International Day of Epidemic Preparedness serves as a reminder to be really prepared for what’s to come. This day has become important after the last pandemic the world faced, the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed the world’s features, and its impact extended to other aspects of life not related to health (such as the economic and social aspects).
“The COVID-19 pandemic will not be the last pandemic humanity will face, and infectious diseases remain a clear and present danger to every country. As we respond to this health crisis, we need to prepare for the next one. This means scaling-up investments in better monitoring, early detection, and rapid response plans in every country.”
– António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, in 2021. [2]
Epidemiology: is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of health problems. [3]
Pandemics: are when an epidemic occurs worldwide, crossing international borders and affecting many people. [1]
Infectious Diseases: are disorders caused by organisms – such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. Many organisms live in and on our bodies. They’re normally harmless or even helpful. But under certain conditions, some organisms may cause disease. [4]
In this century alone, the world has seen deadly regional outbreaks of ebola, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and coronavirus, among many others. And virtually every person on our planet has been affected by the direct or secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Pathogenic microorganisms multiply very quickly, and they also feature that their genetic material is not adequately protected. This makes them susceptible to mutations or changes, and these changes are the cause of the problem.
Initially, an imbalance occurs in the system of epidemic-causing organisms, such as viruses, germs, or parasites, which calls for a different response from our bodies or from the bodies of other organisms when exposed to them. Animals or plants — mostly animals — cause the transmission of these diseases to humans. In this case, there are two possibilities:
International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is the reason for raising awareness of pandemic knowledge, transmission, and how to respond. When the pathogen is transmitted from one person to another, there are several cases that help and facilitate this transmission, including:
After the large spread of social media as a rapid source of information and common events or so-called “trends”, some resorted to publishing misleading, inaccurate, and unclear content about recent epidemics such as the Corona pandemic. However, sites such as Twitter acknowledged that misleading or inaccurate content would be removed and this coincided with both Facebook and Microsoft’s announcements. [5]
Here, the role of the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is highlighted in making this epidemiological knowledge spread among all. It also shows us the importance of taking news from its correct sources and not relying on social media.
The first step and the seed of success is planning; we must devote time and effort to planning to address emergency health crises such as epidemics, some of which may turn into a pandemic. Thus, we mitigate the losses we may suffer when the epidemic occurs without planning to overcome them.
The first thing to focus on is societies that show the first response when disasters occur. The need to raise awareness, build culture, and effective and correct response mechanisms when epidemics occur is therefore inevitable. This is followed by an interest in the health sector and an effort to develop, support, and rehabilitate it to respond to epidemics. It is advisable to provide training to a group of individuals we may call ‘specialized emergency responders’ and to also provide them with specialized courses in epidemiology and response. Last but not least, spend generously on scientific research, experiments, and research based on the development of treatments, vaccines, and biotechnologies.
World Epidemic Preparedness Day calls for awareness of the factor that causes the epidemic and its details. In addition to the need to adhere to the guidance and instructions provided to us by the ministries and concerned parties. It is also important to take information from reliable sources, not to spread panic with rumors and misinformation, and to keep away from anything that will lead to the further spread of this epidemic.
Awareness of finding alternatives to continue our life is one of the goals of International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.; an example of alternatives is remote business and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is the world’s warning to raise awareness about the epidemic and its grave risks. In the Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative, we hope that the Syrian women’s community will be aware enough to deal effectively with health risks and raise awareness about these topics.
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References:
[1] IFRC
[2] UN
[3] CDC
[4] Mayo Clinic
[5] BBC