Equitable recovery from COVID-19: bring global commitments to community level

Type Journal Article Author Rene Loewenson Author Lucia D'Ambruoso Author Duong Minh Duc Author Reidar Hjermann Author Winfred Lichuma Author Elizabeth Mason Author Elizabeth Nixon Author Norma Rudolph Author Eugenio Villar URL https://gh.bmj.com/content/6/1/e004757 Rights © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Series Commentary Volume 6 Issue 1 Pages e004757 Publication BMJ Global Health ISSN 2059-7908 Date 17/01/2021 Extra Publisher: BMJ Specialist Journals Section: Commentary PMID: 33455911 DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004757 Library Catalog gh.bmj.com Language en Abstract High level speakers at the December 2020 United Nations General Assembly pointed to the growing inequalities and stress to health, social, economic and democratic systems caused by COVID-19, calling for a range of collective interest driven responses and measures for a sustainable recovery. The pandemic, lockdown and other responses, along with underfunded, poorly prepared and overstretched public sector social and health systems in many countries worsened many dimensions of family, women’s, child and adolescent health and well-being that were already facing deficits, generating a rising health and social debt in communities, the true scale and long-term consequences of which are as yet unknown, especially for the most marginalised in society. Rather than ‘getting back to normal’, recovery and ‘reset’ demands change to tackle the inequalities, conditions, services, socioeconomic and environmental policies that made people susceptible and vulnerable to COVID-19. While economic recovery should not replicate the features of the global economy that are generating pandemic and other crises, for global aspirations to translate into benefit for communities, families, young people and children, an equitable recovery should include significant investment in: (1) universal, public sector, primary health care-oriented health services; (2) redistributive, universal rights-based and life course based social protection; and (3) people, especially in early childhood and in youth, as drivers of change. Who designs the ‘reset’ influences the change, and within countries and internationally, opportunities must be provided for meaningful public engagement as a critical driver of an equitable recovery. Short Title Equitable recovery from COVID-19