Call for a collective response

COVID-19 has affected almost all the countries of the world. It is taking a huge toll on families, societies, health systems and economies around the world. So far it has consumed more than 2.23 lakh precious lives and death toll is increasing every day. To prevent it from spreading, countries all over the world have imposed lockdown in their respective countries forcing more than two third of the global population to remain indoors. Places which before the lockdown were teeming with all sorts of hustle and bustle of dailylife have become ghost towns. Many countries have now decided to relax the lockdown but WHO has warned ‘not to make any mistake as there is still a long way to go.The virus will be with us for a long time and can easily ignite’.

The current strategy of shutting down cities and towns although being effective, is not a sustainable move in the long term owing to its serious socio-economic consequences. There are possibly three options available with us to ease the situation and to also wriggle us out of this serious crisis; Immediate Development of a Vaccine; Development of Herd Immunity, and the Permanent Changes in the Social Behaviours of People. Herd immunity or social immunity is a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through previous infections or vaccination. Experts feel that for developing herd immunity, it would require to allow around 60-70 per cent people to get infected by the virus but this, however, is practically untenable. We are still a long way to go to achieve immunity in this percentage of population. Similarly adherence to the permanent change in social behaviours by everyone in the society is difficult to impose on ground thereby always leaving an element of risk. A ray of hope lies only in the successful and early development of an ‘Effective Vaccine’ which would allow the countries to come back to its rails.

   

COVID-19 knows no boarders, no religion and no races. No part of the world would be safe until and unless every nook and corner of the world is free from this virus. This is a global problem of unprecedented nature. The vulnerable countries would be unable to deal with, both the health and economic fallout of this pandemic on their own. For the larger global good, there is a need for collective global socio-economic response with a vision to fight together to control the virus and to mitigate the economic sufferings of the people, to be led by the UN and International Funding Agencies. It has passionately been argued by Director General, WHO that we can halt COVID-19 only through global solidarity.

We are pretty sure that sooner or later, vaccine will be a reality. There are currently 41 candidates of varying promises. However, the most pertinent question is, “Once a vaccine is developed, will it be available to one and all in the world at the same time and what is the strategy in this regard?” Past experience with respect to HIV treatment and HINI outbreak has been that even though vaccines were available but they were not equally available to all and at affordable prices. People living in the poorer countries were unable to have an access for a larger period of time.Therefore, apart from working out the exit strategy from the lockdown, the world leaders need to come together to focus as to how the vaccine once developed could be made available to one and all in the world without any delay. We need to take proactive measures in this direction unlike the response we extended to tackle the spread of the infection in time. To make the vaccine accessible to the needy, international funding for immunisation would be an appropriate strategy under the banners of WHO which would require world leaders and donors to donate for this great cause. Besides, partnering with potential manufacturers worldwide would be equally important so as to scale up its production for making it available throughout the world quickly and on affordable prices. This may also require simultaneous global trials of the potential vaccine to assess its safety and efficacy in different communities of the world. Initially there will be limited supply, so it will be important to priortise its distribution. The first in the category should include healthcare workers and those who are critically ill. The second in the list should include those who are infected with the virus and also the older people particularly patients with co morbidity as they are at higher risk of suffering serious complications if infected.

The role and responsibility of World Funding Organisations and rich countries in this hour of crisis would be worth watching. Some amount of concern has already got going but the volume and means of the support would be a game changer. Apart from the human losses, the virus is sure to unfold huge human sufferings particularly for the vulnerable sections of the society. It is going to render many jobless and those with jobs with reduced incomes thus’ making the survival of large sections of the societies very difficult and challenging. Other than consequences on macroeconomic indices, it will have serious cascading impact on social indices like, inequality, exclusion, discrimination, child mortality, malnutrition, particularly in underdeveloped and developing countries. The impact in the countries which were already confronted with concerns like more unemployment and poverty is going to be more severe. The developed countries have the capacity to mitigate the social miseries of its citizens to a great extent. U.S, has already come up with a huge financial package of $2 Trillion for its people and the businesses. Similarly countries in Eurozone have also announced packages like Germany $810 billion; U.K. $ 424 billion; France $335 billion; Spain $220 billion, Canada $75 billion; Italy $28 billion. But there are large numbers of countries in Asia and Africa which will find it difficult to come to the rescue of its citizens due to the lack of resources and thus in all probability will push many more into the trap of poverty. Therefore, in this hour of tragedy to the humanity across the world, G20 and other economically affluent countries have to also support the poorer countries of the world to tide over their miseries.

