International cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of ‘global public goods’ (GPGs) in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that many of the tasks involved in public health, and in particular those involved in the control of an infectious disease like COVID-19, ought to be treated as GPGs that can only be effectively delivered through international cooperation. It sets out what a cooperative response to the COVID-19 pandemic should look like and introduces ideas for further discussion about how it might be financed.

The economics of the COVID-19 pandemic: an assessment

“…It has had a dramatic impact on international trade between countries: a drop by about 38 per cent in France, and 25 per cent in Turkey and Germany, for instance, relative to historical averages ( Demir and Javorcik, 2020 this issue). And already protectionist pressures have reared their head, as Brown and Susskind (2020) also describe. There is a need to ensure that global cooperation in trade policy goes hand in hand with global cooperation on health and macroeconomic policy.…”

“…The ultimate goal must be to discover, manufacture, and distribute a vaccine so as to eliminate the threat of COVID-19 altogether. And as Brown and Susskind (2020 , this issue) argue, countries must cooperate much more actively than at present in their pursuit of this common objective. But before a vaccine or an effective treatment is available for widespread use, another strategy will be necessary to control the spread of the disease in the meantime.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global medical crisis, not just a national one. In Brown and Susskind (2020) , the authors show that the international response to the pandemic has fallen short, primarily because of a lack of effective global cooperation. Many of the tasks involved in controlling an infectious disease like COVID-19 are global public goods—a public good that spills across national borders with far-reaching consequences as a result—that can only be delivered through global cooperation.…”

“…But cooperation would also have to be strengthened because it is not enough just to discover a vaccine: it has to be mass manufactured and, if the disease is to be eradicated in every country to avoid further waves of the disease emerging in the future, distributed equitably. Brown and Susskind (2020) discuss just why many activities like this have been underfunded and under-provided until now, and they discuss how this might be remedied.…”

Cooperation with Health Professionals during the Pandemic of COVID 19

“…That is why their importance should be realized seriously. Brown and Susskind (2020) highlighted the importance of cooperation globally during coronavirus. The writers stated that global cooperation in different forms such as developing vaccines, producing and supplying medical equipment, and sharing early information relating to pandemic among the countries will be instrumental in handling the COVID-19 situation.…”