scholarly journals COVID-19 in conflict region: the arab levant response

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazih A. Bizri ◽  
Walid Alam ◽  
Tala Mobayed ◽  
Hani Tamim ◽  
Maha Makki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Stable State ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Stability Index ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
The World

Abstract Background COVID-19 has hit the world in an unprecedented way causing serious repercussions on several aspects of our life. Multiple determinants have affected various nations’ level of success in their responses towards the pandemic. The Arab Levant region in the Middle East, notoriously known for repeated wars and conflicts, has been affected, similarly to other regions, by this pandemic. The combination of war, conflict, and a pandemic brings too much of a burden for any nation to handle. Methods A descriptive analysis of data obtained from the health departments of various Arab Levant Countries (ALC) was performed. ALC include Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine. The data collected involves incidence, recovery rate, case fatality rate and number of tests performed per million population, Global Health Security index, government stringency index, and political stability index. The information obtained was compared and analyzed among the ALC and compared to global figures. An extensive electronic literature search to review all relevant articles and reports published from the region was conducted. The 2019 Global Health Security (GHS) index was obtained from the “GHS index” website which was made by John Hopkins University’s center for health security, the Nuclear threat Initiative (NTI) and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Government stringency index and political stability index were obtained from the University of Oxford and the website of “The Global Economy”, respectively. Other world governance indicators such as government effectiveness were obtained from the World Bank website. Results In terms of incidence of COVID-19, Iraq has the highest with 9665 per one million population, Syria the lowest at 256 per million. Deaths per million population was highest in Iraq at 237, and the lowest in Syria at 12. As for number of tests per million population, Lebanon ranked first at 136,033 with Iraq fourth at 59,795. There is no data available for the tests administered in Syria and subsequently no value for tests per million population. In terms of recoveries from COVID-19 per million population, Iraq had the highest number at 7903 per million, and Syria the lowest at 68 per million. When compared as percent recovery per million, Palestine ranked first (84%) and Syria last (27%). The government response stringency index shows that Jordan had the highest index (100) early in the pandemic among the other countries. Palestine’s index remained stable between 80 and 96. The other countries’ indices ranged from 50 to 85, with Lebanon seeing a drop to 24 in mid-August. Even with improved stringency index, Iraq reported an increased number of deaths. Conclusion In countries devastated by war and conflict, a pandemic such as COVID-19 can easily spread. The Arab Levant countries represent a breeding ground for pandemics given their unstable political and economic climate that has undoubtedly affected their healthcare systems. In the era of COVID-19, looking at healthcare systems as well as political determinants is needed to assess a country’s readiness towards the pandemic. The unrest in Lebanon, the uprising in Iraq, the restrictions placed on Syria, and the economic difficulties in Palestine are all examples of determinants affecting pandemic management. Jordan, on the contrary, is a good example of a stable state, able to implement proper measures. Political stability index should be used as a predictor for pandemic management capacity, and individual measures should be tailored towards countries depending on their index.

Conference Report: Global Health Security Alliance (GLoHSA), a Product of the World Health Summit

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
John M. Quinn ◽  
Christian Haggenmiller ◽  
James M. Wilson ◽  
Tracey McNamara ◽  
Stefan Goebbels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Conference Report ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right ◽  
Key Resources ◽  
Rapid Deployment ◽  
Security Alliance

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, the World Health Summit (WHS) has provided a global platform for policy-makers and decision-makers to interact with academics and practitioners on global health. Recently the WHS adopted health security into their agenda for transnational disease risks (eg, Ebola and antimicrobial resistance) that increasingly threaten multiple sectors. Global health engagement (GHE) focuses efforts across interdisciplinary and interorganizational lines to identify critical threats and provide rapid deployment of key resources at the right time for addressing health security risks. As a product of subject matter experts convening at the WHS, a special side-group has organically risen with leadership and coordination from the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in support of GHE activities across governmental, academic, and industry partners. Through novel approaches and targeted methodology that maximize outcomes and streamline global health operational process, the Global Health Security Alliance (GloHSA) was born. This short conference report describes in more detail the GloHSA.

