The Global Health Supply Chain and Public Health Systems in Countries Need To Become Stronger
According to Investopedia.com, globalization is the spread of products, technology, information, and jobs across national borders and cultures. It can be categorized into different types. But the type of globalization that you are more likely to have more day-to-day experience with, is social globalization. Thanks to this phenomenon, you can find your favourite restaurant chain, Nutella, and the Harry Potter books, in almost every continent.
The global supply chain is how your favourite products can be found internationally. It is this international supply chain, that has allowed businesses to penetrate new markets and achieve economies of scale. As of now, COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, has put the global health supply chain under threat. That is because countries have responded to the Coronavirus threat by imposing travel bans, adding visa requirements, and exporting restrictions of essential supplies. Nations find themselves battling the disease alone, as nations become more and more isolationist. The creation of a robust global health supply chain would greatly reduce the amount of disease-related deaths and ensure diplomatic relations between countries.
Trade with other countries should not mean that countries should not be prepared for another potential pandemic. This would be a truly risky thing to do. The COVID-19 crisis has displayed that it is imperative for countries to invest in their health infrastructure, their medical workers as well as their production of health essentials, hospitals, et cetera. Unsurprisingly, nations who invested in their health infrastructure had lower COVID-19-related death rates.
In the future, public health should be the number one concern to voters. This is to make sure that the people elected have what it takes to be leaders. Leaders that unite their country while working with other countries. As diseases advance in a more complex manner, the health strategies of governments need to advance too. This includes training medical workers to ensure that they are able to treat patients, as well as to keep themselves safe from contracting the disease.
In conclusion, the importance of a united global health supply chain cannot be stressed enough. This would also help developing countries. Just as importantly, public health should always be a priority in a nation’s agenda, the same way countries prepare for earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Citations:
Galea, Sandro. “4 Lessons from the Coronavirus Outbreak.” Fortune, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2020, fortune.com/2020/03/14/four-lessons-from-the-coronavirus/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2020.
Gunia, Amy. “The Global Shortage of Medical Masks Won’t Be Easing Soon.” Time, Time, 27 Feb. 2020, time.com/5785223/medical-masks-coronavirus-covid-19/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2020.
McCaughey, Betsy. “We’re Learning How to Beat Coronavirus, but Health Care Workers Need More Training.” New York Post, New York Post, 11 Mar. 2020,nypost.com/2020/03/10/were-learning-how-to-beat-coronavirus-but-health-care-workers-need-more-training/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2020
