48 BEIJING REVIEW MARCH 26, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com
ESSAY
The author is an associate professor at the School of Government,
Beijing Normal University
Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar
Comments to yanwei#bjreview.comHanging Together
By Wang Lei
N
o country or region is immune to ravaging diseas-
es. With the global spread of the novel coronavirus
disease (COVID-19), it is urgent to strengthen
solidarity to Ķ ght the pandemic. Many international orga-
nizations have called for unity and cooperation among
countries. There should be no beggar-thy-neighbor
thinking, selĶ shness or indifference.
All countries should provide updates on the disease
scenario on their home turf at the earliest and in an open
and transparent manner. They should enhance coordina-
tion and cooperation at the regional and global level to
stop the spread of the virus.
Sharing of anti-epidemic experiences and measures
should be enhanced. In particular, innovative diagnosis and
treatment methods that can improve the ability to cope with
the new virus should be available internationally.
Scientific and technological collaboration should
also be strengthened. As different countries have ad-
vantages in different fields, joint research will enable
to develop the most effective drugs and vaccines the
fastest.
Assistance should be provided to the most affected
or vulnerable countries and regions. Since the outbreak,
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros
Ahanom Ghebreyesus has highlighted the necessity to
enhance the response for countries with a fragile health-
care system. These countries have relatively backward
emergency medical reserves and medical treatment
facilities. Their underdeveloped public broadcast systems
cannot properly disseminate information and messages
on prevention and control measures,
The socioeconomic development in most of these
countries is at a stage of transition or reform. The out-
break will not only directly threaten people’s health but
also disturb their development trajectory. Since it is
imperative to formulate effective policies and programs
to tackle the impact of the outbreak, countries with an
insufĶ cient governance capacity will fail to do so. A period
of lockdown will upset the balance between public health
security and economic development and may even lead
to social unrest in these countries.
Global assistance is thus particularly critical.
International organizations such as WHO and countries
with strong public health systems can help affected
developing countries establish a basic mechanism for
collecting, summarizing and analyzing information on
the epidemic. They should also be provided medical
supplies for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, if nec-
essary, as well as masks, gloves and disinfectants.
Open and transparent global information sharing, as
well as timely communication of experiences and plans
for effective diagnosis and treatment is needed. This will
help developing and less developed countries make
preparations accordingly and enhance their abilities.
The international community should objectively and
fairly evaluate and recognize the efforts of countries in
preventing and controlling the virus and not stigmatize
any country.
Viruses know no borders. Therefore everyone should
show empathy while countries with greater capabilities
should provide more help to Ķ ght the pandemic.
Public health security is an important part of the UN
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. According
to it, developed countries are obliged to provide more
Ķ nancial and technical support to poorer nations. They
should provide more Ķ nancial support to WHO and de-
veloping countries, help WHO coordinate international
efforts to accelerate research and development (R&D)
of vaccines, and provide financial assistance to poorer
countries and improve their public health systems.
Developed countries, with their advantages in scien-
tiĶ c R&D, should reduce the price of drugs and vaccines
and provide emergency assistance to the countries
needing it most. They can send experts to the WHO joint
team or to the developing countries directly, if the latter’s
governments call for such assistance. These experts can
help carry out epidemiological investigation and provide
medical advice.
Countries should respect the role of WHO in main-
taining global public health security, follow the principle
of multilateralism, participate in the global effort to defeat
the virus, and Ķ ght political hype or manipulation using
the epidemic as an excuse.
Since the outbreak, many countries have been
collaborating under the framework of WHO, which has
played an active role in sharing information, training
medical staff, and exchanging treatment plans and
prevention and control measures. This has accelerated
global cooperation on science and technology. The ef-
fective functioning of WHO as an international platform
has countered the current trend of unilateralism and
anti-globalization and consolidated multilateralism.
The international community is realizing that in this
era of globalization, we are all living in a community with
a shared future. The health, safety and wellbeing of every
person is closely connected. So strengthening interna-
tional cooperation to control the epidemic is the only
option. QViruses know
no borders.
Therefore
everyone should
show empathy
while countries
with greater
capabilities
should provide
more help to
fight the
pandemic