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Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has infected more than 5 million individuals, caused more than 300,000 deaths, and affected around 200 countries. Majority of the world implemented quarantine and other health measures that aim to stop the virus transmission, flatten the curve of infections, and eventually reduce the number of cases. While a possible vaccine may not be available in the coming months, these measures have resulted in multiple burdens for communities impacting the economy, and to a larger extent disturbing our regular social activities. Many have lost their jobs, some took unpaid leave from their work either voluntarily or involuntarily, others were separated away from their families due to the lockdown, while the rest of us are worried on what the new normal will bring us now and in the future.

In this time of the pandemic, we are all affected by SARS-CoV-2 in one way or another. Individuals may have different risk profiles, but COVID-19 does not choose who to infect. Some of us could be the victim, while others could be our heroes like the frontline health workers. There are also our leaders who, in times like this, should carefully navigate the complexity of managing and governing the crisis in order to safeguard their constituencies. Like many of the KASYP alumni, who are young leaders in their respective countries, they are deeply involved in helping their respective governments, organizations and communities to maintain public safety and economic security while trying to protect their people from this virus.

This COVID-19 pandemic could be the most wicked problem in our time. It is posing the greatest challenge to our health systems, choking our economies, putting governments on their knees, and reshaping our social realities into what we call “the new normal”. But despite all these impacts, this situation also provides an opportunity for our young leaders to be creative and innovative in how they manage and govern in this crisis. Thus, it would be interesting to learn from the KASYP alumni on how they are winning against COVID-19.