ADDIS ABABA – Governments across the globe need to join hands to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 internationally otherwise the spread would go out of control said former advisor at the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
Getachew Minas, an economist by profession, told The Ethiopian Herald that such an approach would have inclusive benefits for the international community.
He also added controlling COVID 19 without international cooperation is unthinkable.
Hence, he said, the world countries need to cooperate to limit the spread of the virus globally. “If leaders focus on ensuring the health of the people and close other economic activities except for foods and medical logistics supply, it is possible to control the virus within a short period of time without posing a huge risk on the economy,” he said.
It is difficult to go to the daily businesses in the presence of the virus, he Getachew added. Hence, passing wise decisions is a must to control the virus. Otherwise, it would be difficult to combat the resulting inflation, instability, famine and human deaths.
As to him, currently, the level of cooperation at the international level is
not satisfactory. The virus is spreading faster and infecting a lot of people globally. “Hence leaders have to look for a new strategy based on cooperation,” he said.
Getachew said focusing only on ensuring the people’s health has an impact on the economy but it is the best option to prevent the spread of the virus within a short period of time. Otherwise, the global crisis would be inevitable.
In this critical time, he said, the manufacturing sector needs to continue production to check the inflation. The government has to also facilitate testing for the virus for employees in the manufacturing sector.
Getachew is also of the opinion that communist states have performed better in preventing the spread of COVID 19 than their capitalist counterparts. COVID 19 in this regard gives an opportunity to rethink and come up with new ideologies.
The Ethiopian Herald April 30/2012
BY MULATU BELACHEW
