Lessons about the West from Zimbabwe's Pandemic Response | Charming Dube | TEDxTufts

In this talk, Charming employs a Zimbabwean perspective to evaluate the West's aspirational leading role in the fight against COVID-19. By identifying the corrupting influences and biased reasoning that turn such good intentions into undesirable outcomes, he hopes to inspire a reconsideration of what it means to assist effectively. Charming Dube grew up pinched between the regime of Robert Mugabe and the sanctions enacted by George W Bush on the Zimbabwean government. He is interested in the relationships between wealthy nations and international institutions on the one hand, and poorer countries on the other. This curiosity led him to two capstones at Tufts, his alma mater. The first examined the effect that bureaucratic rivalry between the International Monetary Fund and World Bank had on the country responses to AIDS in South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, and the second considered the Zimbabwean response to COVID-19. In his free time, he enjoys reading biographies and is an avid player of the SimCity franchise. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx