The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Global Health Security (GHS) "as all activities required to minimise the risk and impact of acute public health events that threaten the collective health of populations occurring across geographic regions and international borders". The concept appeals to the responsibility of each individual state: "All countries have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their populations". The aim of the GHS strategy is to "demonstrate how collective international action on public health can create a safer future for humanity." What measures can we take to overcome the coronavirus crisis, limit its effects and use scarce resources efficiently? Every day we experience uncertainties and contradictions regarding these questions among scientists, health experts, politicians, and in society. We must all strive for a broad consensus to overcome the global COVID-19 pandemic. With our IN FOCUS publications, we aim to stimulate discussion and encourage individuals to form their own opinions, whereby we write based on our experience of working on the HIV-response. Our intention is not to equate COVID-19 with HIV, but to discuss which experiences from the work on HIV may prove helpful in dealing with COVID-19. We do not intend to replace scientific papers, nor are we in a position to comprehensively and conclusively represent the current state of scientific knowledge.

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In Focus: Covid-19 and global health security discourse (english)