We can observe in the last couple of weeks an urge, an intense urge from wealthy countries that the World Health Organization declares a level 6 alert which means a World Wide Pandemic.
The reasons are simple; wealthy Nations want their governments to implement measures in conformity with their National pandemic preparedness plan regardless of the impacts of such a declaration would impose on Poor countries, who are by the way the Huge majority of Humans of this Planet.
The Tiny minority of wealthy and informed people of this Earth are fearfull of what will become of this virus next fall, and rightly so.
It can indeed transform itself with some merging with other more lethal viruses (For instance H5N1(bird flu virus) is endemic in many poor countries and has a lethality of over 60%).
Wealthy informed Nations realized that the H1N1 novel swine origin virus might become a lethal beast next Fall.
If we go by the book, yes this is a pandemic, suffice to look at a world map and it is evident.
Then why the WHO do not declare Phase 6 that means a full blown pandemic??
There are few reasons for this;
First the infected cases in wealthy countries are "Mild" with low morbidity and a very low mortality rate.
Second, because if the past is warrant of the Future, it would be unwise to waste our medications now, while it is "mild" when we all know that we will not even have enough medicines for the second wave in the Fall if virus history repeat itself, better keep our best defenses at bay for the real thing in the Fall.
Third, we need more time to analyze, comprehend and project the impacts of this viruses in the Fall.
Fourth, Winter is starting in the Southern Hemisphere and this will granth us the opportunity to see how this virus evolve.
And the Fifth reason and the most important one
is the fact that few wealthy Nations are putting pressure on the WHO to declare a Phase 6 level, it would simply mean on the ground, disregarding what would be the grave morbid impacts on the majority of Nations, who are by the way, poor, have weak medical and surveillance network, few qualify Health Care Providers and with a population with weak medical conditions and mostly quite traumatized by epidemics and pandemic of the Past and Present.
In fact this request and pressure from the a tiny proportion of wealthy Nations is just a Selfish and non-humanitarian request by the most childish people of the world and the fact that this world wide spread virus is not so much morbid and even less lethal in wealthy population than in Poor Countries, make such requests abject.
The reality is that virus is more threatening for poor countries as in the Mexican case for example, so.., just imagine its morbidity and mortality in Africa for instance.
The problem with the fears and the will of the tiny whealthy population of this planet residing under the umbrella of technological advantages and wealth might be legitimate within their own countries, so just put pressure in our own countries if we still have a hearth for Humanity.
But the imperialist spirit of the tiny wealthy minority selfish people of the world is aggressive, stubborn and quite often inhuman.
May the WHO stand up to these pure selfishness spoil child requests and refuse to bow and allows the majority of the population of the World, the poor countries, to reduce morbidity and mortality that such a declaration would cause.
Of course the wealthy selfish will say, if the pandemic is not declared in those poor countries it will have bad impacts for us in wealthy countries..., well it is about time that wealthy countries understand that we are all in this together.
We are all in this together, whether we want it or not, that is the Nature of pandemics, no technological Shield, no boundaries, no almighty armies to face tiny pandemic viruses.
So, let’s cut some of our budgets for improving our greed and let’s give money to poor countries so they can boost their medical infrastructures, their monitoring of the situation and mostly their public communications.
If wealthy Nations in their selfish childish behavior persist, we will probably be doomed in the Fall just like the poor ones.
I am still confident that some wealthy Nations Leaders will Dare to Care and avoid a devastating catastrophes not only for poor countries but for their own citizens.
Meanwhile prepare yourself and your families, it can be done.
Snowy Owl