by Sarah Hyser
November 24, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the world, leaving no country untouched. Most states were ill equipped for a biological threat of this magnitude. Unfortunately, the world is just as unprepared for the next pandemic as it was for the COVID-19. Global health officials warn that states have not taken enough precautions to protect against another pandemic. After the COVID -19 epidemic ends, states need to act quickly to permanently mend their healthcare systems. If healthcare around the world is not improved, biological threats will continue to cause widespread destruction.
On October 1, 2020, H. E. Van Ark addressed the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the Global Health Security Agenda. She argued that to prevent the next pandemic, states need to break the “Panic-then-forget” cycle. After an outbreak, states initially panic because they do not have the facilities in place to control the problem. During the outbreak, political officials promise that there will be changes made to the healthcare system that protect against another crisis. Finally, when the outbreak ends, states either do not make the necessary improvements to the healthcare system, or they put them in place and remove them later. The global community needs to repair the health system when there are no major outbreaks. It is not possible to solve a pandemic and improve the healthcare system simultaneously. The GHSA warns that the world still has not done enough to prepare for pandemics and following the coronavirus epidemic there will need to be major improvements to the global health system.
Before the Coronavirus pandemic, international organizations warned of the inevitable outbreak of a new disease and urged states to securitize their healthcare systems before the pandemic hit. Most states have ignored this warning. The Global Health Security Index, for example, evaluates 195 countries’ ability to identify and stop biological health risks, the likelihood of an outbreak in their borders, the capability of the healthcare system, and the state’s ability to cooperate with the international community. The GHS Index reports that all countries, even high-income countries, are not prepared for a pandemic, and 75% of countries received “very low” preparedness scores. In 2005, The World Health Organization revised the International Health Regulations (IHRs) to prevent and mitigate the spread of contagious diseases without interfering with trade. According to the CDC, no member of the WHO is in compliance with the IHS regulations. These measures are not promising, but what improvements can be made?
At the Fast Company Innovation Festival in October of 2020, global health experts gave several recommendations regarding what states can do to prevent another pandemic. As a preventative measure, there must be a system to detect the outbreak of a new health crisis that covers the whole world. It is particularly important that states do not overlook their rural populations when creating this system. People living near wilderness have a higher chance of contracting a new zoonotic disease. A zoonotic disease refers to an illness that is transmitted from an animal to a human, and most health crises over the last century have been caused by these kinds of diseases. States must also create more facilities where vaccines can be stored and distributed. Again, it is vital that no community is overlooked when these facilities are implemented.
Adding these new facilities may be less expensive than it seems. The United States would need “only $15-20 million over the next 5-10 years” to securitize the healthcare system. To put this number into perspective, the U.S. military budget is upwards of $700 billion dollars. Experts agree that securitizing healthcare would take both public and private funding, but the cost would remain relatively low. This investment would benefit the U.S. in more ways than one. A more secure healthcare system would protect against natural outbreaks, biological warfare, and bioterrorism, which are security threats that the U.S. has proven itself unprepared to handle.
Following the pandemic, states can take strategic steps to better protect against viral outbreaks. The WHO administers Joint External Evaluations on each country to gauge what health supplies they lack, as well as what they have in excess that can be shared with countries in need. Each state should participate in these evaluations and improve what they can. The Global Health Security Agenda, an organization that increases information sharing, accountability, and sustainable development in the health sectors of all member countries, has committed 100 countries to improving their healthcare systems in strategic ways before 2024. Following the recommendations of health organizations like the WHO and the GHSA is the best way for states to improve their healthcare systems.
Preventing the next pandemic may not be possible, but states can still increase preparedness to mitigate the damage. As of now, there is no reason to believe that the world is better prepared for the next pandemic than it was for the coronavirus. To end the cycle of “Panic-and-Forget,” states must act quickly after the pandemic to securitize their healthcare system. If states promise to meet the International Health Regulations, and other international health standards, it will lessen the chance of another severe outbreak. However, if states choose not to change their behavior, the next pandemic will be equally devastating as the coronavirus.
