Letter from the CEO: PIH's Dr. Sheila Davis Reflects on a Pandemic Year
The past 12 months have brought inspiring levels of bravery and selflessness, and more of both will be needed in the months ahead, PIH's leader writes
Posted on Mar 11, 2021
Dear friends,
One year ago today, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic—a word that, from its roots, means all people.
At the time—March 11, 2020—PIH teams in 11 countries had been preparing to face the novel coronavirus for weeks. Counting hospital beds, ventilators, and oxygen canisters, we already knew that this illness would most hurt those who already had the least—marginalized people, communities, and entire countries.
One year later, our world stands changed.
The WHO reports at least 2.6 million human beings lost to the virus—and we know that the true toll, measured in those lost and those left behind, is certainly much higher.
We have witnessed bravery and selflessness in the face of danger and uncertainty, and we know more will surely be needed.
We have found new ways to care for one another—some as simple as a face mask, others as complex as global vaccine delivery—and we know we must do more.
Now we must add this pandemic’s lessons to all we’ve learned in decades of responding to injustice with care. Together, we have the knowledge, experience, and energy to shape our shared future.
Let us make permanent the systems of care we improvised, let us make real the promise of health care as a human right, and let us press forward to stop this tragedy, for everyone, everywhere.
In solidarity,
Dr. Sheila Davis
Chief Executive Officer
Partners In Health
