No other war can spread like Covid-19 which has effected 213 countries out of 215 countries of the world. Therefore, not only for the next two years but also for the upcoming period the world needs to strengthen WHO for future of the human being and this Covid-19 attack has opened the eyes of the world.
by Swadesh Roy
When almost two million human beings are affected by Covid-19, the death toll rises to one hundred and thirty-one thousand, and two-third of the population of the world is confined in their houses for saving their lives from the pandemic, it is not the suitable time to fight against World Health Organization (WHO). Despite, the world is sadly observing the leader of the most powerful country in the world, President Donald Trump, who has desperately started a fight against WHO. Mr. Trump accused WHO after observing its failure to adequately assess the outbreak when Covid-19 first emerged in the city of Wuhan in China. He also accused that “Had WHO done its job to get medical expertise into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency. The outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death rate and this world would have saved thousands of lives and avoided worldwide economic damage instead.”
There has been a political and economic war existing between China and the United States of America for the last two decades. It is also an obvious matter because when a `Thucydides Trap’ rises in the world, then a fight is a must between the rising power and the existing power. According to the history of the world, most of the `Thucydides Traps’ had been settled by the sword or canon. But it is the era of media now. So, the main portion of the war will be taken place in the media. The world has been observing China and America; who are constantly fighting against to take Covid-19 in the last two months in media.
Now, the leader of America has pushed back WHO at the side of China. Still, it is not clear why he has pushed back WHO in that way following this serious pandemic time. Yes, it is right. WHO has made some mistakes regarding Covid-19 or SARS-2. In 2003, SARS became epidemic in South-East Asia. It took more than one thousand people’s lives and three years of time in South-East Asia to control over the disease. Many of the scientists then expressed their deep concern that they have controlled SARS but SARS-2 may rise again. They conveyed its scientific cause also. At that time, it should have been the evident duty of WHO to start research regarding SARS-2. But they didn’t do it properly. Even they made some mistakes when this SARS-2 now named as Covid-19 attacked in China. Now, the people worldwide know that by the concern of WHO, this SARS-2 was called Covid-19 for avoiding the panic of the world; because if it was named SARS-2 it could have been created a panic in the world. In spite of that, now Covid-19 is not only the name of more panic than SARS but also the cause of more death than SARS. However, World Health Organization (WHO) could know that it is SARS-2, they would have been more serious and drawn more attention to the world. Unfortunately, they did not. Besides, observing the situation of Covid-19 in China with the highest attention WHO should alert the world and its leaders. Following all the evidence of the Covid-19 regarding human to human transmission, they should suggest the world to reduce or gradually cut off the transportation or the human travelling. If WHO had done that, Covid-19 would not have reached to this serious pandemic situation.
However, now it is not the time to fight to measure the past failure of WHO. Rather, it is time to strengthen WHO more. Because the world has to fight at least next one and half years even two years against Covid-19, sacrificing hundreds of thousand lives of human beings and damaging at least thirty percent (30%) of the world economy. That’s why, in the upcoming two years, the world leaders should behave in a way that they can make WHO as one of the most important organizations in the world. On the other hand, it can be said that not only for the next two years but also from today world leaders should think alike about WHO and make it more important organization of the UN than the Security Council. Because Security Council can stop only man-made war but our recent experience tells any epidemic or pandemic transmitted disease can be thousand times dangerous than any man-made war. No other war can spread like Covid-19 which has effected 213 countries out of 215 countries of the world. Therefore, not only for the next two years but also for the upcoming period the world needs to strengthen WHO for future of the human being and this Covid-19 attack has opened the eyes of the world.
In this situation, the American leader’s decision will pave the way of the world falling into more danger. Now it is time to defeat Covid-19 and the world should draw its main attention for useful activities. But if fifteen percent (15%) fund giver of WHO halts their fund, it must be a wrong path. The American leader can observe the world reaction after his decision. The President of American Medical Association (AMA) already called it a dangerous step in the wrong direction which will not help defeating Covid-19 easily. Bill Gates’s reaction is more direct than AMA President. He tweeted “Halting funding for World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds” Simultaneously the UN chief raised his voice by very right words. It was not the time to cut funds for WHO.
Moreover, now it is not the time for the world leaders to fight with one another and against World Health Organization as well. By the way, it cannot go with American leaders and Chinese leaders now. Because now it is the time for the two leaders to allocate more fund to WHO so that it can do its work more properly and broadly forgetting their past mistakes. It is the time for defeating the Covid-19 for the sake of the lives of all human beings of the world and the economy. It should be kept in mind that Covid-19 will raise the death toll in two ways; one, by the disease and another by starvation. So, these two big economy’s leaders should be more rational now for the human beings of the world. They have spent huge amount of money for the purpose of inventing and producing weapons. Now it is the time to cut off the budget of making weapons and allocate fund to fight against Covid-19 unitedly.
Swadesh Roy, Senior Journalist, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is a highest state award winning journalist and can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com
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