“The globalization of health problems and the risks to our security and economic survival represent an urgent international challenge and an extraordinary opportunity for all sectors to work together.”
Our Quote of the Week ties together public health with other critical issues common to our human family: security and economic opportunity. It also makes the point that only international collaboration can allow us to truly tackle these issues in a holistic way.
The escalating risks of the coronavirus are a stark reminder that when it comes to issues that affect human well-being, borders do not matter. A threat to our health or welfare that exists on one side of our planet will not stay isolated -- because we are all connected. In his Address to the World Health Organization Conference in 1997, Sargent Shriver made this point very clearly. He also stressed that it is in our collective interest to work together to address any issue that threatens human life, health, and well-being. From poverty to ill health to violence, we are all vulnerable to the same threats, and it is only when we acknowledge our interconnectedness and work together to tackle the issues that affect us all, that we can find sustainable, long-term solutions.
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