Chapter 2
Health/Medicine
When there are educated health professionals, lives would be saved. When there are health care facilities, people’s conditions will be properly attended to. When remedies in the form of drugs are prescribed by the trained physicians or health workers, there is recuperation in the health status of the people. When medicine is given the deserved priority, there will be a zero-abuse of drugs. Afterall, health is wealth.
Understanding the knowledge behind medicine, the empowerment, development and ethics have engendered various societies of the world to handsomely put aside budgets to ensure the health sector is alive and well. Many advanced societies orchestrates special programs like the issuance of research grants towards invention of bio-medical technologies, cure for diseases and improvement of identified modus operandi of the sector. In the USA, government and the people (medical association and interested privately-owned companies) attain some symbiotic relationship. The former creates enabling platforms for competent medical hands to showcase their gifting while the latter depict medical competence and invest in the causes for research into cures for diseases and invention of medical devices towards the improvement of people’s health. Then, the government would earn its revenue through its respected states. Dr. Ben Carson is a typical example. A well-trained neurosurgeon, J Hopkins Hospital provided him the platform to show his medical prowess by separating a set of twins connected by brains (the Siamese-twins joint brain situation). India is not left out. The government has provided the platform for medical professionals to treat their people and those from outside the country. This was simply due to the fact that the Indian government and the professional medical body co-operated towards agreeing on coming up with thorough medic-related policies. That’s the place of education! Cuba is known for the treatment of virus-related issues. As usual, with the government co-operating with the Cuban medical association, a group of Cuban doctors were sent to Italy where the COVID-19 pandemic really took a tough toll.
What can be said of Nigeria? It is said that one of the best of doctors in the US, UK and Saudi Arabia are Nigerians! But the state of the Nigerian health sector is so despicable that the best hands are jetting out of the country to exercise their medical prowess. Over the news, we hear the Federal Government of Nigeria being at logger heads with the Nigerian Medical Association over the irregular payment of salaries, limited availability of medical facilities and consequent strike actions by the latter. This depicts one thing: both bodies have not been synergizing or come together to bring about education-orientated policies towards revamping the sector. Factors such as salary payments, provision of health facilities and others should have been catered for, if there was a synergy between the medical body, the NMA and the federal government of Nigeria.
Countries of the world have ways to responding to emerging situations, diseases, that is, in their country and the globe. That brings to attention the current world pandemic of the year (2020)…The Corona Virus, also known as COVID-19.
What was said about the pandemic? This was what the World Health Organization has to say:
‘31 Dec 2019
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, China, reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified.
1 January 2020
WHO had set up the IMST (Incident Management Support Team) across the three levels of the organization: headquarters, regional headquarters and country level, putting the organization on an emergency footing for dealing with the outbreak.
4 January 2020
WHO reported on social media that there was a cluster of pneumonia cases – with no deaths – in Wuhan, Hubei province.
5 January 2020
WHO published our first Disease Outbreak News on the new virus. This is a flagship technical publication to the scientific and public health community as well as global media. It contained a risk assessment and advice, and reported on what China had told the organization about the status of patients and the public health response on the cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan.
10 January 2020
WHO issued a comprehensive package of technical guidance online with advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time. This guidance was shared with WHO's regional emergency directors to share with WHO representatives in countries.
Based on experience with SARS and MERS and known modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, infection and prevention control guidance were published to protect health workers recommending droplet and contact precautions when caring for patients, and airborne precautions for aerosol generating procedures conducted by health workers.
12 January 2020
China publicly shared the genetic sequence of COVID-19.
13 January 2020
Officials confirm a case of COVID-19 in Thailand, the first recorded case outside of China.
14 January 2020
WHO's technical lead for the response noted in a press briefing there may have been limited human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus (in the 41 confirmed cases), mainly through family members, and that there was a risk of a possible wider outbreak. The lead also said that human-to-human transmission would not be surprising given our experience with SARS, MERS and other respiratory pathogens.
20-21 January 2020
WHO experts from its China and Western Pacific regional offices conducted a brief field visit to Wuhan.
22 January 2020
WHO mission to China issued a statement saying that there was evidence of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan but more investigation was needed to understand the full extent of transmission.
22- 23 January 2020
The WHO Director- General convened an Emergency Committee (EC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to assess whether the outbreak constituted a public health emergency of international concern. The independent members from around the world could not reach a consensus based on the evidence available at the time. They asked to be reconvened within 10 days after receiving more information.
