Multiple Pandemics. But we have Multiple Ways OUT!

COVID-19 is not the only pandemic that has trapped humanity. Conflicts between nations, climate change that is heating the world and catastrophic loss of biodiversity are also pandemics that have invisibly engulfed the world. Worse, these three pandemics are interlinked between themselves and also with COVID19!

The classical definition of a pandemic is 'An epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crosses international boundaries and usually affects a large number of people.' Conflicts, climate change and loss of biodiversity fit into this definition to make them super 'Pandemics' These are diseases affecting the whole of humanity.

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for these pandemics and symptoms are grave. 

The world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War, as per the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. A quarter of humanity lives in war zones with grave human suffering. Ukraine war has not only devastated life for Ukrainians but also compounded food, energy, and a global financial crisis. It has exacerbated poverty, and food insecurity, and denied millions access to education and healthcare.

Biodiversity loss threatens not only millions of species in extinction in the coming decades as projected by the report of UNEP.

Global warming is crossing the limits set by all the 196 countries in the world through the Paris Climate Agreement with no sign of controlling the climate pandemic.

We are at the midway point of achieving the 2030 agenda that includes 17 SDGs. United Nations Report says we are far off the track. Since the start of the pandemic over 200 million more have fallen into poverty; an additional 820 million people are going hungry; the rights of women and girls are being further trampled on.

The multiple pandemics are life-threatening, but youth from Universities are the doctors for all the pandemics. Clean technologies and nature-based solutions are the two vaccines. The lifestyle change is the oxygen for life-support. Walking the talk is a medicine that would build immunity to prevent all the pandemics.

Smart Campus Cloud Network (see: sccnhub.com) is the global network of universities to localise the efforts on the campus to prevent these pandemics and achieve the SDGs as well as carbon neutrality.

'Learning by Doing' is the only booster dose. And 'Accelerating by Sharing' is the only prevention dose for collective survival in such multiple pandemics. It is a sure way to make this planet a place for a sustainable future. END 

 Dr Rajendra Shende

Former Director UNEP, IIT Alumni,

Prime Mover Smart Campus Cloud Network 

Coordinating lead author of IPCC.