In a world which has become smaller, with all countries connected to each other economically but also physically through travel, all regions of the world need a functioning health care system to protect us from pandemics like COVID-19. But for the largest states, such as China and India, this is even more important, since the number of their citizens is so large. Here is what needs to be done in India and the rest of the world, to protect the global population, according to one of its health leader.
What India Needs to Create a Sustainable Healthcare System
According to the Director of the AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), India needs to invest heavily on its health infrastructure, if they want to help the world in its fight to become a pandemic-resistant planet. When he presented his views in a virtual event organized by PAFI (Public Affairs Forum of India), he kept coming back to the project “One Health”, as created by WHO (the World Health Organisation); a collaborative effort that needs to be done locally, nationally and globally to keep the world safe, health wise.
To have a pandemic-resistant world, means that we need to work on a protection system that will prevent future ones from happening; not just react to the next that might come our way, said Dr. Guleria. That is why three themes need to be developed in India’s health system, according to him, to save us all from going through another such episode. They are: Surveillance, containment and collaboration.
All Countries of the World Fighting Against Pandemics as One
By joining hands, it should be possible to create a large network of surveillance across the world. This can be done by being proactive and by investing in global health infrastructures worldwide. That way, the global community will become better at preventing pandemics to happen.
Innovation has to become a key element in the fight towards pandemics. By bringing in new technologies and by changing our ways of protecting citizens, we can contain pandemics more rapidly and efficiently than we seem to be doing now. Tele-health is a good example of what should become common in the health sector, but is not gaining enough ground, rapidly.
Finally, there needs to be more data sharing between all health organisations around the world. By joining in studies and keeping a close eye in each country on the various viruses coming up, we can prepare and protect the global population much better than if every nation goes about it solo.