Support the World Health Organization in the Coronavirus Pandemic
The Coronavirus pandemic has awakened us to our global citizenship in profound ways.
Calling on all doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers.
Calling on all world citizens.
One of the most bizarre developments in the last few months—months which have had no shortage of bizarre developments—is the threat that the United States will withdraw support from the single organization best positioned to coordinate an international response to the international crisis of the Coronavirus Pandemic. It arguably has the strongest experience elucidating and responding to the unique circumstances of individual nations fighting the pandemic and platform for bringing those perspectives together. Doctors, nurses, and all healthcare workers have a sacred intention that transcends national borders: we are dedicated to the health of humanity. If we have learned anything in the past few months, it is how interconnected we are at so many levels, from supply chains to allocation of resources to our very biology. Even in lock-down mode, we are connected. We are truly a global community.
We can signal our commitment to global strategies for pandemic abatement, to the primary international resource with infrastructure for responding to the pandemic and sharing resources including vital information by following the World Health Organization on whatever social media platforms we use. Not only healthcare workers but also the administrators of health systems and the leadership of our professional organizations can do this and use our collective voice to oppose the withdrawal of WHO support. We have had a difficult time coordinating our response within the United States, a failure that has expressed itself in a human toll taken. How can we neglect the international resource and most experienced infrastructure for pandemic response? In addition to our medical humanitarian stake, enlightened self interest would dictate that we be invested in global control of the coronavirus outbreak and transmission.
The thrice weekly WHO live media briefings are an amazing resource for getting a larger view of the pandemic. These are posted as videos, audio files and transcripts. The leadership always present in these briefings have become some of my information heros. Join me and see for yourself.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO (Bio), a microbiologist and malaria researcher who also served as Minister of Health and subsequently Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ethiopia.
Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme (Bio), an Irish surgeon with an MPH and nearly 20 years in public health who as worked as a field epidemiologist and coordinator in multiple ebola outbreaks and polio eradication projects.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical Lead, WHO Health Emergencies Programme (Bio), and American epidemiologist who earned her masters degree in epidemiology at Stanford and her Ph.D. at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her expertise is in high threat pathogens and emerging infectious disease.
https://twitter.com/WHO
https://www.instagram.com/who/