28 January 2020
A senior WHO delegation led by the Director-General travelled to Beijing to meet China’s leadership, learn more about China’s response, and to offer any technical assistance.
While in Beijing, Dr. Tedros agreed with Chinese government leaders that an international team of leading scientists would travel to China on a mission to better understand the context, the overall response, and exchange information and experience.
30 January 2020
The WHO Director-General reconvened the Emergency Committee (EC). This was earlier than the 10-day period and only two days after the first reports of limited human-to-human transmission were reported outside China. This time, the EC reached consensus and advised the Director-General that the outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Director-General accepted the recommendation and declared the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV) a PHEIC. This is the 6th time WHO has declared a PHEIC since the International Health Regulations (IHR) came into force in 2005.
WHO’s situation report for 30 January reported 7818 total confirmed cases worldwide, with the majority of these in China, and 82 cases reported in 18 countries outside China. WHO gave a risk assessment of very high for China, and high at the global level.
3 February 2020
WHO releases the international community's Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to help protect states with weaker health systems.
11-12 February 2020
WHO convened a Research and Innovation Forum on COVID-19, attended by more than 400 experts and funders from around the world, which included presentations by George Gao, Director General of China CDC, and Zunyou Wu, China CDC's chief epidemiologist.
16-24 February 2020
The WHO-China Joint mission, which included experts from Canada, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore and the US (CDC, NIH) spent time in Beijing and also travelled to Wuhan and two other cities. They spoke with health officials, scientists and health workers in health facilities (maintaining physical distancing). The report of the joint mission can be found here: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf
11 March 2020
Deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction, WHO made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.
13 March 2020
COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund launched to receive donations from private individuals, corporations and institutions.
18 March 2020
WHO and partners launch the Solidarity Trial, an international clinical trial that aims to generate robust data from around the world to find the most effective treatments for COVID-19.
What were the approaches used by the WHO to countries affected by the pandemic?
‘As of 29 June 2020, the following milestones and events focused on COVID-19 have taken place:
- The Director-General and Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme have held 75 media briefings. The Director-General's opening remarks, transcripts, videos and audio recordings for these media briefings are available online.
- There have been 23 Member State Briefings and information sessions.
- WHO convenes international expert networks, covering topics such as clinical management, laboratory and virology, infection prevention and control, mathematical modelling, seroepidemiology, and research and development for diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, which have held frequent teleconferences, starting in early January. These networks include thousands of scientists, medical and public health professionals from around the world.
- EPI-WIN, WHO’s information network for epidemics, has convened 60 technical webinars, making available 287 expert panellists to more than 13,500 participants, from more than 120 countries and territories, with representation from as many as 460 organizations.
- The OpenWHO platform has had more than 3.7 million enrolments, over 80% of which are in COVID-19 courses. Free training is available on 13 different topics translated into 31 languages to support the coronavirus response, for a total of 100 COVID-19 courses.
- WHO’s landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines lists 17 candidate vaccines in clinical evaluation and 132 in preclinical evaluation.
- The Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH) has met 35 times. STAG-IH provides independent advice and analysis to the WHO Health Emergencies Programme on the infectious hazards that may pose a threat to global health security. ‘
(https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-06-2020-covidtimeline)
Based on the given facts, it is conspicuous that the co-operation between medical professionals and governments of the world under the umbrella of the WHO has made possible measures to contain the disease. The crystal-clear stance of education in this affair has been brought to the fore-front necessitating the vaccine that would serve as the cure.
But what has been the Nigerian approach to this? According to Adebayo Folurunsho-Francis who writes for Punch Newspapers Nigeria reports: ‘The invitation of the 15 Chinese by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 was strongly criticised by Nigerians, health professionals and professional bodies such as the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, as well as the Nigerian Medical Association.’ This shows a disconnect between the Federal Government and the Nigerian Medical Association to work out formidable roadmaps, policies that would engender appropriate control parameters towards containing the pandemic in Nigeria. On the side of the government, the writer continues, ‘the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the government was glad that the coming of the Chinese was not in vain. “We have been able to learn from ongoing interactions with the Chinese personnel, based on their own experience dealing with #COVID19 in China,” he said.’ (https://healthwise.punchng.com/were-learning-from-chinese-medical-teams-covid-19-experience-ehanire/)
The NMA, according to https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00072701.html, under the heading ‘Chinese Doctors in Nigeria for the COVID-19 despite opposition, submits that ‘The government has said that the team will share their experience on how the pandemic was handled in China. The invitation to the Chinese experts has been opposed by local doctors, with the Nigerian Medical Association terming it "ill-timed".’
