Perspectives in a Pandemic by Kevin M. Cahill

Author:Kevin M. Cahill [Cahill, Kevin M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780823294992
Google: YW78DwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 55717503
Publisher: Refuge Press
Published: 2020-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

Breaking Barriers

A golden thread in an antique tapestry provides strength to the fabric, continuity to the design and, if you are creative and open to innovation, a new image can emerge by combining different elements—by breaking traditional barriers that all too often constrain our vision.

For over a half century I have explored the links between medicine, diplomacy and humanitarian assistance, and suggest that some of these experiences are relevant to the challenges posed by the current pandemic.

Like so many activities in our lives this one began almost by accident. Medicine is not a pure science; especially in the chaos of an epidemic there are many cultural, philosophic and moral forces that must be considered. Identifying the causative agent of an infection, or even providing the correct drug regimen, are but part of a proper public health response, and that is where the art of medicine comes into play. Furthermore actions take place in an historical setting. The United States in the mid to late 1960s was a time of great tension over our war in Vietnam.

My interest at that time in diplomacy was part of an effort to present a peaceful alternative to the purely militaristic approach of the American government. My writings became the basis for Congressional Hearings in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. A Bill (HR10042) was drafted—and defeated—when the Nixon Administration saw it as an attack on their foreign policy, which it clearly was. But while the Bill failed, the ideas did not die, and I authored numerous articles and books, organized academic and United Nations symposia on these themes in which the methodology of public health, and even the semantics of medicine, were applied to the nuanced dialogue of diplomacy. The approach became a focus for senior figures in foreign policy. Slowly, over many decades, the early concepts became more organized into a formal program.

Cyrus Vance, a former U.S. Secretary of State, wrote about his late conversion to the central importance of health and humanitarian assistance in foreign affairs. Boutros Boutros Ghali, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, when asked what he thought would be his most important legacy responded: “My work with Dr. Cahill in the mid-1990s on Preventive Diplomacy” (mentioned in Milestones in Humanitarian Action). I recently had the pleasure of opening a new Center with this focus in Cairo, Egypt and in Brussels, there is another such Institute sponsored by France, Canada and Belgium.

Tenacity is a virtue that one learned in previous epidemics and has great value as we deal with the myriad, but not unprecedented, demands of the current pandemic, whether one is serving on the frontline in a hospital or government position, or offering reflections in the isolation of quarantine. I receive numerous calls from around the world every day seeking counsel and advice based on a lifetime of service in earlier epidemics.

Today is my birthday; celebrated, when I was a child, with parents and siblings giving home-made gifts—a poem, song or drawing, or cupcakes. With that

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