CONTENTS
- G20 Pandemic Fund
G20 Pandemic Fund
Context:
The Central Government will implement the G20 Pandemic Fund, which is aimed at enhancing the country’s “animal health security”.
Relevance:
GS II: International Relations
Dimensions of the Article:
- G20 Pandemic Fund
- Understanding Zoonotic Diseases
- Global Health Security Index (GHSI)
G20 Pandemic Fund
- Purpose and Creation: The G20 Pandemic Fund was established by the G20 countries to improve the global ability to prepare for and respond to health crises, focusing on pandemics and diseases that transfer from animals to humans.
- Primary Goals:
- Enhancing healthcare infrastructures globally to manage pandemics efficiently.
- Targeting zoonotic diseases by investing in better animal health monitoring and surveillance systems.
- Providing necessary resources to help strengthen health systems in less developed regions.
- Operational Framework:
- Administration: The World Bank manages the fund, working in collaboration with entities like the WHO, FAO, and various regional development banks.
- Financial Structure: Launched with an initial funding of over $1.4 billion, the fund utilizes grants and low-interest loans to support projects in eligible countries.
Understanding Zoonotic Diseases
- Definition: Zoonotic diseases are infections passed between animals and humans, caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi.
- Modes of Transmission:
- Direct interaction with infected animals.
- Contact with environments contaminated by pathogens.
- Through vectors such as ticks and mosquitoes.
- Consuming tainted food products.
- Breathing in airborne pathogens from animal waste.
Examples:
- Rabies- The rabies disease is usually spread by an infected mammal through bites, most commonly dogs and bats.
- Lyme Disease- Lyme disease is a disease caused by bacteria. These bacteria are usually spread by the bites of infected ticks.
- Salmonellosis- This is a type of foodborne disease, which is spread through handling reptiles and poultry, or consuming contaminated food and water.
- West Nile Virus- West Nile Virus is a disease spread by mosquitoes, which are infected after feeding on infected birds.
- Hantavirus is spread by contact with excrements, urine or saliva of rodents.
- Ebola is spread through the direct contact with the infected person or animal’s body fluids.
- Zika virus is transmitted mainly through mosquito bite, however, it also can be sexually transmitted or passed from mother to baby.
- Influenza A (H1N1, H5N1) are viral diseases that are transmitted among birds and pigs before being passed to humans.
- Anthrax – Bacterial cause and spread through contact with infected animals or consumption of contaminated animal products.
- Brucellosis – Cause by bacteria and is spread through direct contact with infected animals or consumption of contaminated animal products.
Global Health Security Index (GHSI) Insights
- The GHSI acts as a comprehensive tool to evaluate and compare the readiness of nations to handle global health threats like pandemics.
- Developed in 2019 by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, and The Economist Intelligence Unit.
- Scoring and Evaluation:
- Countries are scored on a scale from 0 to 100, where higher scores denote better preparedness.
- Assessment Criteria:
- Prevention: Evaluates efforts to prevent the emergence of new pathogens.
- Detection and Reporting: Measures effectiveness in monitoring and alerting outbreaks.
- Rapid Response: Gauges the speed and efficiency in responding to health crises.
- Health System Capacity: Assesses the robustness of national healthcare systems to deal with large-scale health emergencies.
- Adherence to International Norms: Looks at compliance with global health regulations.
- Risk Environment: Considers socio-political and environmental factors that could impact national health security.
