Political will to tackle health security ‘melting away’, warns Tony Blair

The impetus to tackle health security has started to “melt away”, despite the devastation wrought by the Covid pandemic, Tony Blair has warned.

In the foreword to a new book, ‘Disease X’, the former British prime minister said that while there are “concurrent crises jostling for the attention of governments”, leaders should not miss the opportunity to implement the “hard-won lessons” of the past three years.

“Covid-19 was an unprecedented global crisis and should mark a turning point in global health policy and preparedness,” Mr Blair wrote. 

“Our governments need to demonstrate the same level of political will, ambition and international cooperation that leaders demonstrated in the wake of World War II, when they coalesced around the objective of a sustainable peace. 

“This must be applied to the post pandemic order because, at its heart, health security is national security,” he added. “It is clear this will not be the last pandemic threat of our lifetimes … there is no excuse to be unprepared, again.” 

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Source: The Telegraph, 25 January 2023