Now that the world is in the post-pandemic phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, there is much talk about learning lessons so that we do not repeat the mistakes that were so costly to societies around the world.
Despite years of rehearsals, it is painfully clear that the world was unprepared for a fast-moving outbreak of a novel infectious disease.
The global response was dire, even as countries failed their own citizens.
Our collective response was marked by failure of cooperation and coordination and, frankly, ugly nationalism that included vaccine hoarding and greed on the part of Western countries, which refused to share information, pathogens, and therapeutics.
Sinful response
In my view, the response was – to use a word that may seem old-fashioned and out of favour in some quarters – sinful.
The pandemic dramatically demonstrated our interconnectedness: no one is safe anywhere until everyone is safe everywhere.
We cannot be sure that the wave of infections caused by the second Omicron variant could have been avoided if the global south had been vaccinated more quickly, but we do know that international cooperation is not compatible with nationalism, xenophobia, and new forms of colonialism.
The world is badly in need of a globalisation that works for everyone. Our global humanity may be sharply divided, but our interdependence is inescapable.
The World Health Organization’s member states have realised that dramatic changes are necessary. They are now negotiating a Pandemic Accord, an international legal instrument that would provide a global framework to ensure equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
I think of it as a pandemic nonproliferation agreement aimed at helping each other and working together in the event of a new public health threat.
Threatened effort
But this effort is being threatened by a torrent of misinformation and disinformation, blatant lies, and percolating conspiracy theories.
Among the falsehoods are that the WHO would be empowered to strip member states of sovereignty, deploy armed troops to enforce mandatory vaccinations and lockdowns, and monitor people’s movements through digital passports. All of these claims are entirely false.
Countries themselves have proposed and are negotiating the Pandemic Accord, and they alone – not WHO – will be responsible for its requirements and, ultimately, for its success or failure.
