COVID-19:
Universities are filling the void in International Cooperation
Anushka Saraswat
The COVID-19 pandemic
is not only a trial for health systems and public infrastructures but also a
test of global cooperation and forbearance. When international organizations
like the United Nations, the G20, and the G7 are struggling to carve out a role
for themselves in the global response to the deadly pandemic, the global
universities are fighting on the frontlines against the deadly virus. Although the
universities are far below the haute politique of international
relations, they are within the trough wrestling to seek out a vaccine, develop
therapeutics, and expedite mass production to effectively dispense the
treatments as widely and as fairly as possible.
The UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pleaded for a unified global response as
nations turn inwards and seal each other off to combat the pandemic. The
silence of the Security Council has sent a signal of shambolic disunity, which
is resonating quite widely. Universities, on the other hand, are charged with
highly qualified teams of researchers who are working tirelessly to find a cure
and mitigate the impact of COVID-19.During the time of dire straits, the
scientists and scholars have become increasingly connected and interdependent, disregarding
concerns such as academic credit.
The universities and research centres are sharing data and collaborating across
national borders in extraordinary new ways.
Doctors,
engineers, scientists, researchers and university students across the world
have shifted gears and are applying their skills and knowledge to fight the
virus. The
Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by
volume has partnered with the US-based biotech drug research company Codagenix.
The two partners have been working together with the utmost diligence and
meticulous efforts to develop a preventive vaccine against the novel
coronavirus.
At Oxford’s Jenner
Institute, one of the most reputed academic centers for vaccine research in the
world, a team led by Sarah Gilbert has identified a nonreplicating viral
vaccine candidate and is aiming for success in humans by June. The university
has recruited volunteers with human trials already going underway. The human
test is set to begin by April 22. The development of a vaccine is a glaringly slow
process, however, with the support of the international community the
academicians, researchers, and scientists are producing viable candidates and
lab research speedily. The vaccine is being simultaneously tested in animal
models by laboratories in the United States and Australia. There are plans for
large scale productions in China, India, and Italy.
The team of researchers
in Harvard’s Precision Vaccines Program is aiming to develop a COVID-19 vaccine
for the older population. Many institutes in the U.S. such as Tufts University,
Middleburg College and New York University are preparing to convert campus
dormitories to temporary hospitals to provide beds for COVID-19 patients
displaced from existing hospitals.
The Global Institute on
Innovation Districts engaged innovation districts across the world. The
institute effectively responded to what extent their research institutions, R&D
labs, companies, and other actors are advancing in the development of a
vaccine. The institute is focusing on the broad sector of life sciences to
include all research specializations that have been tapped to address the
pandemic.
The
universities are also collaborating with companies and volunteers who are
developing new solutions for creating and ramping the production of Personal
Protection Equipment (PPE). A few universities like North Western University,
University of New Hampshire and Michigan State University are developing 3-D
printed face shield projects.
Manu
Prakash, who is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University,
focused largely on low-cost medical devices. In March, he returned from Europe
where the pandemic was taking a toll. After returning he started an open-source
project to modify full-face snorkel masks into reusable Personal Protection
Equipment (PPE) for health care workers.
Pandemics like COVID-19
eventually generate opportunities for global cooperation. The United States and
China should have put aside their differences and tackled the pandemic
together. When the COVID-19 threatened the world and WHO stumbled, the two
countries could have united for coordinating a global response to the pandemic.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based in the United States
should have assisted China in investigating the origin and nature of the
“mysterious virus” when Chinese counterparts were inordinate and required more
expertise assistance in the research. As China leads in the manufacturing and
exporting of active pharmaceutical ingredients, she could have cooperated with
the United States to mitigate the disruption of the drug supply chain. The
COVID-19 pandemic is a reflection of the incompetency of international
institutions and national leaders and their governments.
Nations eschewed
Multilateralism. After inequality persisted for decades, disaffected voters in
numerous countries have elected populist leaders in recent years. In
authoritarian positions, these leaders turned to nationalist norms and shrugged
off the international responsibilities and constraints imposed by international
organizations. Defeating the COVID-19 pandemic demands international cooperation
on all levels, however, the reinforcement of nationalist trends makes the
mechanism of delivery substantially weak.
When health
organizations and institutes continue to work on solutions for the COVID-19
pandemic, the world is reminded that this type of global and real-time
coordination doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s through communication networks
of small geographic innovation in areas of advanced research, rapid prototyping
and commercialization that success is achieved.
Many experts in the
world warned of humanity’s vulnerability to a pandemic before the coronavirus
outbreak. In the famous 2015 TED talk, Bill Gates highlighted the vast
financial resources that are employed for nuclear deterrence instead of funding
for pandemic preparedness. Contrarily, governments continued to see national
security in military and warfare terms, and the production of essential
pharmaceuticals was outsourced to the less expensive providers in the name of
private profit and public economy. Only strong international universities and
institutions can effectively respond to the deadly pandemic. It’s pertinent to
exacerbate global inequities and marshal the resources required to effectively
contain the future global crisis of this kind. COVID-19 will not be the last
pandemic. With more robust global institutions, developed and underdeveloped
countries alike can ensure that the next one is less disastrous.
Note: The article was originally published in
Geopolitics Magazine on 16th April 2020. Opinions expressed are
those of the Author and republished here with the permission of the Author.
