Shortly after the appointment of Dr David Nabarro as one of six Special Envoys of World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General on COVID-19, David and peers began to publish narratives to help navigate the complexities of the emerging pandemic. To build on these Narratives, David and the 4SD team held the first Open Online Briefing on 25 March 2020.

With the rapidly evolving health, social and economic challenges related to the COVID-19 response, these briefings quickly proved to be valuable moments for sharing and learning and therefore, continued twice per week for the proceeding 3 months. The briefings evolved into a regular, familiar and open spaces for David, the 4SD team and participants to unravel complex challenges and hear about both emerging and persistent issues of concern.

As of 3 July 2020, thirty Open Online Briefings have taken place, supported by:

• 23 COVID-19 Narratives by Dr David Nabarro and Peers
• Four personal reflections from Dr David Nabarro
• Four Spotlight Narratives about COVID-19
• Six youth reflections from One Young World Ambassadors (Sehaj Sharma, Dr Surbhi Shrivastava, Dr Carlos Madrigal- Iberri, Abdul Samed Zurak and Lucky Aziken)
• Four illustrations of the briefings drawn live thanks to Live Illustration UK
• Over 1,900 views of the recordings on the 4SD YouTube Channel
• Two video clips were launched based on the Open Online Briefing content: “Being COVID-Ready” and “COVID-Ready, Regardless of Resources”
• To build on this creativity, Gambian artist and peace ambassador Nazeem wrote and recorded the “COVID-Ready Anthem” and the latest song “Test, Trace, Isolate, Protect” which were subsequently performed as part of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) Lives in the Balance: A COVID-19 Summit.

This first series ends on Thursday 9 July 2020 after thirty-two sessions – having had participants join from around the world including Canada, Nigeria, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ghana, Ireland, The Gambia, United Kingdom, Egypt, Chile, Mexico, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland, where 4SD is based.

It is now a time to reflect, but also to plan ahead on what a future series of Open Online Briefings might look like. We are inviting you to tell us what you enjoyed and what you would like to see more of in the future.