Nipah virus exposes cracks in global health security

The World Health Organization has added the Nipah virus to its list of the world’s top 10 priority diseases, alongside COVID-19 and the Zika virus, warning that its epidemic potential highlights the global risk posed by fast-spreading outbreaks.

Speaking to AnewZ, Parvana Valiyeva, a member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and of its committees on international relations and health, said public health challenges are now inseparable from national and international security.

"In an extremely rapidly changing world, no country can be secure if others vulnerable," she said. 

In her view, health security, including risks from viruses, bacteria and pandemics, has effectively become borderless. "Health security, public health issues like the Nipah virus, bacteria, overall epidemics, pandemics now have no borders and can easily transmit faster than we imagine."

Pandemic disruption

COVID-19 is cited as evidence that disease outbreaks can disrupt economies, destabilise societies, reshape geopolitics and even redefine national security more quickly than armed conflict.

"We have learned lessons from COVID-19 pandemic when we saw how a virus can disrupt economies, destabilise societies, reshape geopolitics, even redefine national security faster than any conflict," she said. 

Preventing future crises, she says, requires strong multilateral cooperation.

"So here multilateralism is very important in tackling epidemics because viruses can spread easily and no one nation can save their health systems alone. Everyone should do something. Everyone can play a role."

Cuts to global health funding, particularly in donor countries, are now creating severe pressure on health systems worldwide. "Global health diplomacy is very important and financing for global health is very important. But unfortunately today, in many donor countries, global health financing stopped and this created a constrained budgetary environment for health systems."

Crucial role of WHO and UN

Reduced investment weakens pandemic preparedness, delays outbreak detection and leads to preventable deaths, including from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and Zika, which have existing treatments or vaccines but remain inaccessible in many regions.

Low and middle-income countries are especially vulnerable because many depend heavily on external donor support to run health programmes and provide life-saving medicines. Despite criticism of global institutions, the World Health Organization and the United Nations are described as essential.

"I think World Health Organisation, also UN, have their own history, norms and standards. They have science guidelines."

In Azerbaijan, primary health care reforms are being accelerated using core WHO principles adapted to national needs. Leaving multilateral health institutions would undermine global health security at a time when cooperation is more necessary than ever.

"There is no other international framework or organisation that can be alternative to this multilateralism," she said. 

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