Why is there no global response to covid-19? | thearticle

Whatever the “known unknowns” of Coronavirus, we can be reasonably sure of two things; firstly, there will be another pandemic; and secondly we are a long way from the end of this one. On

the first I recall, as Minister responsible for Global Health at DfID during the serious Ebola outbreak in 2018, reading a prescient WHO report which said “What disease will emerge next or

where is not known. The only certainty is that novel pathogens will emerge in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries and regions”. Secondly, it appears likely that this pandemic has

some way to go. The brakes on a country cannot remain on indefinitely, and once we lift the simple injunction to “stay home”, it becomes more difficult — as we see in Leicester — to reimpose

it. We must therefore learn to live smartly with coronavirus, for a while. But now, Governments must learn from anyone with experience to offer, and should work collectively, not

exclusively, to ensure that we all stay safe. We know that this virus does not discriminate between types of government, and that leaders cannot wish it away. Europe and North America may

spend much time trying to draw conclusions from each other. These are similar states in terms of their economies, societies and sometimes healthcare systems. But I hope they will not

discriminate against knowledge from smaller, rather different states. As former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, I have kept in touch with states which have been able to

respond swiftly and creatively. Perhaps this is because of previous experience, with the Sars and Mers outbreaks a few years back. Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar

have all seen less than one per cent of their confirmed cases result in death — significantly lower than the UK. Six out of the 10 countries with the lowest Covid-19 death rate are in the

Middle East. They moved quickly. Bahrain was one of the first countries in the world to shut down all educational institutions, from kindergartens to universities, and to take rapid action

to ground flights until quarantine facilities were in place. When I visited in early March, I was surprised at the precautions in the airport — much stricter than Heathrow. By the end of

March, almost every GCC member country had suspended international passenger flights. They tested early. Bahrain ranks fifth in the world for testing per million, and used public buses as

mobile test centres for random testing. One in four people have already downloaded the BeAware app, which warns you if you’ve had close contact with an infected person. It is not just in

dealing with the medical aspects of the outbreak that we can learn from each other. when it comes to economic recovery, what else can we learn? Better digital infrastructure is crucial. The

speed of broadband — a feature of Boris Johnson’s election platform — is also seen as crucial in the Gulf states. Rapid digitalisation has meant that government and private sector employees

have been able to work remotely with minimal disruption. Bahrain’s government is shifting to the cloud. The UAE has been actively promoting the use of online platforms, while lifting

long-held restrictions on internet and certain social apps. Across the Gulf, citizens have been able to receive regular updates and critical information on all communication channels, from

government websites to their smartphones. So we should learn from all and we should work collectively. The world-wide scramble for PPE, and the fear that any vaccine might be jealously and

exclusively used are just two examples of what might hold back the sort of global arrangements that will be needed from now on. The World Health Organisation may have questions to answer,

(but, frankly, who doesn’t?), and a political blame game will send those with answers into retreat. A global response, from the G20 or elsewhere, is of the utmost importance — or else, next

time could be worse.