The United Nations, which is marking its 75th anniversary, will for the first time this week hold its annual General Assembly virtually, yet another reminder of how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted our way of life. With major sessions set to get underway Tuesday, September 22, billions of people around the world will be hoping that world leaders forge a common voice and join hands in continued search for a vaccine or drug and ensuring that no country or territory is left out when there is finally a breakthrough on the scientific front. Equally important, this year’s assembly should serve as an opportunity for the leaders to truly scale up their commitment and action in making the necessary investments in strengthening public health systems in a manner that would make them withstand and promptly deal with any future public health crises. But this week started with another important highlight. Monday, September 21 was the International Day of Peace. In view of the dire challenges associated with the novel coronavirus the UN Secretary General has sought to push for declaration and observance of ceasefires in conflict hotspots around the world, urging for a concerted global focus on defeating a common threat and enemy: the virus. The pandemic in many ways has shown that we are indeed all interconnected and vulnerable to public health threats and other real enemies and are therefore better off working together in pushing back against common threats and forging a mutually beneficial future. War and conflict – whether it’s within individual countries, geopolitical, or international in nature – only undermines our collective shared aspirations and potential to create a better world for anyone. Covid-19 and all the ills it has come with have showed us how badly we all need each other and reminded us that we are stronger together for this is the only way we can truly overcome such challenges as Covid-19 and their attendant consequences.
