Are we prepared for another pandemic ?
Published:Wednesday | October 19, 2022 | 12:08 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer - - -
Opinions have been divided regarding lessons learnt in the course of managing the lethal COVID-19 virus; however, health professionals maintain that many countries are better prepared now than they were in 2020. Still, there is no guarantee that these countries will be ready for future pandemics.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the assistant director general, health emergency intelligence, World Health Organisation (WHO), during his presentation at the Masters of Medicine Caribbean Health Summit hosted by the Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC) in Jamaica recently, said that the advent of COVID-19 has led to a stronger focus on the importance of epidemic and pandemic preparedness.
“We are seeing a convergence of political will and public interest in strengthening health security in countries, but also at regional and global levels. From COVID-19, we know that no country is safe until every country is safe. Therefore, investments in preparedness must start now for countries, regions and globally,” Dr Ihekweazu said.
Dr Ihekweazu, an epidemiologist, and former director general for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said countries must rapidly increase funding, and make these funding available to improve preparedness.
“Global health institutions like the WHO needs to be stronger in coordinating global response activities and we have begun to see these improvements such as with the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. We need to strengthen collaborations both within and between countries, and this is an area that the new Hub is working very hard on,” Dr Ihekweazu said.
According to him, the hard work and commitment of health workers across the countries have been very critical. These health workers have been responsible for testing and vaccinating, treating cases, ensuring risk communications, and providing supplies rapidly among many other duties.
All of these factors he said must continue to be strengthened in preparedness for endemic outbreaks and the next pandemic.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt around the world, tragically costing millions of lives while also taking a severe toll on societies and economies. According to Dr Ihekweazu, if we could summarise a collective learning from COVID-19 it would be that universal health coverage and preparedness would pay off only if they come together.
Resilience against health emergencies is the necessary leap, he said, that we all need to make to protect our people from health emergencies, now and in the future. “During the current pandemic, values such as equity, solidarity and collaboration have been recognised as central to resilience and essential to drive an effective response, based around the concept that no one is safe until everyone is safe,” Dr Ihekweazu said.
He indicated that while we focus on saving lives, an economic collapse is a catastrophic health risk, too. Access to healthcare will be a heightened concern for those in economic hardship, especially as the pandemic brings additional risks for less secure workers.
“Eventually, the pandemic will economically impact everyone. However, the impact is not only a demand management problem but also a multifaceted one that requires coordinated fiscal and health policy implementation,” Dr Ihekweazu said.
“There needs to be more investment in public health in all economies, particularly in less developed countries where healthcare systems are less developed and population density is high,” he added.
Key Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic
• The shock of COVID-19 has sparked a new spirit of collaboration and unusual alliances involving front-line actors such as social entrepreneurs.
• Multisectoral, ‘glocal’ partnerships can provide exponential impact results.
• The path to an inclusive, just and sustainable world is stronger if platforms for collective action are built.