Taiwan’s Participation in the World Organisation for Animal Health (oie): Modalities, Utility, and Challenges

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Vincent Rollet
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Health Governance ◽  
Health Security ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Related ◽  
World Organisation

Abstract This article explores the utility of membership in international organisations for states with specific status within the international community, focusing on Taiwan’s surprisingly neglected involvement in the World Organisation for Animal Health or oie (Office International des Épizooties). The paper shows that in addition to its contribution to the legitimisation of Taiwan’s identities, such participation has also enabled Taiwan to shape international norms in the field of animal health, increase international cooperation opportunities, strengthen domestic and global health security, and facilitate the trade of animal health-related products. Additionally, it has contributed to the domestic implementation of international animal health norms and helped increase the accountability of Taiwanese authorities in the domain of animal health management. Despite tremendous challenges, Taiwan still has plenty of opportunities to enhance its participation in global health governance through its membership in oie.

scholarly journals The threat of thinking in threats: reframing global health during and after COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Sondermann ◽  
Cornelia Ulbert
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Normative Framework ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Threats ◽  
Complex Lines

Abstract Narratives and metaphors shape how actors perceive the world around them and how policymakers frame the range of policy choices they think of as feasible. The metaphor of war and the narrative of how to tackle the unprecedented threat of COVID-19 are effective mechanisms to convey urgency. However, they also bear serious implications: Thinking in terms of health threats works with a logic of exceptionalism, which supports images of “us” vs. an “enemy” thereby shortening complex lines of causality and responsibility and privileging national answers. It fails to provide for a normative framework for drafting long-term systemic approaches. In this contribution, we critically engage with existing narratives of global health security and show how the logic of exceptionalism is limiting the current responses to the pandemic. We conceptualize an alternative narrative that is based on the logic of solidarity and argue that within this alternative framing a more sustainable and ultimately more just way of coping with infectious diseases will be possible.

Global Determinants of Covid-19 Deaths: Lockdown Dates and Social Distancing Measures Mattered (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Hooper
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The World ◽  
Airline Passengers ◽  
Security Index

UNSTRUCTURED The severity of this global pandemic and focus upon its devastating effects upon local communities has tended to be through the media with time series graphics at the national level. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the cross-national differences in the deaths caused by covid-19, and relate that to a range of contextual variables. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to examine the influence that various contextual variables have upon the number of deaths due to covid-19, across the world. Setting Level: This study utilizes data for 125 countries for contextual variables from 1st January 2020 until the 15th June 2020. Participants: This study considers deaths from covid-19. Interventions: DELETED Primary and secondary outcome measures: The contextual variables considered in this study are stringency index, stringency variability, lockdown date, population density, level of airline passengers and country health security index. Results: It is shown there is a very strong association between the level of airline passengers and covid-19 deaths. The results from regression analysis conducted in this study show significant positive relationships at the 5% level of statistical significance between Deaths from covid-19 and airline passenger levels and stringency variability; significant negative relationships are revealed for stringency index and lockdown date supporting the notion that lock down and social distancing measures mattered and were effective. The Global health security index and population density did not significantly affect deaths. Conclusion: This study highlights the strong link between a country’s airline passengers and covid-19 deaths and found that the lockdown date and stringency measures had a significant effect upon deaths. The implications of the research is that lockdown and stringency measures implemented by governments around the world worked and mattered. Further, the fact that global health security did not affect deaths may indicate better preparedness required to confront future pandemics. Trial Registration: DELETED INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.28.20163394

scholarly journals COVID-19, the UN, and Dispersed Global Health Security

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-378
Author(s):  
Sophie Harman
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Epistemic Communities ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Looking Back

AbstractThe response to COVID-19 demonstrates an inclusive and dispersed form of global health security that is less reliant on the UN Security Council or the World Health Organization (WHO). While WHO remains central to fighting the pandemic, the dispersed global health security addressing the crisis is inclusive of the wider UN system, civil society, and epistemic communities in global health. As part of the special issue on “The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Looking Back to Look Forward,” this essay argues that instead of facing crisis or criticism like WHO, this inclusive and dispersed form of global health security provides mechanisms of resilience and support to the UN at the height of global political tensions surrounding COVID-19.

