Iss 21 may 2021 -
“No Country will be safe until all Countries are”. This is the key message contained in the final report by the panel of 26 scientists set up by the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in his capacity as President of the G20, in view of tomorrow’s Global Health Summit, published on the EU Commission’s website.
The experts sitting on the Global Health Summit Scientific Expert Panel, co-chaired by Peter Piot, ‘special adviser’ of President Von der Leyen and by the President of the ISS, Silvio Brusaferro, drafted an evidence-based handbook containing the actions needed not only to put an end to the pandemic but also to improve our preparedness in view of the pandemic threats of the future. “We chart a path forward by identifying priority areas for immediate action: global equitable access to health supplies and medical tools against COVID-19 and other health threats, research and innovation, involvement of research groups in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), integrated disease surveillance and data sharing, science advice, health workforce and systems strengthening, regional manufacturing capacities, public trust, well-coordinated governance and financing, and sustainable health,” wrote the panel of scientists from all over the world.
The report also attempts to outline the future of the ongoing epidemic, underscoring the need for universal access to resources in order to control it: “The probable trajectory is for SARS-CoV-2 to become endemic, with seasonal outbreaks because of waning immunity, insufficient vaccination coverage globally, and/or the emergence of new viral variants, which are not controlled by current vaccines. Additional epidemic waves are likely, particularly in countries with low vaccination coverage. Global vaccine equity – and crucially widespread acceptance and efficient deployment – is both a moral imperative and critical for pandemic control.”
The world, the panel underscores, is entering an ‘age of pandemics’: “Efforts today to address COVID-19 should include investments and response measures that have the greatest potential for sustainably improved global health threat prevention, preparedness and response”.
“In order to reduce the risk of future pandemics, we also have to address the connection between healthcare crises, poverty, structural inequality and environmental degradation,” affirmed Silvio Brusaferro, president of the ISS, at the Summit. “The frequency and nature of the next pandemics strongly depends on our capacity to adopt sustainable lifestyles, implement sustainable development goals and have a 'One Health' approach. It is necessary to act now in order to put a stop to the epidemic; today’s investments will lay the grounds for having an adequate preparedness and response in the future.
