Experts at Abu Dhabi forum unpack the lessons of COVID-19 pandemic

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Patients breath with the help of oxygen masks inside a banquet hall temporarily converted into a COVID-19 ward in New Delhi on April 27, 2021. (AFP)
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A patient rests inside a banquet hall temporarily converted into a COVID-19 coronavirus ward in New Delhi on April 27, 2021. (AFP)
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A COVID-19 coronavirus patient is moved out of a hospital to recover at home in New Delhi on April 24, 2021. (AFP)
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A COVID-19 coronavirus patient breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs, under a tent installed along a roadside in Ghaziabad on April 28, 2021. (AFP)
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Updated 04 October 2021
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Experts at Abu Dhabi forum unpack the lessons of COVID-19 pandemic

  • World Policy Conference panel calls out governments for being underprepared for COVID-19 havoc
  • Recommendations made to ensure future pandemics are better handled or stopped in their tracks

ABU DHABI, UAE / BOGOTA, Colombia: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted societies the world over, exposing not only the vulnerabilities of national economies, supply chains and health infrastructure, but also the deep social inequities within and among nations.

Experts had long warned the world was woefully underprepared for a pandemic, lacking the necessary preparedness, surveillance, alert systems, early response infrastructure and leadership to prevent a global outbreak.

“The world was not prepared,” Michel Kazatchkine, former executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said at the World Policy Conference (WPC) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

“All the public health officials, experts, previous international commissions and review committees had warned of the potential of a new pandemic and urged for robust preparations since the first outbreak of SARS.




Relatives carry the body of a person killed by COVID-19 amid burning pyres of other victims at a cremation ground in New Delhi on April 26, 2021. (AFP file photo)

Instead, governments have spent the past year and a half playing catch-up, squabbling over limited supplies of medical and protective equipment, implementing inconsistent containment measures, and jealously guarding their health data.

During that time, more than 235 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported worldwide and nearly 5 million people have died. At its peak in 2020, half of the world was in lockdown and 90 percent of children were missing out on their education.

Economists estimate that the pandemic will have cost the world economy roughly $10 trillion in output by the end of 2021 — just a fraction of which could have been spent on containing or preventing the pandemic from happening in the first place.

“COVID-19 took large parts of the world by surprise,” Kazatchkine said. “National pandemic preparedness has been vastly underfunded despite the clear evidence that the cost is a fraction of the cost of responses and losses incurred when a pandemic actually occurs.”

In May this year, the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response identified weak links at every link in the chain. It found that preparation was inconsistent and underfunded, while the alert system “was too slow and too meek.”

It said that governments failed to deliver a rapid or coordinated response when the World Health Organization declared that the outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan. 30, 2020. Indeed, most only responded when infections began to rise.

INNUMBERS

4.81 million: Worldwide COVID-19 deaths as of Oct. 3, 2021.

$4 trillion: Global GDP loss (2020 & 2021) due to COVID-19 (UNCTAD).

$2.4 trillion: Tourism sector’s loss in 2020 alone (UNCTAD).

The IPPR report also concluded that the WHO had not been granted sufficient powers to respond to the crisis — a disaster that was further exacerbated by a distinct lack of political leadership.

To explore whether governments could have handled the pandemic better and what lessons might be drawn to help prevent future outbreaks, Kazatchkine chaired a WPC panel discussion titled “Health as a Global Governance Issue: Lessons from COVID-19 Pandemic.”

During the session, the panelists laid out four key recommendations for governments and multilateral organizations to take on board to ensure future pandemics are better handled or stopped in their tracks. Their conclusions will be discussed at a special session of the World Health Assembly in November.




An expert panel at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi has provided four key recommendations to boost global health equality and preparedness as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim lives. AFP

Their first recommendation concerned the establishment of a new financing mechanism to invest in preparedness and inject funds immediately at the onset of a potential pandemic. This would help to prevent a repeat of the widespread dithering seen among governments in late 2019 and early 2020.

Their second recommendation called for a standing, pre-negotiated, multilateral platform to produce vaccines, medical diagnostic tools and supplies for rapid and equitable delivery as essential common global goods.

