AMMAN — On Monday, the President of the
Jordanian National Center for Epidemics and Communicable Diseases (JCDC), Adel
Al-Belbisi said that Jordan is prepared for any upcoming pandemic, Al-Mamlaka
TV reported.
اضافة اعلان
Belbisi highlighted the crucial role of JCDC
in gathering information from various medical institutions, acting as a
centralized hub for epidemiological monitoring. He noted the absence of an
institution in Jordan that integrates all the data for predicting future
occurrences. Therefore, he pointed out plans for a collaborative strategy that
involves all health and non-health sectors to combat epidemics, echoing the
World Health Organization's (WHO) warning regarding the potential spread of an
unknown epidemic, referred to as epidemic ‘X’.
Moreover, Belbisi emphasized that countries
should always be prepared to cooperate with each other for the early detection
of any pandemic or virus. He urged all countries to be prepared, emphasizing
the necessity for their laboratories to have the capability for such detection
and stressing the importance of having a plan in place for combating epidemics.
A Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center
for Health Security, Amesh Adalja suggested that
Disease X could be a
respiratory virus currently present in animals but not yet transmitted to
humans. He discussed the possibility of it residing in bats, similar to
Covid-19, or in birds, like avian influenza, as well as, another type of
animal, such as pigs.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus stated that preparation for X requires a renewed commitment to
strengthening primary healthcare, investing in research and development for
drug testing, and other necessary tools. He emphasized the importance of the
lessons learned from the
COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the challenges faced
in managing patient flow in hospitals, contact tracing, and supporting supply
chains for essentials like oxygen.
The chairman of AstraZeneca, Michel Demaré
warned that many countries are not allocating efficient funds to prepare their
healthcare systems for the next pandemic, stressing the need for smarter
spending. Additionally, he indicated that, on average, countries in the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) allocate only
three percent of their health system budgets to prevention.
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