Granted, there has been mixed reactions regarding the dangers posed by the COVID-19 virus. The scientist has this to say: ‘Administration officials have given contradictory statements about how COVID-19 will affect the US, and it is not clear who is leading the infectious disease response effort, critics say.’ The contradiction is stemming from fact that ‘…a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official announced that COVID-19 could start spreading at the community level in the US shortly and that if the outbreak did hit the states, there could be “severe” disruptions to daily life. The next day, President Donald Trump held an evening press conference in which he said he didn’t think an outbreak in the US is inevitable. “I don’t think it’s inevitable because we’re doing a really good job in terms of maintaining borders and turning—in terms of letting people in, in terms of checking people,” he told reporters. He did not mention a new disease case reported the same day in California that couldn’t be accounted for by foreign travel or contact with someone known to be infected...’ In the same press conference, Trump contradicted his own health officials. He predicted that there might be just one or two more people who report being infected in the next short period of time, yet, minutes later, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat both said that they expected the number of infections to grow…(https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/governments-mixed-messages-on-coronavirus-are-dangerous-experts-67202)
However, there are countries who are focused in containing the virus in the best way they deem fit. A typical example is Madagascar. The government playing its part to provide platforms and the involvement of concerned professionals of alternative medicine has brought about the revered Madagascar Herbal Cure: Covid Organics. Time Magazine has this to say about the stance of the president of Madagascar on the matter: ‘... To prove the safety of his new discovery, he picks up a bottle placed prominently on the podium and takes a swig of the amber liquid. “This herbal tea gives results in seven days,” he avows. “Tests have been carried out—two people have now been cured by this treatment…’’
Aides pass bottles of the herbal remedy, labelled “Covid-Organics,” to the assembled diplomats, ministers and journalists. They sip appreciatively, then break into applause as the president of this island nation announces that the first African cure for coronavirus, based on traditional African medicine, will be distributed countrywide, and, eventually across the continent.’
(https://time.com/5840148/coronavirus-cure-covid-organic-madagascar/)
We only hear the rising cases of the disease in the various states of the federation, active cases and number of deaths. Other countries are diligently imploring the necessary requirements such as research, monetary support from government, private and other donor bodies to bringing about vaccines or preventives towards containing the situations. Resulting from the lack of co-operation between the two bodies, the FG and NMA, donations and test kits from other countries are being received but ‘politically’ administered.
Chapter 3
Commerce
Calvin Coolidge, a one-time president of the US, in his 1925 speech, once said: ‘Business of America is business’. Historycentral.com interprets the statement as meaning ‘…that government should interfere as little as possible with businesses and individuals.’ In other words, the US had always had a wholesome embrace for commerce. Wikipedia has this to say: ‘that government should interfere as little as possible with businesses and individuals.’ The US capitalist system was brought about by the coming together of think-tanks and the government of the day (right from the Declaration of Independence of the country on July 4, 1776) to create unique business environment whose posterity would largely be dependent on individuals and private investments with the government merely participating by providing the geography for it.
Communist countries like China have computed the equation of allowing one- political party run commerce. The involvement of technocrats in government alongside concerned officials to decide the economy future of their nations via the creation of education-friendly philosophies as reflected in the policies formulated has paved way for their posterity. China is the world’s wonder when it comes to the area of commerce, beginning with the revolution in 1949 by Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong was equipped with education. According to Wikipedia, Mao Zendong was described as: ‘…one of the most important and influential individuals in modern world history. He is also known as a political intellect, theorist, military strategist, poet, and visionary.’ This later paves the way for the trade liberalization of China. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33534.html puts it this way: ‘Prior to the initiation of economic reforms and trade liberalization nearly 40 years ago, China maintained policies that kept the economy very poor, stagnant, centrally controlled, vastly inefficient, and relatively isolated from the global economy. Since opening up to foreign trade and investment and implementing free-market reforms in 1979, China has been among the world’s fastest-growing economies, with real annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaging 9.5% through 2018, a pace described by the World Bank as “the fastest sustained expansion by a major economy in history.” Such growth has enabled China, on average, to double its GDP every eight years and helped raise an estimated 800 million people out of poverty. China has become the world’s largest economy (on a purchasing power parity basis), manufacturer, merchandise trader, and holder of foreign exchange reserves. This in turn has made China a major commercial partner of the United States. China is the largest U.S. merchandise trading partner, biggest source of imports, and third-largest U.S. export market. China is also the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities, which help fund the federal debt and keep U.S. interest rates low.’
https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33534.html