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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached 188 countries and territories around the world, after seven months since its appearance in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. As reported by the Johns Hopkins University [1], at the time of writing, the disease has affected almost 17 million people, and caused more than 660,000 deaths, inducing crises for many health systems and huge economic losses. Grave concerns exist as the pandemic spreads to densely populated regions across the sub-continents, Africa, and South America, and especially to countries where social distancing is impracticable, health systems are under-resourced to offer care for thousands of cases, and intensive care respiratory support for severe cases. The main attention to this disease has focused on clinical and epidemiological aspects, and research on therapies and vaccines. A holistic health response is required, one that applies a population health lens and incorporates prevention. Understanding the preconditions for pandemics is now an even more urgent task. Around 70% of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs), and almost all recent pandemics, originate in animals (most in wildlife) [2]. Infectious zoonotic diseases typically emerge as a The content of The Federation's Pages is selected and edited by the WFPHA and not sent through by JPHP's usual process of peer review.

Understanding national barriers to climate change adaptation for public health: a mixed-methods survey of national public health representatives

“…Notably, the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds as this article is written. It's devastating impact upon global health and global economies stands as testimony to the inherent connectivity between healthy environments, sound management of human-environment interactions, healthy people and healthy economies (Carducci and Hanna, 2020). The seemingly opposing forces of economic development and public health need to be reconciled given that they are not antagonistic but rather reinforcing.…”

“…Global inequalities and devastating ramifications of underinvesting in public health have been laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic. These stark revelations have prompted calls by leading public health experts for recognizing the significance of environmental determinants of health and for significantly boosting investments in public health (Carducci and Hanna, 2020;World Federation of Public Health Associations, 2020;World Health Organization, 2020). Hopefully such funding deficiencies will soon be remediated.…”