Raju Korti
It is much easier to remember all the precautions to keep the Corona at bay than to remember the name of the World Health Organization chief. Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the first non-physician and African to be drafted in the role has reasonably acceptable credentials. As someone who holds a Master's in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from the University of London and a PhD in Community Health, he can be accredited with enough understanding of the situation resulting from the pandemic the world is grappling to come to terms with. His utterances in the last few months, however, reveal that the politician in him surfaces more than the scientist. That may perhaps have something to do with his more-than-a decade stint as the Minister of Health and Foreign Affairs of his country. The hangover refuses to leave him even after three years of his new assignment.
Ghebreyesus has now warned nations against what he terms as "vaccine nationalism". Late yesterday, he argued that it would be in the interests of wealthier nations to ensure that vaccines against the virus were shared globally. The rationale was vaccine-hogging richer countries would not be safe corona virus havens if poor nations remain exposed. I am afraid the righteous tenor of this argument will be lost in the dubious reputation that WHO has acquired after a series of flip flops on the pandemic situation.
There is no denying that for the world to recover faster, it also has to recover together because it is a globalized world and the economies are intertwined. Part of it cannot be a safe refuge and recover. The virus has so far killed over 7 lakh people and is believed to have infected almost 19 million since the outbreak emerged in China last December. The WHO is faced with a much stiffer challenge this time with a host of countries frantically trying to pull out a vaccine but its chief seems to be weighed down by Washington's arm-twisting tactics. The US is WHO's biggest donor but the world body has been toeing a line that smacks of pro-China slant. Trump has accused the WHO of being China's stooge more than for its ineptitude in dealing with the pandemic. The WHO chief has on and off lauded China's efforts in 'containing the pandemic'. Political rhetoric apart the WHO is to blame for a situation of its own making.
From the faltering early response to the confusing and contradictory messages, the WHO has not given a sensible account of itself. Its soft approach towards China and delayed warnings about the spread of the virus has put a question mark on its role as the global health leader. If the US does go ahead and terminate its funding to the WHO, the latter will have little else to do than issuing pompous sermons. The WHO has been found wanting in taking stock of the rapidly evolving research findings and communicating about them, the latest being the flip flop on whether or not the virus is transmitted by asymptomatic persons. The confusion is worse confounded by conflicting findings emerging from different countries.
In its bid to play safe, the WHO lost its way completely. Determining which routes of transmission are driving most of the spread is crucial to devise right combat strategies. This is, however, not the first time that the WHO's opinion exposes lack of scientific temper. It has repeatedly said that airborne droplets or aerosols are not a significant factor in the spread although a growing body of evidence suggested otherwise. It also delayed endorsing masks claiming there was little evidence that they prevented transmission while scientists world over were insisting on the use of masks. It dilly dallied on the approach to gather scientific data. Lack of transparency and coordination only made matters worse. The signature campaign against Ghebreyesus is faster than the number of people getting infected. Possibly his head may roll if US has its way.
While the WHO plays the ping pong, the world is witnessing a rat race to find an effective vaccine. The Russians, Indians, English and the Americans among others are in tearing hurry -- and understandably so -- to get there first. At the moment everything about the arrival of a scientifically tested vaccine is in the realms of speculation. There is no way to know how this will play out in terms of global outreach since the stakes are high and knowing how the all-powerful pharma lobby will tun it into a money spinning device. By the time all the attempts go though the regulatory process of various trials, it could be well mid-2021.
Till then human health hangs to a fragile thread. "Vaccine nationalism" or not; the WHO will have left with no credibility to lose. It has hit rock bottom and there is nothing left to dig any more.
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