Cholera and coronavirus

Cholera and coronavirus: why we must not repeat the same mistakes “ Besides the basic moral argument for a system of public health and international cooperation that benefits all people, it is also in everyone’s interests, because as long as infections blight poor countries, they will continue to pose a threat to the west, too. The Nigerian global health scholar Obijiofor Aginam has written that “enormous sacrifices must then be made by the developed world to confront mutual vulnerability”. Coronavirus has reminded us, once again, of this mutual vulnerability.

To prevent further pandemics, Aginam calls for a “communitarian globalism”: a bottom-up approach, “based on ideals of fairness, justice, and equitable distribution of scarce but moderate global resources”. We have already seen glimpses of this kind of solidarity in the current crisis: from the communist government in Kerala giving food and shelter to migrant workers; to the Somalian doctors offering their help in crisis zones such as Italy; to Cuba allowing an infected British cruise ship to dock to receive timely medical care by its doctors.”