TOPIC AREA 6
MAINTAINING UNITED STATES INVOLVEMENT IN PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS & GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY Pandemics Are a Global Problem
Pandemics, as the name implies, are a global problem. Disease is a microscopic enemy that can travel around the world inside human bodies before there are any outward signs of trouble. Diseases can travel by car, rail, ship, airplane, or foot. It can travel with passengers or it can travel with cargo. Even when complete border shutdown does not occur, pandemics can have a large global economic impact. During the Ebola outbreak, the impact on Guinea’s GDP was estimated to be a 1% decrease (Hamilton, 2014). This is due in part to disruption in the tourism industry, but also because the border closures in West Africa had a negative impact on trade. Additionally, it is estimated that Toronto lost $1 billion as a result of the SARS outbreak, and this is without a large disruption in
Global Leadership at a Crossroads
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