UN Proclaiming December 27 as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

The United Nations has announced December 27 as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. The declaration has come almost after a year of suffering from coronavirus.

December 27 is the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness

Almost a year is over, but the pandemic remains unabated. The spike in the covid-19 cases worldwide has led to fresh lockdowns in many states of the US and the UK. 

Vaccination is expected to start in mid-December in the US. The UK is also gearing up for the vaccination process from December itself. The US is claiming that the vaccination is 95% effective. On the other hand, the UK is claiming that its vaccine is 70% effective. The fact is that nobody knows the truth. 

The general assembly of the United Nations announced December 27 as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. They announced with a specific reason in mind. They wanted to highlight the necessity to forge partnerships and prevent epidemics. The Covid-19 has made people aware of the fact human-made viruses are the most dangerous of all. 

The announcement came after several world leaders attended an online session of the international body concerning the pandemic.

The international repute leaders demanded prompt action for the fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines in the online meeting last week.

Vietnam’s UN Ambassador, Dang Dinh Quy, made a strong statement in the online meeting. He said that covid-19 is not the first pandemic in this world. If you look back in history, pandemics have ravaged the world and taken millions of lives in every century. So it can be expected that there will be another pandemic in the next century. And in the worst scenario, there can be another pandemic in this century only. Nobody knows what can happen next. 

Several countries are blaming China for the pandemic. They believe that the Covid-19 virus originated in a lab in China. But there is no substantial evidence to prove it. Furthermore, any country can create another human-made virus to cripple the global economy in the future also. What will we do then?

Pandemics will be there in the future also. Covid-19 has caught us off guard. The entire world was entirely unprepared for it. Hence so many people lost their lives in the last year. The death tolls are still rising. 

Covid-19 has acted as a wake-up call for all of us. It has made it clear that we cannot adopt a laid-back attitude anymore. We have to be prepared for this kind of pandemic in the future also.

The death toll has crossed 1.5 million in the entire world. However, it does not include the unreported death cases of the world. Coronavirus was first detected in China in 2019. A year has passed, but there is no sign of infection going away. The total number of active covid-19 cases is more than 67.5 million. Around 43 million people have recovered. 

The whole world needs to stand united now

Selfishness will not lead us anywhere. Jealousy and love for power without any spiritual upliftment would lead to devastation. Pandemic has taught this lesson to all of us. Around 193 leaders who attended the online meeting expressed their grave concern for human lives. The dignity of human life is not there, and this should be stopped. They demanded the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness with one clear goal. And what is that goal? The goal is to facilitate the transmission of scientific knowledge amongst all the countries to protect from Covid-19. The leaders called for the need to share the best practices for preventing pandemics in the world. We need to stand united and help each other to stop this pandemic from taking any more lives. The adage united we stand, divided we fall is apt in this scenario.

Unless we stop thinking about our benefits, it is impossible to combat this pandemic. Countries have to come together and stand United during this emergency. The best brains of the world are working hard on the vaccines. Once the vaccines are out, countries should share the formula to stop this pandemic. International leaders should stop thinking about politics right now. The whole world needs vaccines. As such, the UN fails to have a fair distribution of the vaccines so that not a single country is left out.

Conclusion 

It is good that the UN has declared a day for the preparedness of the pandemic. Pandemics wreak havoc on the socio-economic condition of the world. Covid-19 has already collapsed the health system of the countries. There is a shortage of beds for the patients. Many patients are suffering from different diseases, but they are not getting beds. Hospitals and medical staff are overburdened. They cannot take it anymore.

Millions of people have lost jobs due to the pandemic. Many companies have been shut down. The global supply chains cannot operate like before. People are without food and money. Many people have two choices, especially in underdeveloped countries. They have to either choose their livelihood or their life.

It is high time countries restart working to prepare themselves for any future pandemic. It takes time to make a vaccine. Let us not forget that vaccines have side effects. The scientists of the US and the UK have developed vaccines. But only time will tell if dose vaccines are sufficient enough to give protection against coronavirus.

If all the countries start working from now to develop a vaccine that will protect against any viral infection, the world may save millions of people in the future. Each life is precious. Each life contains unlimited potentiality to make this world a better place to live in. So we need to protect each life. 

The UN’s resolution is a much-awaited one. Hopefully, it will help to make this world more robust and resilient in the future. It is high time all the United Nations members work towards creating a better world for our future generation.