2023-05-23 18:24:00
The Covid-19 health emergency officially ended last year May 5, 2023. However, it does not mean that the coronavirus or other diseases have disappeared: there could be a new pandemic in the coming time and we must be prepared for it.
Shutterstock
Tedros Adhanom, Director of the WHO.
From 2019 to 2023, the coronavirus caused more than 600 million cases in the world and more than 6.8 million dead; something that modified the structure of families, societies and economies. It is to avert this crisis that the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, now urges world leaders to invest in prevention strategies that slow the development of a possible pandemic: “when the next pandemic arrives, which it will, we must be prepared to respond decisively, collectively and equitably”.
“The threat of another emerging pathogen with even deadlier potential remains.”
Diseases are not the only threats facing humanity, however, the end of the recent pandemic experience may cause: on the one hand, fatigue and neglect by governments and of the population, or, conversely, a increased investment in public healthin research and planning. This second option is the one that the WHO supports in its speech, which coincides at the same time with the Sustainable Development Goals raised for 2030.
Lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic
The organization has pointed out: “The pandemic has thrown us off course, but it has shown us why the ODS they must remain ours polar Star and why we must pursue them with the same urgency and determination with which we counter the pandemic”. In line with this, he highlights some of the advances that have been made in terms of health between 2017 and 2022:
- 133 Member States increased or introduced a new health tax on products that harm health, including tobacco and the drinks sugary.
- The WHO established a Council for Acceleration of Vaccine against Tuberculosis at the ministerial level, to bring new vaccines to the market as soon as possible.
- In 2021, more than 1.5 million children received the vaccine against malaria in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, leading to a 30% reduction in severe malaria and a 10% drop in child deaths.
- Since 2018, 477 million more people enjoy the benefits of the universal coverage of health.
These achievements are significant, but according to the WHO are not enough without effective structures that respond to emergencies of all kinds. Experts warn that it could soon appear a new variant lethal of the same virus or an unknown pathogen that requires immediate and forceful action, therefore appeal to the international community: “If we don’t make the changes that need to be made, who will? And if we don’t make them now, when?”
#issues #warning #pandemic