Inequity and health security: will the poison that blinds, open our eyes too?
SHOBHA SHUKLA, BOBBY RAMAKANT - CNS
"There are poisons that blind you, and poisons that open your eyes" had said famous Swedish author August Strindberg. COVID-19 and monkeypox have not only exposed the inequity that poisons our health systems but has also caused avoidable human sufferings, including deaths.
Even though inequity has been ailing our health and development model since long, the privileged class has remained numb and blind to it. But COVID-19 has proven that even the rich and powerful cannot remain firewalled from outbreaks of infectious diseases. Is it not high time that we open our eyes and rebuild equitable health and social security for all?
Inequitable health systems have caused diseases that could have been prevented, and untimely deaths that could have been averted. We must also keep in mind that these same broken health systems serve the best corporate interests of those who mint profits from illnesses through the so-called 'health industry'. For a larger part of human population, health is a fundamental human right, and cannot be an 'industry'.
Sadder is the reality that despite two and a half years of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not learnt from our mistakes and have not sufficiently addressed inequity in global health security. The monkeypox virus is once again drilling the same message: fix inequity if we want to ensure health security for all. But will our governments put people before corporate profits?
Attention to monkeypox is 50 years delayed
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