Sir, – The number of Covid-19 cases and deaths that we are faced with in Ireland is grim. Despite a huge effort from the Irish public, our frontline workers, the Government and Nphet, the number of new infections remains high, and far too many people continue to die.
While vaccines are here, it will take some time before they reach all of us. But until then an Ireland and a world free of Covid-19 where we can work, study, play and hug our loved ones will not be achieved without a coordinated local and global response.
On a local level we need to give communities power to take action to stop, minimise and eventually eliminate the number of new infections in their areas. This can be done by working closely with local public health professionals to test, trace and isolate all infections and enforcing travel restrictions.
Germany is already discussing a “No Covid strategy” aimed at developing local “green zones”, which could be gradually expanded to reach the entire country. It is a strategy worth considering in Ireland.
In the 14 countries in which Goal works in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, we are using the community-led action approach to help communities developing plans at local level to isolate, shield those most at risk, and manage cases of infection.
This approach has been part of the strategy which allowed Goal to reach over 17 million people with Covid-19 awareness messaging and supports since March 2020 using radio, social media, mobile phones, mobile trucks and community conversations. Over 1,000 health facilities have been supported with infection prevention and control measures.
However local responses alone like those adopted by Goal are not enough. They need to be complemented by unified global leadership.
There is cause for optimism with the arrival of the new Biden administration in the US, and a president committed to international cooperation and multilateralism. The US can assume a leadership role, rallying the EU, the African Union and other countries.
With Ireland now a member of the UN Security Council, we can also be a facilitator of a global response to Covid-19 which is a security threat as it continues to devastate people’s lives and livelihoods.
It is only with coordinated local and global action that we can dream of an Ireland and world without Covid-19. As the World Health Organisation Head of Emergencies, Irishman Dr Mike Ryan, has put it: “Nobody is safe, until all of us are safe.” – Yours, etc,
Dr ENIDA FRIEL,
Monitoring, Evaluation,
Accountability and Learning
Manager,
Goal,
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.