This would help address the shocking inequalities seen in the world’s supply chains, whereby whole regions suffered extreme shortages of cleaning chemicals, personal protection equipment and medical oxygen for hospitals, and has led to a situation where many rich countries are approaching full vaccination while several of the poorest have inoculated barely 5 percent of their populations.




A traditional chief in Ivory Coast receives a vaccine against COVID-19 at a mobile vaccination center in Abidjan on Sept.23, 2021. (REUTERS/File Photo)

“When the COVID-19 pandemic began, two things became very obvious to those of us on the African continent,” Juliette Tuakli, CEO of CHILDAccra Medical and chair of the board of trustees at United Way Worldwide, told the WPS panel.

“One was that the West had huge capacity but little strategy, and we in Africa had a lot of strategy and little capacity. The second thing that was obvious was the importance of health as a national strategic asset within our economies.

“The pandemic highlighted health inequities that are ongoing, (plus) weaknesses in our systems such as (shortages). As well as the weak regional and domestic financing systems for procuring appropriate medications and vaccines, (not to speak of the prevalence) of very insidious health regulatory policies throughout the continent.

“Looking at the global stage, it’s important that we not just partner with other groups and agencies but that we have equal status within those relationships. There has to be some equity in our partnerships, here on, in terms of health and health governance, for us to be part of the solution, not just part of the problem.”




A woman prepares to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a school in Pattani, Thailand, on August 10, 2021. (AFP photo)

The WPC panel’s third recommendation called for strengthening and empowering the WHO to oversee and even grade nations on their preparedness for future outbreaks, to have greater control over vaccination campaigns, and to assume more overall leadership.

“Too many governments lacked solid preparedness plans, core public health capacities, organized multi-sectoral coordination and clear commitment from leadership. And this is not a matter of wealth,” Kazatchkine said.

“I believe that COVID-19 has shaken some of our standard assumptions that a country’s wealth will secure its health. Actually, leadership and competence may have counted for more than cash when it comes to responding to COVID-19.”

Finally, the experts recommended the establishment of global health-threat councils at the level of heads of state and government to ensure both political commitment and accountability in fighting and preventing pandemics, elevating such threats to the level of terrorism, climate change and nuclear proliferation.




Governments should look at health strategically, invest in the right equipment, have the right drugs, and secure their supply chain, says WPC forum panelist Jean Kramarz. (AFP file photo)

“It should be treated like a military topic — to invest in health well in advance to face a crisis,” said Jean Kramarz, director of healthcare activities at AXA Partners Group.

“If health is strategic, it means that governments should overinvest in health to make sure that they have the right equipment, they have the right drugs, they have secured their supply chain, and it should be done permanently. It should be a topic of national interest.”

While experts in health and good governance ponder the lessons of the pandemic with a view to improving readiness for the next major outbreak, medical professionals are still fighting the crisis at hand. An array of aggressive virus variants, overstretched ICU facilities and sluggish vaccination campaigns are keeping the rate of infection stubbornly high.

“The pandemic is not yet over,” Kazatchkine said. “As we speak, over 400,000 new cases and 10,000 deaths are reported globally every day. Current hotspots are the US, Brazil, India, followed by the UK, Turkey, the Philippines and Russia.

“National responses across the world span from the complete lifting of restrictions in Denmark to new statewide lockdowns in Australia and a growing political and public-health crisis in the US.

“Where the number of infections increases, we see again unsustainable pressure on the health care system and on health care workers. So, the bottom line here is that the pandemic remains a global emergency and the future remains uncertain.”


Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet

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Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet

  • Only about 50 climbers worldwide have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 meters
  • Most climbers assembled at Chinese Himalayas have already summited 13 other highest peaks

Katmandu: A record number of climbers are gathered in Tibet to complete mountaineering’s pinnacle achievement, summiting the world’s tallest 14 peaks.

Only about 50 climbers have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), a feat that took most years, or even decades, to complete.

About 20 are vying for the record books this month, some spurred by a blockbuster Netflix documentary giving the endeavor a wider profile.

