How coordinated are the global and regional responses to the COVID-19 outbreak? Does more need to be done?
โThe global coordinationโฆ has been variable, with some regions doing better than others,โ Dr. Osman Dar, director of the One Health Project at Londonโs Chatham House, told The Media Line via email.
The response in the Middle East region demonstrates this variability.
“Some of the medical material that the Mossad has brought into the country is the direct result of Israel’s warming ties with Arab states,โ Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told The Media Line, referring to the Israeli external intelligence service.
While pointing out that Israel and member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council so far have successfully contained the pandemic, Dr. Banafsheh Keynoush, a US-based analyst, lamented a lack of wider coordination in the Middle East and North Africa, which could hamper broader containment efforts.
โVery little has been done collectively as a region due to [the] lack of political will or trust, and limited resources,โ Keynoush said in an email sent to The Media Line.