Topic: 2024-Spread of Animal Viruses
Country: Guyana
Delegate Name: Eli Ligon
The delegation of Guyana is largely concerned with the increasing threat posed by animal viruses, especially the zoonotic diseases transmittable from animals to humans. Guyana is blessed with all this biodiversity, it is a country where human populations exchange a lot with wildlife, so tackling new health threats is critical. The emergence of zoonotic diseases like Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19 show the need for international collaboration on surveillance, prevention, and response mechanisms. Guyana argues that controlling viruses in animal populations is important for public health and also an ecological issue since the health of humans, animals, and the environment are linked.
Guyana is also pushing for stronger early warning systems and cross-border disease control with partner countries as measures to mitigate animal virus risks. It is critical that high biodiversity countries like Guyana be funded to build bomber plate veterinary health infrastructures so that animal viruses that may spill over into people are identified within hours of infection. Guyana also promotes One Health approach and One Health initiatives that involve a collaborative approach between the human, animal and environmental health sectors. This is an important interdisciplinary approach to understand the overall solutions to prevent zoonotic disease outbreaks.
Lastly, Guyana affirms the importance of fair and equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics for all affected populations, especially for developing nations. Delegation requested assurances from World Health Organization and other international organizations that the global response to animal viruses would be inclusive and available to all states regardless of wealth. Guyana believes that the global community, by coming together through shared research and pooling resources and expertise, will be able to better protect public health and prevent the next pandemic from animal virus origins.
The delegation of Guyana is worried about the increasing emergence of animal viruses, especially zoonotic disease as these have serious implications on health especially that can be transmitted from animals to men; Guyana, as a highly biodiverse country with human populations interacting with wildlife, knows that there are emerging health threats that the need to address. Zoonotic diseases, like Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19, require global collaboration for surveillance, prevention, and response systems. Guyana takes the view that animal virus control is a public health issue as well as an ecological balance issue, as the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interconnected.
In order to mitigate threats posed by animal viruses, Guyana calls for the development of better early systems and international collaboration to monitor and manage diseases at the source. High-biodiversity nations, like Guyana, must be supported to bolster their veterinary health infrastructures, so that animal viruses with the potential to infect humans can be rapidly identified. It also promotes One Health approaches that promote collaboration between health sectors focusing on humans, animals and the environment. This One Health approach is crucial for holistic responses to zoonotic disease emergence.
Lastly, Guyana highlights the need for equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics in populations affected by the disease, especially in developing countries. The delegation asks the World Health Organization and similar international organizations to make sure the effort that pertains to the animal virus is inclusive and can be allowed by all nations irrespective of the economy. Guyana believes that shared research, resources and expertise will help the world protect public health and limit the potential of animal viruses leading to pandemics in the future.