Technological advancements have made the feat easier to accomplish.

“We are growing as a community, and we are representing mountaineering all over the world,” Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif, 22, told AFP.

“I think that’s great... they are completing their dream, as I am.”

It took Italian climber Reinhold Messner 16 years from his initial summit to become the first person in the world considered to have climbed all 14 peaks in 1986.

But most of the climbers assembled in the Chinese Himalayas at the base camp of Mount Shisha Pangma only began their attempts within the past few years.

They have already summited the 13 other highest peaks, located in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, straddling Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet and India.

Many have been waiting to scale the 8,027-meter-high (26,335 feet) Tibetan peak since last year, when China closed the mountain to climbers after two American women and their Nepali guides were killed in an avalanche.

The aspirants are a mix of seasoned veterans and rising stars.

Teenage Nepali climber Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, aims to be the youngest to climb all 14.

Several hope to be the first from their respective countries to accomplish the feat.

Advances in mountaineering technology, weather forecasting and logistical support have made this once-inaccessible goal more achievable — particularly for those who can afford it.

Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, Nepal’s biggest mountaineering expedition company, told AFP that climbers could expect to pay up to $700,000 for full support teams.

But he said the hefty price tag had not dissuaded a growing number of people from pursuing the endeavor.

“They climb one or two, and then the mountains attract them,” he said. “Soon they might decide to climb them all.”

Teams of support crews and helicopters for rapid transportation between base camps have allowed climbers to tackle multiple mountains in a single season.

“It is clear that the pioneers back then, they did much more difficult, dangerous and exceptional ascents,” German mountaineering chronicler Eberhard Jurgalski told AFP.

“Now it is possible to do them within three months. The logistics are so world-class now.”

British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja famously completed the 14 peaks in just over six months in 2019, shattering the previous record of seven years.

His efforts were chronicled in a Netflix documentary, inspiring a new wave of athletes to try and eclipse his speed run.

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjen Lama Sherpa — the latter who died attempting to summit Shisha Pangma last year — now hold the record.

They climbed the giant mountains in 92 days, ending in July 2023.

The pair also reached the “true summits” of all the mountains, which many previous climbers had missed.

This month, at least six have already completed the feat after summiting Shisha Pangma, including the first Japanese, Pakistani and female American climbers.

They also included Nirmal Purja again, who this time said he was climbing all 14 without supplementary oxygen.

The trend toward speed has not always been welcomed by the mountaineering fraternity.

Veteran climbers have criticized Purja and Harila for using helicopters, pre-prepared routes and support teams.

Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, who is aiming to become the first woman from Nepal to summit all 14 peaks, said the style of ascent dictated how much it was valued by other alpinists.

“Some climb 14 peaks... and maybe even have climbed Everest several times, but some don’t have the capacity to climb without support,” she told AFP.

But Russian climber Alina Pekova, also attempting the Tibetan summit to finish her 14-peak climb, said that speed ascents were an endurance test.

“If you can climb it a fast way, why not try?” she told AFP. “That’s another challenge.”


US Supreme Court to hear ‘ghost guns’ regulation case

Updated 24 min 42 sec ago
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US Supreme Court to hear ‘ghost guns’ regulation case

