Coronavirus, mpox and cholera: Is the world ready for a new pandemic? | Climate Crisis News

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 4.5 billion people around the world currently lack adequate access to essential health services.

This comes as more than 100,000 mpox cases and at least 200 deaths have been confirmed worldwide, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and the WHO has declared this an “infectious disease response”. Ta. public health emergency At the beginning of this year.

A cholera outbreak continues in Sudan alone, affecting around 15,000 people and at least 473 deaths, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

new Variants of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) It has spread to 27 countries and infected hundreds of people.

The 2024 World Economic Summit also revealed that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the leading cause of death worldwide, potentially killing 10 million people by 2050.

A report published earlier this year entitled “Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health'' found that by 2050, climate change could cause an additional 14.5 million deaths and a global estimated cost of $12.5 trillion. It is predicted that this could result in economic losses of up to 100%.

Health systems around the world are already under extra stress and could face an additional $1.1 trillion burden from the effects of climate change, the report added.

Al Jazeera spoke with Dr. Ahmed Ogwelu, Deputy Director of the United Nations Foundation's Global Health Strategy and former Deputy Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about the current state of health care and the risks of infection and disease. Around the world and whether the world has learned any lessons from the coronavirus pandemic.

Al Jazeera: Let's start with the general health situation in the world. What level of risk are we talking about when it comes to infections and diseases?

Ogwell: Considering global health, I think current temperatures pose a moderate risk. We are currently in the midst of a public health emergency of international concern with multi-country outbreaks of mpox. That means we need to step up our surveillance and ensure that we have the medical tools we need, and we need to improve the way we work together as a global community.

Second, the threat of disease as well as the number of outbreaks of diseases including smallpox, dengue, cholera, polio, etc. is increasing. And the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system remains. The world remains uncomfortable when it comes to health issues.

Finally, regarding the current geopolitical situation. We need to come together globally to address these issues, as they are of a very international and transnational nature. However, this situation still prevents a more unified front to tackle global health. The world is at moderate risk and could go either way depending on our actions as an international community.

A higher level of preparation is required. There are many things we can do to make the situation more comfortable.

Al Jazeera: You talked about preparedness. Is the world ready for another pandemic? Have we learned any lessons from the coronavirus?

Ogwell: Well, we didn't learn the lessons we should have learned from the coronavirus. See how we wore masks, washed our hands, sanitized, and kept our distance during the pandemic. Now the situation is completely forgotten. I rarely see people wearing masks even when they are sneezing. That's why we struggle to control things we should be able to do.

At the medical level, the systems we put in place would have been globally effective in dealing with potential disease outbreaks. These systems were folded when the coronavirus ended. For example, temperature measuring machines at airports. That means there is no very basic screening mechanism for people who have a fever.

At the policy level, during COVID-19, vaccines were being processed within six to seven months. But today, mpox has arrived and there is less urgency to try to control it. We have dengue, but we don't have the same urgency. Policymakers also don't seem forced to accept the lessons we should have learned from the coronavirus.

Al Jazeera: You mentioned mpox. What is the current situation regarding the spread of infection, and how worried should we be?

Ogwell: Today, with the ease of communication around the world, the risk of spread remains high. The route of infection for mpox is through close contact. Someone can easily transport or transfer it to another part of the world, setting off a chain that creates something bigger than what it currently is.

In this world, there are risks that can occur anywhere, no matter where they occur.

We need to take advantage of the lessons from coronavirus, Ebola and cholera. All of these outbreaks required solidarity across borders. Those who have the tools, resources, and knowledge needed to combat the outbreak should provide support.

Al Jazeera: This unity, the geopolitical nature of the world today, with so many wars and conflicts, doesn't really work, right? What impact does this have on the state of global health?

Ogwell: Well, the reality on the ground is very different from a perfect world where the above would work just fine. There is a humanitarian crisis, where people are living in extremely unhealthy conditions, forced to consume extremely unhealthy water and food, and breathe extremely unhealthy air. There are two risks.

The first is the risk of disease to affected communities, whether internally displaced persons or refugees from conflict and combat zones. Situations like this create a breeding ground for new superbugs. People there may be starting to get used to difficult conditions. As you begin to develop certain coping mechanisms, the bug inside you will also begin to adapt to the new situation. If it comes out into a community that is not under similar stressful conditions, it will be a new variant or a new type of resistance developed by those bugs. Whether it's a resistant variant or a more lethal variant, the rest of the world is immediately at risk. And these environments, conflict zones, can wreak havoc on other health systems around the world.

Al Jazeera: Does climate change also play a role in shaping these environments that you talked about?

Ogwell: Health faces climate change because climate change manifests itself in painful ways. Due to these climate changes, even areas that had not experienced specific diseases have become areas where diseases that used to occur only in specific places become widespread.

It is also [duration] Conditions that cause disease. If a flood occurs and the large amount of water stays for only a few hours, there is little chance of contracting a water-borne illness. However, if it continues for a long time, it can have an impact on the local community.

As climate change continues to rage around the world, communities are suffering for a long time. Natural disasters create conditions in which diseases can proliferate.

Areas such as forests and glaciers have also become more exposed to human encroachment. If you go to a cave, forest, or deep sea that you have never been to before, you may find insects and pathogens that humans have never encountered before. Due to the interaction caused by climate change, these bugs, pathogens, animals, and insects are entering humanity and starting to cause diseases that we have never seen before.

Al Jazeera: Let's talk about healthcare. Approximately 4.5 billion people currently lack adequate access to essential health services. Why is healthcare such a luxury?

Ogwell: This is due to government investment in the healthcare sector. Most governments have very low levels of investment in the region, which means vulnerable populations do not have access to quality healthcare.

The second reason is the commercialization of healthcare. It has become so commercialized that governments in some jurisdictions are actually abolishing health services. The population would then be less well-off, and vulnerable people would not have access to adequate health care, if at all.

Commercialization must be kept within certain conditions and boundaries so as not to burden vulnerable populations.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.