COVID-19 infections have now been detected in 176 nations, making the pandemic the most serious threat to humanity since World War II. Confidence in international collaboration and institutions reached unprecedented lows then, as it does now.
While the outbreak of World War II caught many people off guard, the coronavirus epidemic in December 2019 was a disaster that had been predicted. For decades, infectious disease experts have been warning about the increasing speed of outbreaks. Dengue fever, Ebola, SARS, H1N1, and Zika are just a few examples.
Over 12,000 verified outbreaks have infected and killed tens of millions of people worldwide since 1980, many of them the lowest of the poor. For the first time in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported outbreaks of six of its eight "priority diseases.” No one can say we weren’t warned.
Even as we deal with the numerous emergencies caused by COVID-19, we must consider why the international community was so unprepared for an outbreak that was unavoidable. This isn't the first time we've had to deal with global disasters.
Butterfly defect
As the world gets increasingly interconnected, it becomes more interdependent. This is globalization’s dark underbelly, the butterfly defect, which, if left unaddressed, would inevitably result in mounting, increasingly serious systemic problems.
The financial crisis of 2008 was one of the most vivid examples. The economic catastrophe revealed a serious lack of foresight on the part of government officials and professionals in dealing with the expanding complexities of the global financial system. Not surprise, the world's political and economic elite's recklessness cost them dearly at the polls. Populists swept to power, campaigning on an openly anti-globalization and anti-expert platform.
They have followed a historic practice, blaming foreigners and turning their backs on the outside world, bolstered by public fury. The US president, in particular, has rejected traditional friends and international institutions while dismissing scientific reasoning.With evidence of infections rising fast, most COVID-19's terrible human and economic impacts are increasingly recognized by national leaders. In the worst-case scenario, between 160 million to 210 million Americans will be infected by December 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Up to 21 million individuals may require hospitalization, with 200,000 to 1.7 million people dying within a year. According to Harvard University experts, anywhere between 20% and 60% of the world's population could be infected, with 14 million to 42 million people dying as a result.
Where the damage will be worst
The pandemic will have a disproportionately negative impact on poorer and more vulnerable people in many countries, emphasising the dangers of expanding inequality.
Over 60% of the adult population in the United States has a chronic illness. Around one out of every eight Americans lives in poverty, and over 44 million people in the United States have no health insurance at all.
In Latin America, Africa, and South Asia, where health systems are significantly weaker and governments are less able to respond, the issues are even more severe. These hidden dangers are exacerbated by politicians like Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Narendra Modi in India failing to take the matter seriously enough.
COVID-19 will have a huge economic impact all around the world. The severity of the consequences is determined by how long the pandemic lasts and how governments respond on a national and worldwide level. Even in the best-case scenario, it will dwarf the 2008 economic crisis in terms of scope and global impact, resulting in losses of more than $9 trillion, or more than 10% of global GDP.
The call for social isolation will be difficult, if not impossible, to follow in poor neighborhoods where many people share a single room and rely on going to work to put food on the table. As people's earnings decline, we should expect an increase in homelessness and hunger around the world.
A global Marshall plan
The pandemic's size and intensity necessitate strong solutions. Some European governments have unveiled a package of measures aimed at preventing their economies from collapsing and offering a lifeline to businesses. In the United States, a $2 trillion relief plan was agreed upon, albeit this is likely only the beginning.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a watershed moment in national and international affairs. It highlights our interconnectedness and the fact that when danger strikes, we go to governments for help rather than the private sector.
Implications for political stability
Deteriorating economic conditions will have far-reaching ramifications for political and social stability at a time when faith in democracy is at an all-time low. Between leaders and citizens, there is already a huge trust gap. Citizens are receiving contradictory messages from some political figures who are delivering confused signals. This just adds to their skepticism of government officials and "experts."
This lack of confidence can make responding to the crisis at the national level much more difficult, and it has also harmed the global response to the pandemic.
Out of the awful fire of this pandemic, a new world order could be forged if we can work together inside our countries to priorities the needs of all our citizens, and internationally to eliminate the divides that have allowed pandemic threats to grow. We would not only have learned to halt the next epidemic, but also to handle climate change and other vital dangers, if we learned to cooperate.
CONCLUSION:
So, we can conclude this write-up as a Before and after World. Hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you!