Global unity can outmanoeuvre this deadly virus

Both the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis are global problems, and they require global co-operation and solidarity. In other words, sharing of information and experience is vital.

That’s the big advantage of humans over viruses. A coronavirus in China and a coronavirus in the US cannot swap tips on how to infect humans. But China can teach the US valuable lessons about the virus and how to deal with it. What an Italian doctor discovers in Milan in the early morning might well save lives in Tehran by evening.

When the UK government hesitates between several policies, it can get advice from the South Koreans, who faced a similar dilemma a month ago. But for this to happen, we need an indomitable spirit of global co-operation, co-ordination and, most important, trust.

Facing a massive battle of life and death, countries should be willing to share information openly and humbly seek advice. They should be able to trust science and data and the insights they receive.

Furthermore, we should as a global collective pull together in one gigantic effort to produce and distribute medical equipment, notably ventilators, hazmat suits and testing kits — instead of every country trying to do it locally and hoarding whatever equipment it lays its hands on. A global effort could greatly accelerate production and make sure life-saving equipment is distributed more fairly.

As when countries repurpose and nationalise key industries during a war, the human war against the coronavirus may demand that we humanise crucial production lines. A rich country with fewer cases of the virus should be willing to send crucial life-saving equipment to a poorer country with many cases.

There could also be a global effort to pool medical personnel. Countries that are less affected could send medical teams to the hardest-hit regions, both to help them and to gain valuable lessons and practical experience.

Global co-operation is also badly needed on the economic front. Given the global nature of the economy and of supply chains that have been greatly affected by the necessary lockdowns, if each government does its own thing in disregard of the others, the result will be chaos. A global plan is urgently needed to provide economic stimulus to the

African economies that are already on the back foot.

There is also a need to reach a global agreement on international travel.

Suspending all international travel for months will cause tremendous hardship and will imperil the war against the virus. Countries need to facilitate at least a trickle of essential travellers such as medical personnel and scientists.

Unfortunately, at the moment countries are hardly doing any of these things. A paralysis has gripped the international community. One would have expected to see a virtual meeting of global leaders, with the World Health Organisation and the UN at the centre of it, for this pandemic has the potential to imperil global security and regional peace. If leadership is not provided at this critical moment, this pandemic’s legacy will poison international relations for years to come.

Africa, which by and large has poorly resourced healthcare facilities and the burden of viral diseases, will be hardest hit by this new and deadly pathogen.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, the chair of the AU, needs to be commended for his leadership for the virtual meeting of the AU bureau of heads of state and government he convened recently to discuss the continent’s response to the pandemic. It is hoped that the AU, through such meetings, has given a sense of direction to the continent by developing a strategy to match the scale of this pandemic, thereby mobilising the resources to ensure Africa is not left at its mercy.

We must hope that the pandemic will help humankind realise the acute danger posed by global disunity. The best way in this instance is to choose the path of global solidarity, which will afford us the possibility to triumph not only against the coronavirus, but against all future epidemics.

Africa, which has poorly resourced health-care facilities, will be hardest hit