Coronavirus – an Opportunity to Pursue Global Health, Societal Justice, and Progress.

Posted on | February 25, 2020 | Comments Off on Coronavirus – an Opportunity to Pursue Global Health, Societal Justice, and Progress.

Mike Magee

The emergence of the novel coronavirus, and its evolution into a pandemic threat, are sending shock waves across the globe. The discussions between government, academics, non-governmental organizations and industry reflect the common belief that no one sector can address such a complex challenge in isolation.

The rapid advance of technology and human migration have accelerated globalization, regionalization and the rate of change in social institutions while virtually disintegrating geographic boundaries. Success in forming stable and productive cross-sector relationships will largely determine the extent to which we are able to ensure global health, societal justice and progress.

Without new cooperative approaches, we find ourselves at cross-purposes and at risk. For paradoxically, expanding the flow of information and creating the expectation, and in time the reality of free and equal access to knowledge, has placed the spot light on glaring inequalities and human needs that are no longer politically tenable.

Human health requires optimistic leaders with the expertise and willingness to commit, and a reservoir of good will among the players to support both innovation and implementation of the common vision, structural integration, joint governance and ongoing civic engagement.

Human health requires accurate information and baseline data that clearly define the challenges and serve as a foundation for future reasonable outcomes. It is not enough to marshal human resources. There must be an established organizational capacity, processes, and oversight to ensure that the human effort translates into a highly coordinate and effective service result.

Human health also demands long-term sustainability. A lack of clarity undermines operational execution, measurement, communications, and long term planning. The prejudice should always be toward early organization and prevention, health consumerism and relationship based care, elimination of health disparities, and an integrated vision of health as the leading edge of development.

The obstacles to success in combating coronavirus are a microcosm of global health challenges writ large. These include absence of top level leadership, basic disagreements on the fundamental scientific underpinnings, absence of strong prevention programming, hidden political agendas, exclusion of key sectors, and failure to identify a key issue and address it proactively.

Government, business, academics and non-governmental organizations are increasingly overlapping in the areas of social purpose. Addressing coronavirus effectively is both a challenge and an opportunity. The ability to significantly organize their varied and often complimentary skills and resources could significantly benefit societies worldwide.