Topic: 2024-Spread of Animal Viruses
Country: Bangladesh
Delegate Name: Sophie Roberts
Sophie Roberts
World Health Organization
The Spread of Animal Viruses
Bangladesh
Mattawan High School
Zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, are infectious diseases transmitted from animals to people. For decades, epidemics of zoonotic diseases like MERS and H1N1 have sent shockwaves through the global economy, and endemic zoonotic diseases have continued to cause illness and hinder economic development, especially in impoverished regions. The COVID-19 pandemic, often thought to be the result of zoonotic spillover, highlighted the importance of strengthening global responses to zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are responsible for an estimated 3.3 million deaths each year worldwide. The value of those lost lives totals at least $350 billion, and there is an additional $212 billion per year in direct economic losses due to zoonoses.
In recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Quadripartite Organizations have urged states to cooperate in tackling zoonoses by sharing research and surveillance information. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) created the EMPRES-i+ system to coordinate global communication about zoonoses. The system provides a good model for how states could easily spread information worldwide about zoonotic disease outbreaks, although the system is less detailed than many national databases. The United Nations Environmental Assembly’s 5th session issued the resolution “Biodiversity and health” in 2022, which urged member states to cooperate on sharing resources, research, and genetic information about viruses during epidemics. The resolution also called upon member states to help implement the One Health approach to human, animal, and environmental health in developing countries. However, challenges remain in making vaccinations and other disease-prevention measures available in developing countries.
Bangladesh is considered one of the global hotspots for zoonotic disease transmission. Many people in Bangladesh live in close proximity to livestock and poultry, making them susceptible to exposure to zoonotic diseases and transmitting them to others. Additionally, there is little public awareness of animal-transmitted viruses in Bangladesh. Bangladeshis’ limited access to medical care contributes to this issue—over 70% of the population of Bangladesh lives in rural areas, while less than 20% of healthcare providers do.
The delegation of Bangladesh supports increasing international collaboration on animal viruses and outreach in rural areas. Aiding nations to make healthcare and veterinary services more accessible in rural or impoverished areas will allow more patients to be vaccinated and screened for zoonotic diseases. Bangladesh endorses subsidizing the cost of human and livestock vaccines to increase vaccination rates. Additionally, the global distribution of diagnostic tools such as rapid immunomigration tests, which work quickly and don’t require a laboratory, would help with virus surveillance in low-resource areas. Bangladesh calls upon the WHO to increase healthcare education worldwide so that people can learn about the symptoms of zoonotic diseases and what they can do to limit their spread. Bangladesh also recognizes how zoonoses can threaten people’s livelihoods and the food supply, and supports expanding World Food Program outreach in areas impacted by zoonoses. The delegation of Bangladesh believes that fighting zoonoses in vulnerable areas is vital to protecting global health and preventing zoonotic spillover.
References:
https://www.fao.org/animal-health/areas-of-work/early-warning-and-disease-intelligence/FAO’s-EMPRES-Global-Animal-Disease-Information-System-(EMPRES-i-)/en
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4046968/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8013274/
https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/UNEP-Preventing-the-next-pandemic.pdf
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3999272?v=pdf
https://www.who.int/health-topics/one-health#tab=tab_1
