Topic:
Country: Poland
Delegate Name: Divyana Varma
Committee: World Health Organization
Topic: Pandemic Preparation
Country: Republic of Poland
Delegate: Divyana Varma
School: City High Middle School
The republic of Poland recognizes the importance of being prepared in terms of global health security. This issue is important in not just protecting those who are already sick, but those who are already at risk. Because of the extremities Covid 19 posed to all countries, it is crucial to outline a plan of preparedness should it happen again.
In 2020, a series of precautions was taken by the Ministry of Health in Poland to help counteract the effects of the virus. Temporary restrictions were made, and basic safety rules were encouraged. All in all, Poland has had a total of about 119,000 deaths, with over 55% of the population having received at least one dose of the vaccine.
During Covid, the Polish government implemented a series of regulations under the name of the Anti-Crisis Shield. This is a set of acts that were used to negate some of the numerous effects that Covid had on social and economic issues. Poland aimed at decreasing the harm to the economy, and the Anti-Crisis Shield consisted of benefits for workers. Just a few aspects of this act include the government providing financial support for employers in case of wage stoppage, care for parents who might be forced to care for kids due to the closing of schools, and healthcare protection. Compared to other European countries, Poland early on had far-reaching solutions to help mitigate Covid. On March 9th of 2020, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki decided to impose a border sanitary control at its border with Germany and Czech Republic. Poland was initially very strict on the issue. Just 6 days after the first Covid case was confirmed, all mass events were banned, and schools were closed shortly after. Social distancing measures were also put into place. Poland did very well during the first phase of Covid, but had some regulations that could have been more tightly measured.
The response of the previous Polish government was notably inaccurate in some areas. Compared to other parts of Europe, Poland had poor enforcement of regulations. This was in accordance with Poland’s old coalition. The pandemic was not really prevented, restrictions were rather adopted. Going forward with measures taken by the EU, the Civic Coalition believes in fostering an approach that is in correlation with objective scientific research. Poland believes that availability of vaccines is important, as well as establishing clinical trials. The UN should hope to increase people’s vaccination status. Being communicative is also a priority, by providing the public with information and updates; this is in conformity with the UN. The administration of vaccines to certain groups is also incredibly vital. By doing this, it ensures the safety of groups that might be more at risk. Overall, Poland is in agreement with terms underlined by the UN, and hopes to reach a solution that can and will effectively alleviate the effects of both present and future pandemics.
