Coronavirus and Common Humanity
The public health emergency posed by the scary spread of coronavirus is another chilling reminder of the often ignored primacy of our common humanity. Only two days ago, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was reported at the headquarters of the organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, to have put the picture of things this way:
“Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real.”
Now, the WHO definition of a pandemic is “a worldwide spread of a new disease.”
Indeed, the projection from Geneva is grim. But, with the over 110,000 cases and the spread in more than 100 countries, Ghebreyesus, the Ethiopian scholar who is the first African to head WHO, can hardly be accused of sounding alarmist in the circumstance.
To be sure, Ghebreyesus is generally perceived to be doing a good job of coordinating the global efforts to control the coronavirus disease.
In any case, the good news, according to Ghebreyesus, is also this: “It would be the first pandemic in history that could be controlled. The bottom line is we are not at the mercy of the virus.”
The logic of a pandemic is that the disease is a threat to “all the people” as the Greek origin of the word suggests.
While the news from China, the epicentre of the coronavirus disaster, is that the virus seems to be slowing in the largest country, the spread of the disease is actually picking up elsewhere. The whole of Italy in on lockdown. Italy and Iran have each reported more than 7, 000 cases. China, South Korea, Italy and Iran account for 93% coronavirus cases so far reported globally.
The impact of the virus on the economies of these countries that are more developed than Nigeria is quite evident.
Critical observers have blamed some of them for the level of preparedness and the effectiveness of the response as the economy and society of each country get threatened by the spread of the virus.
The epidemic is also said to be causing the American economic system a stress for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. Following reports of 29 deaths out of about 800 reported cases, an American observer has described this coronavirus moment in the U.S. as being akin to “swimming naked’ while the “tide has just gone out.’’
The observer is, of course, referring to the enormous impact of the spread of the virus on supply chains, travels and tourism. It has been described as the severest stress on the financial system in 11 years. Conferences are being cancelled. Schools are shut. Productive activities are disrupted. With the restriction of movements in some states workers cannot report for duty.
Top hospitals in the U.S. are gearing up for the outbreak of the disease in different areas as difficult times are envisaged. The State of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency yesterday as the number of ”presumptive cases ‘” in the state rose to 92. Rhode Island had declared a state of emergency a day earlier with many events cancelled in the state. Added to the gloomy picture are the reported cases of “community transmission,” in parts of the U.S. These are cases not traceable to those who have travelled to countries where coronavirus disease has been reported.
As a result of the spread of the virus in the U.S. President Donald Trump may be facing one the worst crises since he got to White House. Vice President Mike has been put in charge of tackling the problem. The president is, however, optimistic that the virus “will go away.”
The American president is working on an economic stimulus package which he hopes to negotiate with the congress. Among the measures are payroll tax cut and a law to protect hourly wage workers and support to those in hospitality business.
Meanwhile, pundits are busy building scenarios – bankruptcies, job losses and a possible economic recession.
The logic of Trump’s response is that of state intervention in a moment of crisis. That is central to the business of governance. He is considering how the more vulnerable members of the society and the most adversely affected sectors of the economy could be assisted in recovering from the crisis. Coronavirus is proving to the chief priest of the “America First” religion that America, in fact, shares common humanity interests with other countries including China. In the eyes of T rump China is that economic rival that should be contained by all means. But it is the spread of a virus that should rather be contained at this time and not any country.
In fact, some media reports have suggested that even the American President himself might need to be tested for the virus having being in contact with some congressmen who are have isolated themselves as precautionary measures against the spread of the disease in the U.S.
The British health minister, Nadine Dorries, is
Issa Aremu in self-solation having tested positive to the virus.
The point at issue is this: the outbreak of a disease reported in China a few months ago is already triggering socio- economic crisis in America, Europe, Africa and Asia. There is indeed something common about humanity!
In rich and poor countries alike the public health crisis generated by the coronavirus is turning into economic crisis. Globally, this crisis should again temper the isolationist and separatist impulse to downplay the commonality of interests of mankind. The crisis also teaches a sobering lesson about the essence of cooperation.
In terms of the imperative of cooperation and human solidarity the coronavirus disease is like the previous Public Health Emergencies of International Concerns (PHEICs), environment, insecurity, disasters etc. These crises would not be solved by nations indulging in narrow economic calculus in order to “compete more effectively” and injure the interests of others. More often than not these crises constitute a proof that all nations are actually in the same boat. The fate of mankind as a whole would be determined by those forces which require more of international cooperation than isolated and antagonistic actions in different locales.
Before the discontents of globalisation became manifest, capitalists only talked about the movement of capital, commodities and expansion of markets. The movement of human beings across national borders was not considered a central part of globalisation. That’s why whole countries are merely referred to as “emerging markets.” But these are actually societies whose members have basic needs that should be met as a condition for human progress.
To prevent the movement of people like the movement of capital, walls are being erected by the right-wing populists. With Trump in America, Brexit in the UK and the populist surge in other parts the of Europe an anti-immigrant ferment is prevalent.
Despite this trend, human beings are bound to move across the borders with all the varied implications. The inevitable movement of human beings across borders is now spreading the virus. Yet, mankind will always have commonality of interests that should engender cooperation rather than adversarial tendencies.
Another thing that the coronavirus crisis has demonstrated is that every nation needs a government that has the capacity to govern. When the chips are down it’s to the government everybody turns for leadership. And it is the duty of the leadership to give a direction in moments of crisis. China is doing that with the efforts to slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease. A huge hospital with hundreds of beds was built in matters of days to manage things in the course of the emergency.
Public sector institutions should be made strong to respond to emergencies. The capacity to respond to this type of emergency is, of course, determined by the cumulative investments in the social sector. In this particular situation, the ability of a country to respond effectively would be partly determined by the capacity of the healthcare delivery system and the effectiveness of health policies.
After all, experts say that some medical conditions, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and respiratory disease could put people at a higher risk for death. The existing healthcare for the elderly could aIso be a factor. For instance, in China the death rates among people over 80 is reported to be highest at over 20%.
There is the legitimate anxiety in many quarters that if richer and more developed countries appear ravaged by the disease , poorer countries such as Nigeria should take things more seriously as part of the common humanity. With only two reported cases Nigeria may still be considered lucky compared to countries with thousands of cases. However, luck alone may not be enough this time round.
In the global chain of the direly needed resistance to the looming pandemic , the poor countries could constitute the weakest links.
Nigeria must be prepared to improve on its widely acknowledged performance during the Ebola crisis. Those things that that were done right should be done better this time round especially the management of information and the sensitisation of the public to take precautionary steps against the disease. Lessons should also be learnt from the errors of the past.
For instance, in social and political terms, there must be unity of purpose is seeing the public health crisis as a common enemy. The commonality of purpose should always be in focus. The virus doesn’t distinguish between the supporter of the government and a member of the opposition. Take the example of Italy. In imposing a lockdown on the country, there is no distinction between the north and south of the country. The disease is no respecter of east-west boundaries.
The economic consequences of the public health challenge may even be more devastating for the poor countries. Worse still, the coronavirus crisis is happening amidst a plunge in oil prices.
In this respect, Nigeria should maintain the synergy of purpose with WHO and other countries as it girds its loins for the eventuality of the pandemic projected by Ghebreyesus.