical time to help his community and country.

Anil's Story

Congrats and happy retirement, Phyllis!

Congratulations to Dr. Phyllis Pomerantz on her retirement after 15 years as professor of the practice at DCID! On June 4, MIDP alumni joined faculty, staff and friends from around the world to celebrate her retirement and her new status as Professor Emeritus.

During her tenure, Phyllis taught graduate seminars on aid effectiveness, global poverty reduction, leadership, and governance in the MIDP program. She chaired and served on many faculty review and promotion committees, advised on MIDP policies, practices and the curriculum, and served on DCID’s management committee. She also served as the director of graduate studies during a critical period of transition. Prior to joining DCID, Phyllis worked at the World Bank for more than 25 years before retiring as chief learning officer in 2005.

Congrats, Phyllis!!

Faculty Spotlight

Mohanan sheds light on India and COVID-19 at Duke briefing

Manoj Mohanan, associate professor and DCID affiliated faculty member, was one of three Duke experts that participated in a virtual Duke news briefing in May about coronavirus cases in India.

Mohanan noted, “In the early stages of the epidemic in India, it looked like the number of cases and deaths were lower. But actually we have a lot of cases in India … there were far, far more cases than were reported globally in the official news sources." Following the briefing, he was quoted in several news outlets such as US News & World Report and CBS-17.

Watch the briefing

Myanmar protesters in a crowd holding signs

Malesky's Op-ed featured in The National Interest

DCID Director Eddy Malesky weighed in on the Myanmar coup in an Op-ed published in The National Interest, "America and ASEAN: Strong Economic Pressure Can Save Myanmar.” In the piece, he outlines the reasons why the U.S. and other countries should increase economic pressure on Myanmar’s military and weaken their connections to global markets.

Read the article

Faculty Research Highlights

MIDP Director of Graduate Studies Sarah Bermeo’s chapter on foreign aid was published in the Oxford Handbook of International Political Economy.
Sarah Bermeo was quoted in a Real Clear Investigations in-depth report on the Biden Administration's Central America strategy.
Eddy Malesky and Rutgers Associate Professor Markus Taussig published a Brookings blog on notice-and-comment digital systems in developing countries and their promises and pitfalls.
Associate Professor Marcos Rangel presented at a United Nations expert meeting on the impact of COVID-19 on fertility that was organized by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Kerilyn Schewel, DCID's new visiting research scholar, published an article in Social Forces on the reasons why young women in rural Ethiopia decide to migrate as domestic workers to the Middle East.

Alumni in Action

U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative Awards Chafic Daoud Alumni of the Year

Chafic Daoud was named 2020 Alumni of the Year by the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). Chafic received the award for his work with Griffin Leadership, a consulting agency that he founded in Lebanon that is helping citizens to cope with the impacts of the pandemic and to gain employment skills.

Chafic is a 2019 recipient of the Leaders for Development Fellowship (LDF), a program that prepares participants from the Middle East and North Africa region to become future community and business leaders in the region. The fellowship is organized through World Learning and IREX and funded by the U.S. State Department.

As a partner, DCID provided the academic component for the LDF program, focusing on leadership, policy analysis, civic engagement, and entrepreneurship over a four-week period for a cohort in 2018 and in 2019. This was followed by a two-month professional placement in Washington, D.C. for each participant. Way to go, Chafic!

Asha Asokan's paper published in Princeton journal

Congratulations to Asha Asokan, MIDP 2020, whose paper on peace agreements and children’s issues and rights was published in the 32nd edition of the Journal of Public and International Affairs, published by Princeton University.

FAO report led by alumnus Ghada Ahmed

Ghada Ahmed, MIDP 2010, recently published a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report on the impacts of COVID-19 on agri-food value chains in Libya, highlighting the structural challenges with food and agriculture value chains. Good work, Ghada!

Learn More & Apply!

Congratulations, Class of 2021!
Last month, 24 MIDP Fellows graduated during in-person and virtual ceremonies. Check out this video that highlights their journey!

We'll be right back!

During the month of July, the newsletter will be paused. We look forward to sharing more developments in our August newsletter. In the meantime, stay in touch with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram!