Global Pandemics and how they affect the Government
A pandemic is an epidemic of a disease that has spread across a wide area. It is an outbreak of infectious disease and can spread globally and affect many people and causing a lot of deaths. It is the global outbreak of a disease. A pandemic can interfere with the social, economic, and political status of a nation and increase morbidity and mortality.
Quite some global deaths are caused by infectious diseases and epidemics that come from these diseases cannot be predicted. When a new pandemic is in its early stages, no vaccine is usually available. The only way out for the people at the beginning of a new pandemic is taking personal measures like personal hygiene and the use of facemasks. Travel restrictions are placed and people are asked to social distance themselves in case of possible infected people. The public needs to comply with these measures to be able to control the disease because “the willingness of the public to comply with these kinds of measures, as proposed by public health authorities, is crucial to adequately control this type of event” ( Weerd et al 1). The public decides to embrace protective actions depending on how they perceive the risks of the pandemic. They also look at how the government is dealing with the crisis for them to adopt the measures.
The public adopts the protective measures if they perceive the pandemic to be a high-level risk. If the pandemic has a threat to the health of the public they adopt to the measures. When there is a pandemic outbreak, sources such as general health personnel, the media houses, and the government explain to the public how vulnerable they are to the virus. They also inform the public about how likely it is to contact the virus and its impacts. Getting such information from different sources can influence the public to adhere to the protective measures. Knowing how the public perceives information and to the extent they do is very important. Another crucial aspect is knowing the degree to which they have faith the many sources that make them aware of the threats. This is because” trust is an important factor in risk management because it can affect the public's judgments of risks and benefits, and can therefore indirectly influence the acceptance of recommended measures” (Weerd et al 1). People who trust the government more have a high chance of adopting the measures than the ones who do not. Trust affects the risk perception, risk prevention measures, and support from the government.
During the pandemic crisis, successful risks and crisis communication depends on the rate at which the public trusts and perceives the government. Lack of or no trust in the capability of the government to contain the threat may come from sources that are confusing and cause doubt about the public health cautions. People hear, interpret, and respond to public health messages and information differently and therefore it is important to weigh what is put out to the public. According to Weerd et al (1), public compliance to the preventive measures is associated with the high level of public trust and perception.
Although the infectious disease is a biological occurrence, it is mainly managed by governmental actions through the making of policies, paying attention, and allocating resources. The factors that make the situation difficult are the climate changes and the migration of many people. Pandemics cause global inequality because many of the poor people die in high numbers compare to the other people. The impacts of the pandemics are encountered differently by the poverty-stricken and excluded nationwide and among countries like “during the West-Africa Ebola epidemic, the disease and economic impact fell hardest on the poor communities” (Kavanagh et al 50). Pandemics are infectious diseases that do not have any boundary and this shows why it is important to come up with a strategy that has its stand on international togetherness.
According to Kavanagh et al (53), during a pandemic outbreak, the government experiences an economic shrinking because many businesses are closed at that time. The economic impact experienced globally is the lack of productivity caused by the pandemic. The infectious disease is capable of disrupting national security in a country. Some of the things that lead to an increase in the intensity of the outbreak include urbanization, migration, and globalization. The government could help to reduce the pandemics which kill a lot of people and prevent other possible outbreaks by putting up measures that focus on the long term. This could be made possible by governments partnering with other companies to strengthen the health systems.
Pandemics can cause severe short term and long term economic shocks that are capable of damaging economic growth. In the early stages the efforts of the public health to contain the outbreak or limit the spreads, for example, tracing the contacts, developing quarantines, and isolating the infected people incur costs. This hugely affects the government because when the outbreak grows, other facilities need to be built to be able to manage the infected cases. The health system expenses are increased by the demand for medical supplies, protective equipment for the people, and drugs. Reduced tax revenues may worsen the economic stresses due to an increase in expenditure because “where tax systems are weaker and government fiscal constraints are more severe” (Madhav et al. 1). When there is a slow economic activity and there are curfews and quarantine measures taking place, the government is not able to collect revenue.
A pandemic causes great budget shortages which makes the response of the public health to weaken and also make the government cut off on some other expenditures. They cause indirect damage to economic activity and growth compared to the direct economic impacts. The negative economic impacts are led by the reduced labor force which is caused by people getting sick and dying. It is indirectly caused by the changes in behavior that are caused by fear which “manifests itself through multiple behavioral changes” (Madhav et al. 1). Fear makes some of the governments to close borders to control the entry of people from the affected countries. It also makes companies close, it disrupts transportation and also make the private policymakers to interrupt trade and travel by canceling flights and reducing the shipping services. These impacts cause a decrease in the labor force participation more than how the pandemic impacts morbidity and mortality directly and shrink the local and regional trade.
All sectors of the economy are affected during a pandemic and this leads to the increase of prices for staple foods. There is also an economic strain for households, the private companies, and the government. Pandemics can lead to remarkable and long-lasting economic damage. They can have social and political outcomes, causing conflict between different states and citizens. This can lead to people being displaced, which could cause social anxiety and some people would face discrimination. According to Madhav et al (1), pandemic outbreaks can cause social groups that are vulnerable to be blamed for the cause of the disease and its outcomes. Pandemics can intensify political tensions and cause trouble mostly in the fragile states where there is the existence of violence and weak institutions.
During pandemic outbreaks, social distancing measures which works to reduce the closeness of people to reduce the rate at which people get into contact with each other plays a crucial role in the emergency response. It reduces the infection rate in schools “because schools are socially dense environments where students congregate for many hours of the day, schools can fuel community-wide disease transmission” (Uscher-Pines et al. 1). It also slows transmission in the communities and relieves tension in public healthcare that is overburdened during this time. It gives time for the government to come up with prevention or produce a vaccine and distribute it. Social distancing in schools prevents the transmission from schools to the other members of the community. Research shows that during a pandemic outbreak, schools should focus on hygiene, facemasks, and disinfecting school buildings. Out of all the measures, the most effective one is a social distancing that leads to curbing the transmission of the disease. When the pandemic becomes severe, the government orders the closure of schools for some time.
According to The Global Economic and Financial Impact of an Avian Flu Pandemic (9), the direct impacts that the governments get from pandemic outbreaks are an increased expenditure on health and public safety. It is also affected directly when it implements the ways and instructions for deploying security and polices officers. Distribution of items and essentials that meet the demand for goods and services concerning health. Changes in the payment system cause reduced revenue flow in the national treasuries and the desertion in the government ministries also disrupts the government activities. The indirect impacts that are faced by the government are the likeliness of the affected sectors calling for reimbursements. During a pandemic outbreak, many sectors especially tourism, transport, insurance among others are likely to suffer and experience bankruptcies. Many organizations may be unable to survive the months and weeks of low demand and this may lead to the rise in unemployment.
The social and economic interference caused by a pandemic could be significant (National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza 1). Absenteeism which could be caused by individual illnesses, sick members of the family, the fear of getting infected or the preventive measures that help to restrict the transmission of the pandemic could highly affect the economy. The operation of infrastructure which includes the maneuvering of goods and services and functioning of institutions such as schools could be affected. Therefore a pandemic causes remarkable consequences in the financial state, governmental security, and the normal operation of the public.
The temporary and permanent impacts are that if the pandemic is temporary, the impacts too will be short-lived because “consumers and investors will start purchasing again, firms will be built up to full capacity, and international trade will rebound “(The Global Economic and Financial Impact of an Avian Flu Pandemic 9). Businesses will begin operating again, organizations will get back to normal and the economy will not be heavily affected. If the impacts caused by the pandemic are permanent, some organizations may face closure, others may have a lot of debts that the government may have the pressure to assume. The government too would have an accumulation of debt that would make it hard to finance the economic position. The lower-income countries are affected by poor medical infrastructures and low levels of preparedness. The countries with weak economic positions offer limited support and help to the people. Countries that depend on external financial markets also face increased borrowing because of the needs that are a result of the pandemic.
When preparing for a pandemic, the main factor includes expenses on items such as food and medical supplies (The Global Economic and Financial Impact of an Avian Flu Pandemic 21). A social safety net should be put in place in readiness for a pandemic because many people including the most vulnerable are affected. This safety net will be able to protect the financial impact of the people that are mostly affected. When the pandemic hits, the most important thing is to know how well to execute the plan and maybe make some changes to fit the particular circumstances. There also will be a need to obtain financing and with the financial markets being adversely affected, the only alternative will be borrowing from the central bank.
According to The Global Economic and Financial Impact of an Avian Flu Pandemic (21), when the severe part of the pandemic is over, it is important to evaluate the demand and supply shocks in a country. In most countries, the shock is self-correcting while in others, ways to restore economic stability, and financial sustainability may be needed. This may include adjusting the financial policy to prevent a continuous increase in inflation. They may also withdraw from financial incentives especially in the countries that are facing debt sustainability problems.
The most essential thing that is needed to prepare for a pandemic is the allocation of infrastructure which can take a longer time. A strategy that shows the procedure that the federal government will use to plan and be ready for a pandemic “contains three pillars (1) preparedness and communication (2) surveillance and detection and (3) response and containment” (National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza 1). The strategy declares that the government will use all its tools of government power to deal with the pandemic threat. The federal government will join forces with the international partners to try and contain a possible pandemic making every attempt to hold up the development of a pandemic virus. If the efforts by the federal government fail, effective response to a pandemic that is not contained will require all levels of the government and sectors in the society to participate. The execution plan of the strategy states clearly that all the sectors in the society must be ready for a pandemic and will be part of the response.
The plan acknowledges that the federal government must give clear guidelines and resolution tools to notify the country, local and independent segments of the planning and response actions. The federal agencies must be ready to add and support the state and local efforts where need be. The plan gives an understanding of the pandemic threat and comes up with planning deliberations for all partners. It also suggests that federal agencies should take organized steps to accomplish the objectives of the strategy (National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza 1). Incorporated and joint planning in all the levels of the government and the private sector is important to ensure that the national capabilities and authorities that are available come up with plans and response actions. The objectives of the federal government response are to slow, stop, or control the spread of the pandemic. Another objective is to control the internal spread of a pandemic and reduce disease and death. It’s also intended to sustain infrastructure and reduce the impact on the economy and the overall operation of the society. The more a pandemic has spread to many areas and the burden it brings across the nation for months or more means that the federal government will offer limited support. This is in comparison to the help it brings together in case of natural disasters such as earthquakes.
Conclusion
Global pandemics cause social and economic threats to a nation. Pandemics cause people to live with fear. This makes a lot of people not to go to work, companies are closed and this means that there is little or no revenue. Governments are hugely affected by pandemics because they have to ensure that the people are safe, the pandemic is contained and the infected people get proper medical attention. They have to come up with prevention measures and ensure that the people adhere to them to reduce transmissions of the disease. The government has to come up with a plan to provide food and other essentials during this time. Governments should come up with ways and strategies that will enable a nation to prepare for a pandemic.
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