Feature
The COVIC-19 pandemic should be a wake-up call for the global community to prepare for the next health crisis .
“ Unfortunately , dominant voices in public health have historically neglected pandemic interventions like ending deforestation .”
Such risk can be reduced by addressing its drivers , which include climate change , wildlife trade , land use change , desertification , and antimicrobial resistance . In particular , destruction of wildlife natural habitats increases pandemic risk by making it more likely that the interaction between wildlife and people could result in animal pathogens infecting humans . Indeed , this is one key theory to explain the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ Unfortunately , dominant voices in public health have historically neglected pandemic interventions like ending deforestation . This reflects a bias towards immediately measurable public health victories , such as the number of vaccines administered , over those that require a longer time horizon before their benefits are realised . Many of these distant benefits are immeasurable as their goal is for a pandemic not to occur at all ,” Dr Neil Vora , an expert in outbreak response with Conservation International , told the Guardian .
Finishing the WHO CA + plan The final draft of the pandemic agreement will be offered for consideration at the 77th World Health Assembly in 2024 , together with substantial revisions to the existing International Health Regulations ( IHR ) that govern the prevention of the cross-border transmission of infectious diseases . Combining these frameworks will pave the way for a comprehensive , complementary , and synergistic set of global health agreements to soften the blow of future pandemics . The need for such an accord is also buttressed by a report by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ( IFRC ) that cautions that “ all countries remain dangerously unprepared for future outbreaks ” and recommends building trust in public health measures , addressing inequities , and focusing on preparedness at the community level in order to become more resilient to health emergencies . “ The COVID-19 pandemic should be a wake-up call for the global community to prepare now for the next health crisis ,” Jagan Chapagain , IFRC ’ s Secretary General , said in a press release .
He is not alone . One study in the US journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS ) found that the probability of experiencing a pandemic similar to the one caused by COVID-19 is about 3� percent in one ’ s lifetime while the figure may double in the next decades .
Dr Leong shares this gloomy conclusion that the world is still unprepared to adequately cope with another pandemic and believes we don ’ t have much time left to improve preventive measures .
“ I am quite certain there will be another pandemic in the next seven years . The world is so connected now , and this fuels human movements , trade movements , and pandemic spreads ,” he predicted , cautioning that the next pandemic-causing infectious disease might have a much higher death rate than COVID-19 . n
62 ISSUE 2 | 2023 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com