WHO's David Nabarro Joins #UniteWithoutBorders, Highlights The Importance Of Investing In Public Healthcare

The outbreak of Novel Coronavirus has raised a question mark on the world's preparedness to fight global pandemics and medical emergencies like the Coronavirus. The world has been dealing with COVID-19 for over six months now and the outbreak has been a reality check, highlighting countries' readiness and response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Joining the fight against COVID-19, NDTV in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the independent medical organisation has initiated a campaign #UniteWithoutBorders which aims at raising funds to assist medical caregivers at the frontline of the battle.

Also Read: #UniteWithoutBorders: Protecting The Frontline Warriors - Medical Caregivers In The Fight Against Coronavirus Pandemic

Dr David Nabarro, WHO Director General's Special Envoy For COVID-19 Response joined the campaign by becoming a part of the special two-hour telethon and discussed the importance of groups like MSF and India's response to the pandemic.

Doctors and nurses from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the independent medical organisation, have been treating patients and supporting communities across Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia. Now the group has set-up two dedicated facilities in Govandi, Mumbai and Patna in Bihar to treat COVID-19 patients. Talking about the role of groups like MSF especially during a pandemic, Dr Nabarro said,

During a major global issue like what we are experiencing now with COVID, we all need to work together because it's a problem affecting the whole of humanity. And it really does require partnership between all who have the capacity to help. Within public health, we have many organisations that put the needs of people, particularly poor people, really upfront and at the centre of attention. They want to leave nobody behind. One of these organisations is MSF or Doctors Without Borders. I'm glad there is a particular focus on COVID which is causing such huge problems around the world, particularly for poor people, for people who live in very crowded settlements, for people who are unable to navigate to get safer working conditions in their places of employment. They need support and that is MSF is so important at this time.

Dr Nabarro further shared three major learnings about the virus which can help frontline warriors deal with it in a better way. Firstly, Dr Nabarro said that it's a dangerous virus that kills a significant number of people and asked to take it seriously even when the fatality rate is relatively low. Elaborating on the second learning, he said,

As soon as an outbreak appears in a locality it's necessary to stop the transmission with immediate effect. This does not mean having a whole lockdown on the country, but it does mean identifying where the virus is and acting quickly to interrupt transmission, and ensure that people are not exposed.

Third and the most poignant point he made was to support hospitals and health centres and said,

Enabling health workers to protect themselves, whilst ensuring that hospitals can provide the best possible service and prevent people from dying, is absolutely critical.

Also Read: #UniteWithoutBorders: Health Expert Devi Sridhar On Coronavirus And How To Cope With It

In the past, Dr Nabarro has often praised India's efforts in dealing with the pandemic and appreciated for keeping a good eye on the virus. However, lately, India has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases and the country is the fourth worst-hit country in the world. When asked if he will still laud India, Dr Nabarro said,

The best we control this virus is by interrupting transmission wherever it occurs. But it's really hard to do that in densely populated areas. It's really hard to do that when you've got millions of people who are perhaps migrating away from their homes and coming to work in cities and suddenly finding that work is not available any more. So it's a tough thing to do to contain this virus. I'm really impressed with the speed with which India reacted. But I am also aware that the problems are there still now. What I want to stress to everybody is that if India had not been strong at the beginning, the virus would be much more widespread in your country. You'd have a doubling time of infection of three days. As it is, you've been able to slow the doubling time and that has been remarkable.

Apart from this, Dr Nabarro also appreciated the public awareness that has come because of the Coronavirus induced lockdown and asked to continue with the same strategy - interrupting transmission, isolating those with the disease and protecting high-risk group.