The U.S. has announced $174 million financial assistance to 64 countries including $2.9 million to India to help them to fight the pandemic. International financial organisations like IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) have declared to provide the necessary support to the countries to help them to tide over socio-economic impacts of the pandemic particularly the most vulnerable countries. Some steps in this direction by the funding agencies already stands taken like; doubled access to its emergency facilities, approved debt service relief and the establishment of short-term liquidity line. However, the support offered so far is very inadequate. This is a most unprecedented situation in our human history, therefore, requires more humanistic, bold and innovative responses by the funding agencies and other economically affluent countries of the world. Besides, emergency funding, there is earnest need to offer ‘Interest and Debt Waivers’. Without this kind of relief, the vulnerable countries are more likely to find themselves into debt trap thereby causing irreparable damage to their economies. The interest and debt waivers to enable the vulnerable countries to face the consequences of the pandemic and simultaneously help in the revival of their economies.

The world community has to learn a lot of lessons from this pandemic. The pandemic has so far consumed 2.23 lakh precious lives and the loss is still counting. Apart from human losses, it has led to mental stresses, agony and unleashed huge socio-economic consequences for the people to bear. This unprecedented tragedy has some important and for reaching lessons to learn by the world leaders, politicians, and the people at large. The Coronavirus crisis has exposed even the most developed countries with inadequate preparedness to deal with medical emergencies of this magnitude, not to talk of other countries of the world where quality heath facilities are dismal. Billions and Billions of dollars are being spent on defence preparedness even by those countries where a large portion of their populations cannot afford even two meals a day. The pertinent question at this hour of crisis for the world leaders is “Were their decisions of cutting much needed social spending for building huge military machineries feasible?” The answer is surely ‘No’. Today, had we been relatively more prepared to battle with the nanometre sized enemy like Coronavirus, we could have saved many precious lives which have been lost for want of adequate medical facilites.

The other disturbing world affair is that the countries are run by a ‘Principle of National Interest’ rather than the ‘Principle of Just and Fair’ which often result into serious consequences for the humanity in general and for the weaker countries in particular. This has led to greater enmity between nations and thus possibility of recurrence of wars of all sorts like, cold war, trade wars, and world wars has increased. Double standards for modern leaders have become the norm while dealing with international affairs causing great harm to the world peace and stability. We need to strive for a ‘New World Order’ based on the principles of justice and equity.

In many parts of the world, unfortunately politicians’ have remained busy in dividing the communities on the basis of religion, colour and creed to inflame religious and sectarian sentiments for personal vested interests just to gain power when their duties have been to unite people of different races, religions and ethnicities and to strive for their socio-economic wellbeing. Mr Coronavirus has no religion, no colour, no race, affecting one and all with same vigour but in India politicians and some sections of media even in this torrid phase have been busy in giving it a religious colour exposing their intent. To cover-up their failures, even western world is calling this as a ‘Chinese Virus’. Shame on such politicians and journalists and we need to condemn them in unison. Better late than never. Let us all realise now that we have the same flesh and blood, same feelings, and therefore, we need to learn to love and respect each other quite in line with the preachings of all the religions and join our heads and hands to fight this common enemy together.

Author is Professor in the Dept. of Commerce, University of Kashmir.

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