VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1 (January to June 2020)

by Noel L.J. Miranda, DVM, MSc, FPCVPH

Independent Consultant, One Health and Pandemic Preparedness
      and Response

Successful global programs must be built around integration and the strengthening of cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary collaboration and cooperation among global and societal components. In the ongoing global COVID-19 response, the health sector has been at the forefront. While this traditional health-centric principle of pandemic management is proven to be one of the most well- based and sound in terms of COVID-19 being recognized as primarily a health issues, in reality pandemic responses are confounded with complexities, resulting in more failures than successes (with only a few established and emerging exemptions). The failures have often been associated with the emergence of devastating non-health impacts. Thus, in the overall process, whole-of-society to whole-of-world, must deal with the complexities of pandemics. Detailed scientific argument is not necessary to point out that economic, political and cultural differences are strong drivers of global pandemic management pandemonium, e.g., the massive proliferation of incongruent guidelines from all countries and societal entities. And given that bad governance in many countries is surfacing, bad governance is being reciprocated by bad community participation/cooperation. The complexities are too numerous to mention all here but are at the heart of why the global management of COVID-19 has not been optimal. Clearly, the determinants of cascading pandemic risks are multifaceted and increasingly complex.