The Pandemic: A Global Problem Requiring Global Solutions

On 11 March, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) hosted an event organised by the Club of Madrid, in collaboration with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), to mark the second anniversary of the declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The event featured the participation of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2011); Jesús Marco, Vice President of CSIC; Antoni Plasència, Director General of ISGlobal; and Vanessa López, Director of the Salud por Derecho Foundation.

After welcoming the attendees to the event, Antoni Plasència, Director General of ISGlobal, declared: “Two years ago, it was difficult to explain what global health was. We live in an interdependent world and the global perspective has changed. Today we will discuss the diagnosis and talk about what has happened with government, science and technology, as well as society’s response, over the past two years of the pandemic.”

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf then spoke about the role of the WHO in detecting the virus in late 2019 and the creation of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, where subject-matter experts and policymakers advise on solutions to end the pandemic. The panel produced a report containing a series of recommendations, including: 1) taking steps to end the pandemic; 2) creating a Global Health Threats Council and adopting a Pandemic Treaty representing the entire world; 3) creating a fund to finance and equitably distribute vaccines to all countries; and 4) commitment on the part of policymakers to lead the transformative reforms outlined in the report.

Jesús Marco, Vice President of CSIC, highlighted the painstaking work of researchers who, together with health professionals, developed serological tests in a very short period of time, thereby speeding up the detection of the virus in patients. He echoed Plasència’s remarks on cooperation in global health, noting that not everything is up to researchers, but rather the entire global system is involved and everyone’s help is needed to avert future pandemics.

Finally, Vanessa López, Director of the Salud por Derecho Foundation, pointed out that African countries must not rely solely on donations and aid, but on their own strength and capacity to address their problems.

After acknowledging the health workers and political leaders who responded to the pandemic from a range of different perspectives, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wrapped up the proceedings by noting that “global cooperation and global responses are needed in order to improve the world”. 

Watch the complete dialogue here.