What began in a market in Wuhan, China, has spread as far afield as the Faroe Islands, and in response, a practice that began in a medieval republic on the Adriatic Sea is now official policy across much of the globe. Despite its boundless tendencies, the novel coronavirus has triggered a response from states that is largely protectionist, and reliant on a “batten down the hatches” approach to stem the spread.
Throughout history, pandemics have led to an expansion of the power of the state. As the Black Death spread across Europe in 1348, the authorities in Venice closed the city’s port to vessels coming from plague-infested areas and forced all travelers into 30 days of isolation, which eventually became 40 days; hence the word quarantine.
When China’s leaders finally declare victory against the outbreak of the new and deadly coronavirus, they will undoubtedly credit the Communist Party of China’s leadership. But the truth is just the opposite: the party is again responsible for this calamity.
The region is currently paying a high social cost for the lack of attention paid to public health, and these costs will grow ever more severe in the absence of concerted action. Obesity is nearing epidemic proportions in MENA, with some of the highest rates in the world.
When the Black Death exploded in Arabia in the 14th century, killing an estimated third of the population, it spread across the Islamic world via infected religious pilgrims. Today, the Middle East is threatened with a new plague, one eponymously if not ominously named the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV, or MERS for short).
Open defecation is practiced by more than 600 million Indians, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO calls open defecation the riskiest sanitation practice of all due to the ease of disease spread. More often than not, water is contaminated by the same people who drink it. Open defecation is rampant in slums and rural areas because alternatives simply don’t exist as pit toilets and flush or pour toilets are found primarily in urban areas. In the slums and rural areas, there might be public toilet areas, however, due to long lines and privacy concerns, many residents still wait until nightfall to go –increasing the risk of related violence, especially against women and girls.