  • The ATF rule also requires commercial sellers of what are known as “buy-build-shoot” kits to be licensed and maintain records
WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court hears a challenge on Tuesday to federal regulation of “ghost guns” — firearms sold in easy-to-assemble kits.
Gun manufacturers and owners are objecting to a 2022 rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that requires ghost guns, like other firearms, to have serial numbers and for purchasers to undergo background checks.
The ATF rule also requires commercial sellers of what are known as “buy-build-shoot” kits to be licensed and maintain records.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has defended the rule under the Gun Control Act of 1968, saying it makes it “harder for criminals and other prohibited persons to obtain untraceable guns.”
According to ATF figures, nearly 20,000 ghost guns were recovered at crime scenes in the United States in 2021, a tenfold increase from 2016.
Ghost guns, some of which include parts made by 3D printers, are sold online or in stores in kits that can be assembled at home.
Gunmakers and gun rights groups challenged the ATF rule. A federal judge in Texas ruled that the bureau had exceeded its authority and that such regulation is up to Congress.
The Biden administration appealed to the US Supreme Court after the district court ruling was upheld by a conservative-dominated appeals court panel.
The Supreme Court, by a slim 5-4 vote, stayed the order of the lower courts striking down the ATF rule pending Tuesday’s oral arguments in the case.
In their brief to the Supreme Court, the gun rights groups said “an incomplete collection of parts is not a ‘weapon’” and ghost gun kits should not be considered “firearms” under the Gun Control Act.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, in her brief, said ghost gun manufacturers are seeking to get around the ATF rule using “trivial evasion” and included an analogy to the Swedish home goods giant IKEA.
“If a State placed a tax on the sale of tables, chairs, couches, and bookshelves, IKEA could not avoid paying by insisting that it does not sell any of those items and instead sells ‘furniture parts kits’ that must be assembled by the purchaser,” Prelogar wrote.
“So too with guns: A company in the business of selling kits that can be assembled into working firearms in minutes... is in the business of selling firearms.”
The Supreme Court is expected to deliver a decision in the case before the end of June 2025.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wants to speed up becoming a nuclear superpower

Updated 08 October 2024
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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wants to speed up becoming a nuclear superpower

  • North Korea has for decades pursued a nuclear weapons program and is believed to have enough fissile materials to build dozens of the weapons

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will speed up steps toward becoming a military superpower with nuclear weapons and would not rule out using them if it came under enemy attack, state news agency KCNA said on Tuesday.
Kim mentioned South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol by name for the second time in a week in denouncing Seoul for colluding with Washington to destabilize the region to gloss over the fact it does not even have proper strategic weapons.
“Yoon Suk Yeol made some tasteless and vulgar comment about the end of the Republic in his speech, and it shows he is totally consumed by his blind faith in his master’s strength,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying, referring to the South’s alliance with the US
“To be honest, we have absolutely no intention of attacking South Korea,” he said in the speech at the Kim Jong Un National Defense University, a training ground for elite military specialists.
“Every time I stated our position on the use of military force, I clearly and consistently used the qualification ‘if.’ If the enemies try to use force against our country, the Republic’s military will use all offensive power without hesitation. This does not preclude the use of nuclear weapons.”
“Our footsteps toward becoming a military superpower and a nuclear power will accelerate,” he added.
North Korea has for decades pursued a nuclear weapons program and is believed to have enough fissile materials to build dozens of the weapons. It has conducted six underground nuclear detonation tests.
Last week, South Korea marked an annual armed forces day with a large military parade showcasing a ballistic missile capable of carrying a massive warhead and featuring a flypast of a US strategic bomber.
In his address that day, Yoon warned the North against using nuclear weapons. “That day will see the end of the North Korean regime.”
North Korea may be building a new submarine, the South Korean defense ministry said citing intelligence indications in a report to a member of parliament. In January, Kim reportedly ordered a nuclear submarine to be built.
The construction was at an early stage and it was not clear if the vessel was a nuclear-powered submarine, said the report.
North Korea is also working on a submarine drone that could be developed to carry nuclear weapons, possibly with the help of Russia, it said.
KCNA said Kim made his “military superpower” remarks on Monday, the same day the North has said its Supreme People’s Assembly would meet to discuss amending the country’s constitution. The news agency has made no mention of the assembly’s deliberations since Monday.
The session is being closely watched because of the likelihood it would approve a constitutional amendment to reflect Kim’s statement that unification is no longer possible and the South was a separate country and “a principal enemy.”
Such a move would formalize Kim’s break with decades-old goal espoused by both countries of national unification and attempts to improve ties, including a 2018 summit where their leaders declared there will be no more war and a new era of peace has opened.
In a separate report, KCNA said Kim sent a birthday message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him his “closest Comrade and saying “strategic and cooperative relations” between the two countries will be raised to a new level.
South Korea’s Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said “there was a high possibility” North Korea could deploy troops to help Russia in the war with Ukraine.
Kim also told a parliament hearing news reports of North Korean military officers having been killed in a Ukrainian strike in Russian-occupied territory were likely true.
Kim Jong Un and Putin in June adopted on a comprehensive strategic partnership that includes mutual defense pact.
The two countries have denied accusations by US and South Korean officials the North was supplying arms to Russia.