scholarly journals Revisiting Global Health Security Measures in COVID 19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-410
Author(s):  
Suneela Garg ◽  
Nidhi Bhatnagar ◽  
Ekta Arora ◽  
Pradeep Aggarwal
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Pandemic Preparedness ◽  
Global Village ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Health Events ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
Stability Issues

As the world has become a global village with increasing socio-economic interdependence, health, security and stability issues are imposing interrelated global impacts. Thus, activities supporting epidemic and pandemic preparedness are needed to minimize vulnerability to acute public health events. Coordination mechanisms must be pre-established for diagnostics, therapeutics and research as emergencies often lead to competition and shortage of resources. This paper attempts to discuss the available global health security measures at the time of COVID 19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Global Determinants of Covid-19 Deaths: Lockdown Dates and Social Distancing Measures Mattered

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
VINCENT J. HOOPER
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The World ◽  
Airline Passengers ◽  
Security Index

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to examine the influence that various contextual variables have upon the number of deaths due to covid-19, across the world. Setting Level: This study utilizes data for 125 countries for contextual variables from 1st January 2020 until the 15th June 2020. Participants: This study considers deaths from covid-19. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The contextual variables considered in this study are stringency index, stringency variability, lockdown date, population density, level of airline passengers and country health security index. Results: It is shown there is a very strong association between the level of airline passengers and covid-19 deaths. The results from regression analysis conducted in this study show significant positive relationships at the 5% level of statistical significance between Deaths from covid-19 and airline passenger levels and stringency variability; significant negative relationships are revealed for stringency index and lockdown date supporting the notion that lock down and social distancing measures mattered and were effective. The Global health security index and population density did not significantly affect deaths. Conclusion: This study highlights the strong link between a country's airline passengers and covid-19 deaths and found that the lockdown date and stringency measures had a significant effect upon deaths. The implications of the research is that lockdown and stringency measures implemented by governments around the world worked and mattered. Further, the fact that global health security did not affect deaths may indicate better preparedness required to confront future pandemics.

scholarly journals The Emerging Role of Blockchain Technology Applications in Routine Disease Surveillance Systems to Strengthen Global Health Security

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Kumar Chattu ◽  
Anjali Nanda ◽  
Soosanna Kumary Chattu ◽  
Syed Manzoor Kadri ◽  
Andy W Knight
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
The Other ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology has an enormous scope to revamp the healthcare system in many ways as it improves the quality of healthcare by data sharing among all the participants, selective privacy and ensuring data safety. This paper explores the basics of blockchain, its applications, quality of experience and advantages in disease surveillance over the other widely used real-time and machine learning techniques. The other real-time surveillance systems lack scalability, security, interoperability, thus making blockchain as a choice for surveillance. Blockchain offers the capability of enhancing global health security and also can ensure the anonymity of patient data thereby aiding in healthcare research. The recent epidemics of re-emerging infections such as Ebola and Zika have raised many concerns regarding health security which resulted in strengthening the surveillance systems. We also discuss how blockchains can help in identifying the threats early and reporting them to health authorities for taking early preventive measures. Since the Global Health Security Agenda addresses global public health threats (both infectious and NCDs); strengthen the workforce and the systems; detect and respond rapidly and effectively to the disease threats; and elevate global health security as a priority. The blockchain has enormous potential to disrupt many current practices in traditional disease surveillance and health care research.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Global Health Security: Overview of the Global Health Security Alliance, COVID-19 Response, African Countries’ Approaches, and Ethics

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Belete Yimer ◽  
Wassachew Ashebir ◽  
Awraris Wolde ◽  
Muluken Teshome
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Pandemic Response

ABSTRACT Public health emergencies can arise from a wide range of causes, one of which includes outbreaks of contagion. The world has continued to be threatened by various infectious outbreaks of different types that have global consequences. While all pandemics are unique in their level of transmission and breadth of impact, the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is the deepest global crisis of the 21st century, which has affected nearly every country globally. Yet, going forward, there will be a continued need for global health security resources to protect people around the world against increasing infectious disease outbreaks frequency and intensity. Pandemic response policies and processes all need to be trusted for effective and ethical pandemic response. As the world can learn during the past few years about frequent infectious disease outbreaks, (these) diseases respect no borders, and, therefore, our spirit of solidarity must respect no borders in our efforts to stop the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and be better prepared to respond effectively to a health crisis in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document