Global Health Security: Collective Action Required to Contain Deadly Viruses Across Borders

In this guest column for AllAfrica, the Dutch Trade and Development Minister and the head of the World Health Organization stress that addressing viral health crises anywhere protects everyone everywhere. The government of the Netherlands is committing funding both for the current Ebola crisis and flexible funding to quickly respond to new or emerging global threats.

COVID-19 may feel like a distant memory to many. But the virus claimed millions of lives around the world, including approximately 50,000 in the Netherlands. The lesson is clear: preparedness is not optional.

Preventing health crises abroad is in the interest of all countries, including the Netherlands.

Governments everywhere face competing priorities and constrained budgets. But infectious diseases do not respect national borders. In an interconnected world, health threats that emerge in one place can quickly become risks for all of us. No country can safeguard its health security alone.

That lesson is evident today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where a major Ebola outbreak is unfolding in a region already affected by insecurity, displacement and limited access to health services.

Already the outbreak has crossed national boundaries, underlining how quickly a health threat in one country can become a shared international concern.

Responding effectively requires rapid action, strong local leadership and international solidarity. Under the DRC Government’s leadership, the World Health Organization (WHO) is working closely with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, local authorities, communities and partners to contain the outbreak in the DRC and save lives.

No country can safeguard its health security alone.

Some may ask why the Netherlands, or any country, should invest in health emergencies far from its own borders when domestic health systems also face challenges. The answer is simple: diseases do not stop at borders. Supporting countries to detect and contain outbreaks early is not only the right thing to do. It protects local populations while reducing the risk of wider international spread. Investing in health security abroad is also an investment in health security at home.

Outbreaks are most effectively controlled at their source. Local leadership is essential. National authorities understand their communities, their health systems and the challenges they face. WHO’s role is to support those efforts, coordinate international expertise and ensure that countries have access to the tools, funding and technical assistance they need.

International cooperation remains the foundation of effective health security. This year, for example, a hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship was swiftly contained through rapid collaboration among countries and partners coordinated through WHO. During an earlier outbreak caused by the “Sudan virus” species of Ebola in Uganda, investments that helped advance an Ebola vaccine developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and Batavia Biosciences contributed to global preparedness efforts. These examples demonstrate that cooperation works.

Yet this progress cannot be taken for granted. The international health system is under growing strain, even as health threats continue to increase. Climate change is altering the distribution of infectious diseases. Europe has already seen growing concern from vector-borne diseases, including West Nile virus, while other diseases such as dengue and malaria are expanding into new regions. At the same time, funding for global health, including for WHO, is declining.

Diseases spreading to new areas amid decreased global health funding is dangerous.

This is a dangerous combination. The need for cooperation, preparedness and rapid response is growing, just as the resources required to sustain them are coming under pressure.

We therefore call on European governments to strengthen their support for global health security by increasing flexible and unearmarked contributions to WHO. Such investments enable outbreaks to be detected earlier, contained more rapidly and addressed where they begin, before they become larger regional or global crises.

No one can rule out the possibility of another pandemic. . But we can ensure that we are better prepared for the next one. Strong health systems in the DRC, and in countries everywhere, are not only vital for the local communities. They are an investment in a safer, healthier and more secure future for us all.

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma is the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is Director-General of the World Health Organization.

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