Covid-19 pandemic shows how all humanity is in the same boat – Chong Yap Seng and Swaine Chen

The world must unite against the global threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak, write Chong Yap Seng and Swaine Chen of the National University of Singapore.

We are all on the same ship, called Planet Earth, and we cannot hope to ride out pandemics unless we work together (Picture: Nasa via Getty Images)

Recently, the Washington Post published a sobering illustration of pandemics throughout history. The illustration showed that the number of pandemics in the last 102 years is equivalent to the number during the previous 2,000 years.

Of course, there are caveats. Data is more accessible. Surveillance is better. Diagnoses are more accurate. And we can detect smaller outbreaks with modern tools, including social media. But the trend is evident – especially when we consider that half the outbreaks occurring since 1900 have occurred in the last 20 years.

Even as the world is still coming to terms with the global human and economic devastation that Covid-19 has wrought, we can expect that the next pandemic is just around the corner with a disruptive force potentially as strong or stronger.

Our beloved planet is simply not coping with her most dangerous infestation – humans.

As the modern digital lives of humans become more interconnected, populations are also growing and concentrating dangerously in large urban centres. Modern transportation and logistics provide a physical network of connectivity that parallels the virtual one.

Yet, as the physical distance between humans narrows, our thirst for more space and natural resources leads us to encroach on new sparsely populated places, and exposure to previously unknown animals, plants, and microbes. This push accelerates the emergence and subsequent spread of novel infectious diseases.

In the last few months, we have seen images of almost Godzilla-like cruise ships floating the seas, refused entry to ports, while seriously ill passengers onboard died without the necessary medical attention. We have seen meat-processing plants shut down in the USA because most of its workers, in low-paid jobs, were infected.

Worshipers in churches, mosques, temples and synagogues around the world are infecting one another and triggering the spread of the disease in their own communities.

Imperative to learn how to manage pandemics

Here, in Singapore, the outbreaks in our foreign worker dormitories have tripled the number of local infections in just three weeks. We do not need much imagination to wonder what will happen next in over-populated prisons, refugee camps, and migrant detention centres around the world.

These are just a few examples of highly inflammable situations, which require careful monitoring and proactive regional and global policy alignment to diffuse.

On the economic side, Covid-19 could end up costing the world close to $10 trillion, with millions of unemployed and furloughed workers. Even after Covid-19 passes, the recovery will be slow. A new way of doing business is likely to emerge, which relies less on labour, creating another long-term employment challenge.

Simply stated, we are learning that pandemics are one of the most dangerous threats to our modern, congested, interdependent world. It is imperative that we finally learn how to manage them. The world has had over 2,000 years of practice and we still have not got it right.

Covid-19 must be our wake-up call. To be effective, our leaders must act collectively and swiftly. The message is clear: no matter how effective local public health authorities are, we need to respond globally in a deliberate, organised and complementary manner.

Pandemic preparedness plans must be constantly ready and coordinated globally. But before even this current crisis subsides, we must start identifying the best and worst public health responses, while accounting for differences in cultures and political models.

Political attacks on the WHO

There will be ample data for academics and policy makers to sift through. It is a golden opportunity and we must seize it this time around.

Like many international organisations, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has had a chequered history. Its response to Ebola was relatively slow. But then, the WHO was never given the necessary mandate to achieve its mission.

Underfunded and treated poorly by some members, the WHO is regularly subject to political attacks. It is essential that the WHO is not perceived weak.

With the bulk of its funding originating from three sources, it is imperative that the funding becomes more diverse. Furthermore, a smaller and reformed WHO that is much more focused will make it a stronger organisation. This is a good time to revisit its organisational structure and mission statement.

Yet, with all its limitations and challenges, the WHO is the most suitable organisation currently to convene a global conference to prepare for the next pandemic and to keep the subject on the front page. The world has forgotten too many past threats. We cannot forget again.

Once Covid-19 is behind us, leaders around the planet must convene a global forum to help the world become pandemic-ready and pandemic-resistant. This is a planetary problem that involves humans, animals, plants, microbes, agriculture, business, science, technology, ecology, and the economy.

The global community must act collectively and decisively in a trans-disciplinary fashion.

We are all on the same ship and we cannot disembark. Our only hope is to come out of our individual cabins and work together to keep afloat. Two thousand years of outbreaks and pandemics. Can we finally learn?

Chong Yap Seng is professor and dean of the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Swaine Chen is an associate professor at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and group leader of infectious diseases at the Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR.

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