Preparedness also means ensuring public services have the resilience to handle a crisis.
The policy levers available to governments are inevitably defined by the state of those
services—Germany, for instance, faced the pandemic with twice as many nurses per
person as Britain. Covid-19 has exposed parts of our societies left fragile by
underinvestment and government mismanagement.
One lesson for all countries, regardless of how they performed individually, is the need
for better global co-operation. In Britain we are rightly proud of the leading work being
done here on vaccine development. But it should not matter where a vaccine is found.
The World Health Organisation is right to urge a focus on global distribution. Without it,
one country might become safe, but the virus will not be beaten and the global economy
will not recover.
It beggars belief that in the biggest health crisis in living memory, the G20 leaders held
just one emergency meeting, in March, while the G7 replaced a summit with a one-hour
video call. World leaders have the capability, as we all do, to meet remotely. Considering
the impact of co-ordination during the financial crisis in 2008, not to do so now feels
like a failure of leadership. In 2021 countries must get around the table—showing
leadership, speed and preparedness—and take co-ordinated action on health and the
economy. We can defeat this pandemic and build a better future, but we can only do it
together.
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