The novel coronavirus took the world by storm in 2020. It started infecting people in China in November of 2019 and caused what we now refer to as the COVID-19 pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 disrupted the lives of people worldwide, infected more than 81 million people and killed nearly 1.8 million people.
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat that may set back global health progress, which researchers and scientists achieved over the last 20 years. This includes fighting infectious diseases and improving child health and maternal care. As we move into 2021, there is a global effort to fight COVID-19 in order to regain some facsimile of normal life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), countries around the world have to strive to boost health care systems to prevent future life-threatening diseases. In addition to the WHO, other health organizations aim to address other societal and environmental issues that affect global health.
Advanced Global Health
Nobody is safe until every person is safe. Too many people live in areas that don’t have sufficient health care systems. This played a large role in COVID-19 related tragedies. The WHO wants to ensure that every person on the planet has access to essential health care services. Additionally, nobody should experience poverty as a result of seeking healthcare. This will hopefully encourage countries around the world to change current healthcare plans.
More COVID-19 Testing And Accessibility To Vaccine
Currently, there are two vaccines for COVID-19. A priority in 2021 is for every country to offer these vaccines to every single person to prevent the continued spread of COVID-19. Tests, medicines, and vaccines have to be accessible to countries in dire need. Countries that didn’t handle the COVID-19 pandemic correctly hope to benefit from the new vaccines and increased testing. Unfortunately, there are key questions that remain unanswered about the COVID-19 vaccines. Only time will tell how long they offer protection and the side effects they cause.
The U.S. Isn’t Pulling Out Of The WHO
President Trump served notice that the U.S. would pull out of the United Nations’ health agency in July 2021. Well, President-elect Joe Biden made it clear that he will not withdraw after his inauguration. The WHO would have lost one of the biggest revenue sources if the U.S. pulled out. In 2021, the goal is to recast some rules that the U.S. currently functions under.
Prevention Of Non Communicable Diseases
According to statistics, seven of the top ten leading causes of death in 2019 were caused by non-communicable diseases. These diseases include cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases. It’s imperative that people worldwide have proper screenings and treatments that help people detect and recover from these diseases.
Collaboration For Collective Health Security
In order for everyone in the world to be healthy and safe, all countries have to be on the same page for health security. Building worldwide health security will hopefully restore strength to areas that were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to form newer, stronger relationships across country boarders that expand the health care workforce. In doing so, the WHO hopes that this alleviates future global health emergencies.
