Friday 16th August, 2024

Election fever is running high with about five weeks to go before the presidential election. Nominations closed yesterday and as many as 39 candidates are in the fray; the vast majority of them are dummies supporting some of the main candidates. The participation of these proxies has increased the cost of conducting the election significantly, and concerned citizens are demanding action to prevent such characters from contesting presidential polls.

Political parties are upshifting and so are the independent groups. The country will be in a whirl of feverish electoral activity for the next few weeks, with politics eclipsing everything else. It is hoped that the upcoming election will not distract public attention from the fragile economic recovery process and a danger lurking around the corner.

Mpox, which is sweeping across Africa and has affected some countries elsewhere, shows signs of assuming pandemic proportions, according to international health experts. It is spreading quickly due to its longer incubation period and vague symptoms, as Cheryle Walter, a virologist, points out in her column, reproduced on this page, with permission from The Conversation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Mpox a global public health emergency. Its dire warning has come amidst the rapid spread of a virulent strain of Mpox in 22 countries. One can only hope that the WHO warning will not be taken lightly. Walter reminds us that when COVID-19 was declared an international public emergency, the case fatality rate was 1.2%. The Mpox case fatality rate is about 4% at present. This alone is proof of the severity of the situation the world is facing.

Countries, like Sri Lanka, experiencing economic problems, must be extra careful, for pandemic control will be extremely difficult for want of resources. Walter says there are a couple of things stacked against the African health agencies trying to contain the virus, one being the shortage of vaccines due to lack of resources. Quoting the Africa Centres for Disease Control estimates, she says there are only 200,000 doses available to African countries compared with a demand of at least 10 million. Sri Lanka is bound to face a similar situation in case of being affected by Mpox. The developed world had better make funds available for Africa’s fight against Mpox, which will not spare any country.

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the main reasons for Sri Lanka’s current predicament. There was an initial delay on the part of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government in taking action to curb the spread of the disease, and the pandemic relief programmes were politicised, with money being printed excessively to meet their costs. Lockdowns took a heavy toll on the economy. The SLPP government’s refusal to seek IMF assistance early to shore up the country’s diminishing foreign currency reserves aggravated the situation beyond measure.

The possibility of Mpox affecting Sri Lanka cannot be ruled out, and there is a pressing need for a contingency plan and a campaign to raise public awareness of the disease and preventive measures. The knee-jerk reaction of the Sri Lankan health authorities is to make light of emerging public health emergencies. It is hoped that they will not let the grass grow under their feet, again.

One of the biggest challenges to be overcome in case of another pandemic, will be vaccine scepticism, which some rare adverse side-effects of COVID-19 vaccines have brought about. Regrettably, anti-vaxxers have succeeded in misusing social media to make people lose faith in vaccination programmes to a considerable extent, the world over. If social media posts are any indication, many Sri Lankans attribute even their ordinary health issues to the COVID-19 vaccines. Unfortunately, no serious effort has been made, either here or internationally, to counter misinformation campaigns against vaccines and vaccination drives, which save lives.

Let the government be urged to heed the WHO warning and ensure that electioneering will not distract it from the need for action to prevent the spread of another pandemic.