Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, then-director-general, addresses a WHO committee on Sept 21, 2009. (MIKE CLARKE / AFP)
The world must show respect for the ecological balance to help prevent the spread of diseases, as more than 70 percent of new diseases in the past four decades have come from animals, says Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, former director-general of the World Health Organization.
In a phone interview with China Daily, she stressed that not only the health sector, but all sectors and all countries should take time to reflect on what kind of world everyone wants to live in, and what changes must be brought forward after the novel coronavirus pandemic.
In just three months, more than 1.4 million people around the world have been infected by the coronavirus, with fatalities exceeding 80,000.
“It’s an unprecedented health crisis,” said Chan, who was formerly Hong Kong’s director of health before taking the helm at the WHO in 2007 and served in that post for 10 years.
She attributed the rapid spread of the disease to a host of factors. They include a larger world population, aging communities, a convenient and well-linked transport network, and the nature of the virus which renders a patient infectious before the symptoms appear, making it more difficult to cut the transmission chain.
Elaborating, Chan said, the disease is just another example of human beings disrupting the ecological balance, by showing no respect for wild animals and nature.
She believes the COVID-19 outbreak is closely connected with eating wild animals, and said she’s happy to see China has passed legislation banning the consumption and abuse of wild animals.
In the past 40 years, the world has seen a growing number of new diseases, with 70 to 75 percent of them deriving from animals, called zoonosis, including Ebola, SARS, MERS, and avian influenza, Chan explained.
When the ecosystem balance is disrupted, Chan said, it could give rise to the emergence of a new disease. “Disease is a constant struggle for human beings.”
She said it’s rather naive to hold the view that science and technology can be so advanced that no new infectious disease will occur. What can be done is to minimize the impact of an outbreak and the loss of lives by investing in the public health system, she added.
This includes investment to ensure there are enough doctors, nurses and medical resources in public hospitals; a mature health surveillance system so that early warnings can be given when a new disease occurs; investing in the education sector to enable children to learn about personal hygiene, such as washing their hands and coughing etiquette.
When confronted by an unknown virus or disease, any country must show humility and maintain vigilance, Chan said. In her view, it’s not yet safe to say COVID-19 won’t return in a second wave for any country, including China, which, she thinks, has done a heroic job in containing the virus. “The virus will go away. It’s difficult to predict when, but it will eventually go away. So, we must not give up hope.”
Chan called for cohesive efforts worldwide to combat the crisis. Countries should share information, experience in control measures and medical resources with each other, as no one can survive the crisis alone, she said. “We’re in the same boat, whether we like it or not. If we work together, we can pull through this crisis.”
The world must prevent the pandemic from developing into an economic crisis, or even a humanitarian crisis, she warned. “When many people lose their jobs, when many people have no support, it will become a humanitarian crisis.”
Chan called on everyone to show understanding, empathy and solidarity, instead of discrimination.
