"No One is Safe, Until Everyone is"

"No one is safe, until everyone is safe."

About a year ago, we saw the first recorded cases of COVID-19. Since then the virus has devastated communities, systems and economies. For much of the world, and especially for vulnerable populations, the past 12 months have been marred by insecurity and hardship. With the advent of the same goal of eradicating the worst epidemic in the century, there has been an unprecedented collaboration between scientists to develop effective COVID-19 vaccines and therapies.

But innovation must go hand in hand with equitable investment and immediate action to strengthen the systems needed to deliver safe and effective policies around the world to billions of people. Without significant investment in equity, distribution and equitable access, COVID-19 goals and treatments will remain inaccessible to most people, especially in communities that are already struggling to cope with the effects of the epidemic.

There have been promising signs of the kind of leadership needed for a successful response.

Extensive cooperation with COVAX - an international effort involving more than 180 countries to promote equal access to COVID-19 vaccines - and The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator - a global partnership to accelerate development, production , and equality. access to COVID-19 trials, treatments and vaccines - shows that many recognize the need for unity in building a systematic, global response. At the same time, some countries, such as Japan, have already taken important steps to prepare the national programs needed to provide free COVID-19 policies for all, prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable and vulnerable. Many low- and middle-income countries, however, when COVID-19 causes significant health problems, do not have the capacity to do the same.

A concerted international effort is required.

The UN Secretary-General recently noted that ending the global epidemic will require continued investment in health programs and a renewed commitment to a lifelong commitment, urging countries to ensure that health care technology is accessible and accessible to all who need it.

We have seen how weak health systems can hinder the epidemic response.

The 2018 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo proved to be difficult to eradicate as many vaccines were used in conjunction with other public health tools due to ongoing conflicts, vaccination doubts and underdeveloped health systems. We have written that ensuring proper access to health care will give the world a real opportunity to “stop the outbreak of the next deadly disease before it happens” a few months before the first recorded cases of COVID-19 in 2019.

The continued spread of COVID-19 and the exposure of our fragile health systems clearly show that the world is getting shorter. But there is still time to make sure that we can deliver the vaccines and treatments to the communities that need them, and that those communities are ready to receive them.

Countries such as Japan, which have a lifelong commitment and a strong focus on the development of health systems, provide a road map of how we should work together to make global goal readiness a reality. The Government of Japan is collaborating with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on two interconnected programs that are critical to the provision of health care worldwide: to promote research and development of health services that can be met and to facilitate access to and delivery of medicines, diagnostics and vaccines.

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT) is a public-private partnership that works to accelerate the discovery and development of health technologies for tropical diseases, tuberculosis and malaria. The Access and Delivery Partnership (ADP) accompanies this work by bringing together the World Health Organization, the Specialized Epidemiology Research and Training Program and PATH to help low- and middle-income countries strengthen their health systems so that health technology can reach countries. people who need them.

Together, GHIT and ADP show that by investing in both research and development and health programs, we can make rapid progress in equitable access to care, end the COVID-19 epidemic and prepare for future health emergencies. Countries with higher incomes - such as Japan - must unite to increase support for new partnerships such as GHIT, ADP and COVAX so that all countries can emerge from this epidemic safer and more powerful than ever.

There are both human and economic implications: Recent research has shown that the unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines could cost the world economy up to $ 1.2 trillion. Countries must unite and avoid the temptation to "nationalism," because the lives of people and the economy will not be secure until everyone, everywhere, receives the tools needed to end the epidemic.

New technological advances are important in curbing the spread of COVID-19, but it is not a silver coin. The health, development and security of people around the world will be in grave danger if communities do not have access to timely access to both new and sustainable health systems. Global health care is also important in addressing inequality. Investing in robust health systems and accelerating progress towards global health access through domestic efforts and global partnerships will ensure closing the gap between rich and poor, as well as a smooth and equitable distribution of health technologies, while helping to protect everyone from the epidemic. and beyond.