The COVID-19 pandemic is officially over, but the experience gained from it should lie at the heart of efforts to transform global healthcare and prevent other pandemics from catching humanity by surprise. By working together, Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states will be able to develop a common action plan should such situations arise. That was the conclusion reached by those attending a session entitled Lessons from the Pandemic: Looking to the Future, which took place as part of the second Eurasian Economic Forum.
KEY CONCLUSIONS
Humanity must prepare for future pandemics
“On 5 May the WHO director-general declared that the pandemic was at an end. However, the virus has gone nowhere of course, and we are naturally preparing for future epidemics and pandemics – they are inevitable,” Elena Ezhlova, Deputy Head, Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor).
“The position of the Eurasian Economic Commission showed that <...> a plan must be in place for various services to work together on sanitary and epidemiological matters. I believe that we will work on this together with authorized bodies, and that we will be able to adopt such a document to cover at least our five countries, and perhaps other interested countries too,” Viktor Nazarenko, Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Technical Regulation, Eurasian Economic Commission.
“It was decided that medical and biological security shall become an area of focus for the Collective Security Treaty Organization. It is developing into a new branch of activity, as outlined by the heads of state. The corresponding changes have been made to the organization’s charter, which is now at the ratification stage,” Sergei Pospelov, Executive Secretary, Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
The Eurasian Economic Commission can help solve issues surrounding healthcare
“Everyone made different decisions [during the pandemic – ed.]. Countries did not know how to act <...> and everyone found themselves in a rather difficult position. When this happened, we all felt that the Eurasian Economic Commission provided a great benefit, as it offered a platform to discuss these issues. <...> The Intergovernmental Council adopted the relevant comprehensive plan, <...> and it is our belief that specialists and heads of authorized bodies set out everything that needed to be done. And now, as this time is coming to an end, we can say with some satisfaction that the plan was fulfilled,” Viktor Nazarenko, Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Technical Regulation, Eurasian Economic Commission.
“We realize that the issue of biological security has not yet been definitively resolved, and that the issue has an economic dimension to it as well. Indeed, we all understand that if our countries had not closed themselves off to one another during COVID, and that if we had a common biological safety policy in place covering the EAEU, then by some estimates we could have saved up to 20% in turnover of goods and services. And clearly, this translates into a very palpable economic effect,” Sergei Pospelov, Executive Secretary, Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
PROBLEMS
Insufficient investment in healthcare
“Today we are talking about building a robust healthcare system. This will only be possible when there is investment. COVID-19 has greatly shaken all countries’ healthcare systems. <...> It is vital for us to stop for a moment, take a look back, and consider whether we are adequately investing in healthcare,” Siddhatha Datta, Regional Adviser, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Immunization Programme, the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
“Belarus’ experience is not only different from that of other countries around the world, but also from those in the Eurasian Economic Union. I would like to note that Belarus initially decided not to impose a so-called lockdown, with all the restrictions that implies for the economy, education, and the social sphere as a whole,” Alexander Tarasenko, Deputy Minister of Health – Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Republic of Belarus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to lower immunity among the population
“We are indeed seeing that the population is becoming increasingly vulnerable to other respiratory pathogens. Colleagues have already spoken of the situation regarding measles. We are also seeing a worsening of the situation around the world regarding the severity of respiratory syncytial virus. There is also an atypical stream of herpes virus infections and parvoviral infections. All this is again due to decreased immunity among the population,” Natalya Pshenichnaya, Deputy Director for Clinical and Analytical Work, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.
SOLUTIONS
Further improving information technology for the healthcare sector which was originally developed during the pandemic
“We are discussing everything concerning IT systems, and will continue to do so. The development of IT systems and common information resources provides a way out of the situation. It offers a way of building good communication links between authorized bodies and all stakeholders. Such systems will genuinely enable us to manage this process very effectively,” Viktor Nazarenko, Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Technical Regulation, Eurasian Economic Commission.
“The [digital – ed.] technology that was fully developed during COVID-19 <...> is still with us. And this technology allows us to solve similar problems for almost all vaccine-preventable diseases. <...> We gained vital and invaluable experience, which remains with us and which we will draw upon when addressing similar objectives in relation to other diseases,” Areg Totolian, Director, Institut Pasteur in St. Petersburg for Research in Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.
“A key objective – and not only in Russia – is related to health examinations. Work migration between countries is currently growing at a substantial rate. Migrants <...> sometimes have to wait for a long time to take medical tests and undergo health examinations. <...> An [information – ed.] tool could be used in an approximately similar way, based on the same mechanisms,” Alexander Petrov, Director of Digital Initiatives Directorate, Eurasian Development Bank.
For more information, visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org/en