Philippines’ Marcos signs law to revitalize country’s defense industry

Updated 08 October 2024
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Philippines’ Marcos signs law to revitalize country’s defense industry

  • The Philippines has a relatively small defense industry capable of producing small arms and ammunition
  • But it has yet to achieve large-scale production of advanced military systems such as fighter jets

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed into law a bill on Tuesday that aims to develop the country’s defense industry to reduce its reliance on imported sources and create equipment tailored to its security challenges.
“It’s a logical move forward for a country that finds itself at the fulcrum of geopolitical shifts and volatilities. At its core this act is about cultivating a robust and sustainable national defense industry,” Marcos said after signing the bill.
To promote and encourage investments in the country’s defense technology and production, the new self-reliant defense law will offer fiscal incentives ranging from tax breaks and government-backed financing, Marcos said.
“We will prioritize R&D to develop systems that meet our unique requirements to stay ahead of evolving threats, particularly asymmetrical threats that traditional systems may not be completely equipped to address,” Marcos said.
The new law, Marcos added, will also prioritize the production of critical defense materiel in the country, from small arms and tactical vehicles to more sophisticated systems.
“It establishes a structured approach to defensive development, starting with research and production capabilities that align our defense sector with our strategic objectives,” Marcos said.
The law is expected to complement government efforts to modernize its military, as it would help ensure that the Philippines can manufacture, maintain and upgrade military equipment.
The Philippines has a relatively small defense industry capable of producing small arms and ammunition, but it has yet to achieve large-scale production of advanced military systems such as fighter jets.
It is embarking on the latest phase of a multi-billion-dollar effort to modernize its military at a time of rising tension in the South China Sea.
It has allocated $35 billion for the buildup, spread over the next decade, as it has faced off with China in sea and air confrontations over contested areas of the busy waterway.


India PM Modi’s BJP trails in vote count in two provincial elections, TV says

Updated 08 October 2024
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India PM Modi’s BJP trails in vote count in two provincial elections, TV says

  • Defeats could be a fresh setback for BJP after it failed to win clear majority in general election earlier this year
  • Losing Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir would be dampeners for BJP ahead of elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trailed in two provincial elections as votes were counted on Tuesday, TV channels said, a fresh setback after it failed to win a clear majority in the general election this year.

Elections in the northern state of Haryana and the troubled Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir were held in phases that ended on Saturday, the first test of popularity since Modi returned as prime minister for a record third, straight term in June, albeit with the help of regional parties.

Losing Haryana and not winning power in Jammu and Kashmir is not expected to impact the Modi government’s ability to make federal policies but will be seen as dampeners for BJP ahead of elections in the more politically crucial states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Exit polls had predicted a win for the main opposition Congress party in Haryana and gave an edge to Congress and its regional ally National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The counting showed BJP was leading in 22 seats in Haryana, where it has held power for a decade, while Congress was ahead in 57 seats, TV channel CNN-News18 reported.

In Jammu and Kashmir, it said BJP was leading in 29 seats while the Congress-NC alliance was ahead in 44 seats in the first provincial poll there in a decade, and the first since the state was split into two federally administered territories in 2019.

Both legislatures have 90 seats each.

The industrial hub of Maharashtra is presently ruled by a BJP coalition, and an opposition alliance is in power in mineral-rich Jharkhand.

Elections in both states, although yet to be announced, are expected to be held in November.

Victory for Congress in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir will come as a major boost for its leader, Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a dynasty that gave India three prime ministers but who was blamed for the party’s slump since Modi swept to power in 2014.

Gandhi was also the face of the two-dozen party opposition alliance that denied Modi an outright majority in the parliamentary election and is currently the leader of the opposition in the lower house of parliament.