here’s a fire in your neighborhood. A blazing tree falls and crushes a home down the street. A fireball bursts from a house two doors down. Your next door neighbors roar off in an SUV. You’re hosing down your roof. Then, many of your neighbors do as well. Water pressure plummets. The fire burns closer.
Viruses, like fire, can thrive in the absence of collective action. While most humans respect property lines and national borders, the SARS-CoV-2 virus demonstrated a monstrous capacity to blaze through them. The first known case of COVID-19 emerged in late 2019. Just 15 months later, the virus has been documented in 192 countries, causing more than 110 million cases and 2.5 million deaths.
Countries have tried travel bans, municipal and nationwide lockdowns, school closures, partial restaurant seatings, sports bubbles, and numerous other measures that varied by country.
The only thing that wasn’t tried: a unified global response. Why?
In swift-moving, multicountry outbreaks, government officials look to the WHO. The organization codified its leadership status among 194 member nations in the International Health Regulations adopted in 2005. The agreement directs the WHO to make recommendations “to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease.” Countries agreed to designate IHR focal point agencies that would share information on disease outbreaks with the WHO and implement WHO recommendations.