Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Healthcare Systems and the role of a new era of global collaborations

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world, socially, economically and politically. There have been many positives in global scientific information flow, collaboration, speed of translation of research, technological innovation and its diffusion has been phenomenal.  However the cost to human lives and livelihood has also been catastrophic. In the post-pandemic world, the ambition to provide a well-resourced and universal health infrastructure to populations has become a challenge even for wealthy nation-states. The access to routine and elective healthcare has become severely compromised. In poorer nations, this has affected basic healthcare needs particularly for children, women and those on or below the poverty line. Yet health is a fundamental human right, one that is guaranteed by the treatise on ‘Declaration of Health for All’ to which most countries are signatories. However, could the impact of this pandemic be mitigated by global health initiatives and collaboration? In this context, it is pertinent to analyse the existing global health framework and conventions to identify how we may prepare for future challenges.