An ironic retreat: United States MIA in global response to Covid-19

ONCE upon a time when the world was slipping into a crisis, whether it was a threat of war, a wave of terrorism, a natural disaster, or for that matter, a global pandemic, the international community would look towards Washington for guidance and assistance. In other words, the world looked to America for leadership.

Even as they were trying to overcome the challenges posed by 9/11, the Iraq War and the 2008 financial crisis, US presidents had stepped forward during global pandemics to offer support for other nations and lead multilateral responses. Hence presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama both led forceful US responses to the AIDS and Ebola epidemics and lent a helping hand to Asian countries in fighting the SARS virus.

In that context, America's medical research institutions, and in particular, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), home to some of the world's most gifted medical professionals, have been praised for playing a leading role in combating global diseases.