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Pacific Perspective Tung Bui |
Information empowerment
critical for combating
the SARS epidemicWhile World Health Organization experts in China claim there is still much they do not know in the fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and there remain several information reporting issues to be addressed, it appears the spread of SARS outside China has peaked.
This is good news for the traumatized world and an encouraging sign that various efforts addressing the outbreak have born fruit.
It is too early to predict the outcome of the first major epidemic of the 21st century. However, one should acknowledge the unprecedented speed and effectiveness of the world health community in combatting the disease. In this large-scale fight, the role of information technology has been undeniable. Major organizations such as the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the ministries of most departments of health from Asia and North America, provide online, multilingual, round-the-clock information and breaking news. More importantly, they offer guidelines to deal with the outbreak. Thanks to these information networks, public institutions such as schools, hospitals, as well as citizens, have been able to act as informed and coordinated decision makers -- by establishing correct hygiene procedures, proper screening techniques, organized field reporting mechanisms, etc.
At a more professional level, WHO's "Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network" exemplifies the role of information technology in the global village. It is set up to be a technical collaboration of 72 existing institutions and networks that pool human and technical resources to swiftly identify, confirm and respond to outbreaks of global threat. Better yet, WHO's outbreak network can draw on the expertise of other established and relatively well-funded health-related information networks, such as the HIV/AIDS research network.
There is, however, a less heartening lesson from SARS. In addition to the unfortunate loss of lives, the economic damage caused by SARS has been disastrous, and to a large extent, unfair to those who have sustained the losses. As in any typical major crisis -- characterized by lack of information, over-reaction to the perception of loss, reduced cognitive capabilities and a false sense of leadership -- the reaction to SARS was aggravated by the insufficient amount of information and cooperation forthcoming from Chinese authorities. This mishandling of information has backfired and driven the impact of the disease out of proportion.
If anything, SARS is further evidence that -- in an information-intensive global economy -- health information is a public good, and the world community must be empowered to receive timely, credible and practical information. Hopefully, the unnecessary deaths and economic losses that have reverberated throughout Asia and the world will prove wrong those outmoded politicians who still believe that power can be only obtained by withholding or manipulating information. Instead, world leaders owe this information solidarity to their citizens.
Tung Bui is Matson Navigation Co. Professor of Global Business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Business Administration. Reach him at tbui@cba.hawaii.edu.