The divide in responses to and the extent of the damage wrought by covid 19 is becoming much starker.

As we know, direct country to country comparisons do not take into account demography, geography or the original scale of the outbreak.

One thing though that is clear is that it is the nation state, not many global multilateral fora that are deciding responses.

Arguably, coronavirus hastens the challenge already posed to those institutions, like the UN. Challenges of democratic consent and of efficacy.

The United Nations hasn’t yet been able to even declare coronavirus a threat to global peace and security.

This week, Tom talks to Samantha Power, who served as US ambassador to the UN and led the global response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.