Covid-19 Cannot Be Defeated by a Divided World

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame SundaramSYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 16 2020 (IPS) Announcing an independent evaluation of the global Covid-19 response on 9th July, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked why it has been “difficult for humans to unite and fight a common enemy that is killing people indiscriminately?”. Anis Chowdhury He warned: “The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself. Rather, it is the lack of leadership and solidarity at the global and national levels… we cannot defeat this pandemic as a divided world”, highlighting inter-governmental conflicts over the pandemic and its containment. Solidarity desperately needed With more than 600,000 acknowledged deaths, almost 13 million are believed to have been infected by Covid-19 in mid-July. In less than half a year, every country had been affected by the pandemic, designated by the WHO as a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC) on 30th January. Richard Horton, editor of the prestigious Lancet medical journal, has urged the United Nations to convene an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to make “appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures”. A “meeting under the auspices of the UN is the only means available to construct a global response to this pandemic”. Wondering “why such a global gathering has not yet taken place”, he pleaded, “It must take place. And soon”....
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Economy & Trade Featured Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news