by Xinhua writer Lu Jiafei
BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- This year's World Health Day, which falls on Tuesday, bears a special significance at a time of a raging coronavirus pandemic.
As the clock ticks, more people around the world are going to be either infected with or killed by the deadly disease. It is a test unprecedented in scale and scope facing humanity.
Under the weight of the ferocious contagion, it leaves countries across the globe with no other choice but to stick together and fight as one.
The international community needs to be fully confident in winning. Throughout the course of history, the human race has always managed to ride out outbreaks of diseases like Cholera, the Bubonic plague, smallpox and influenza, and emerged from those crises much stronger and smarter.
The fact that life in China, a country that was hit hard by the pathogen only months ago, is now gradually returning to normal can serve as a dose of confidence for those who are still in the depth of the battle in other parts of the world.
Also, governments around the world should work in a collaborative fashion, not turning against each other.
During the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit last month, leaders of the world's major economies have pledged stronger global cooperation. The group must set an example in materializing their consensus into practice, like closely coordinating their prevention and control measures, and building up a global network of information sharing.
On Monday, China released a detailed timeline, which testifies to the fact that China has all along been persistent in bolstering international COVID-19 control cooperation in an open, transparent and responsible manner.
Take China's 2019 Novel Coronavirus Resource database as an example. According to official data, the database had provided data service to more than 76,000 visitors from 152 countries and regions, and recorded 4.44 million downloads by the end of March.
At the moment, many countries are struggling with the shortage of medical supplies like masks, protective suits and ventilators. It is sad to see that some European countries and the United States have recently been exchanging accusations over face masks.
While boosting domestic production, countries around the world should better coordinate their efforts so that those life-saving supplies can actually save more lives. Or at least they should try not to make the situation worse. Fighting a pandemic is not a zero-sum game, as one's own victory against the disease depends in large part upon the collaborative efforts against the virus in other countries and regions.
Of course, the most fundamental way to end the pandemic once and for all is to make effective vaccines available to all. Thus, it is imperative for all countries to pool their strengths and speed up research and development in this regard to achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), told a press conference in Geneva on Monday that more than 70 countries have joined the WHO's trial to speed up the research on effective treatments and about 20 institutions and companies are racing to develop a vaccine, adding that the research has accelerated at an incredible speed.
The new progress in vaccine development is also reminding the world that the role of such international organizations as the WHO and the United Nations should be highlighted in future global health cooperation. Thus, governments should continue to uphold multilateralism and give a boost to those front-line international bodies rather than hamper their anti-virus initiatives.
It has been a common theme in science-fiction movies how humans can set aside their differences and bravely stand together to beat off alien invasions.
Though this time the attack is not from other celestial bodies, the threat is equally devastating. The human race needs to manifest greater solidarity and intrepidity in an all-out global war against the pandemic than in the virtual confrontation with alien beings.
