COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community

Emmanuel Chukwuma Obiano

doi:doi:10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19

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COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community

Emmanuel Chukwuma Obiano^*

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 11, Issue 6)

Received: 4 November 2025 Accepted: 13 November 2025 Published: 9 December 2025

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Abstract

Introduction: Owing to the vast devastation that COVID-10 wrecked on the global community, some hold the misconception that COVID-19 was intractable, that our health systems were weak and that the global community lacked adequate resilience to contain the outbreak from escalating to a pandemic. With such misconceptions, some stakeholders are canvassing new pandemic treaties and new pandemic preparedness and response strategies for the future. This study aims to interrogate further COVID-19 and the pandemic response to establish new lessons learned on which future remedial policies and actions will be based, not on misconceptions. Methods: An exploratory research method was adopted, applying the tools of desk review/data extraction, input-output device, time-frame analysis, management by objective and rational decision approach. Result: This study found that SARS-CoV-2 is a delicate virus; that COVID-19, pre se, is a mild illness; that the global community was, and is still very resilient; that avoidable mismanagement of the global response enabled the outbreak to escalate to a devastating pandemic; that if existing and emerging global resilient capacities were fully harnessed and applied, COVID-19 would have been effectively controlled by March 2021. Conclusion: The study concludes that SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 could not have devastated our resilient global community if not for the avoidable mismanagement of the global response. The study recommends among others, that member-states conduct post-pandemic reviews that will establish better mechanism for multilateral engagements that will achieve the dual mandate of safeguarding national interest in flux-free multilateral cooperation.

Published in	Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 11, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19
Page(s)	401-414
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Case Management, COVID-19, Emergency Preparedness, Pandemic Response, Resilience, SARS-CoV-2

References

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Obiano, E. C. (2025). COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community. Central African Journal of Public Health, 11(6), 401-414. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19

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Obiano, E. C. COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2025, 11(6), 401-414. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19

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Obiano EC. COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2025;11(6):401-414. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19

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@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19,
  author = {Emmanuel Chukwuma Obiano},
  title = {COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community},
  journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {11},
  number = {6},
  pages = {401-414},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20251106.19},
  abstract = {Introduction: Owing to the vast devastation that COVID-10 wrecked on the global community, some hold the misconception that COVID-19 was intractable, that our health systems were weak and that the global community lacked adequate resilience to contain the outbreak from escalating to a pandemic. With such misconceptions, some stakeholders are canvassing new pandemic treaties and new pandemic preparedness and response strategies for the future. This study aims to interrogate further COVID-19 and the pandemic response to establish new lessons learned on which future remedial policies and actions will be based, not on misconceptions. Methods: An exploratory research method was adopted, applying the tools of desk review/data extraction, input-output device, time-frame analysis, management by objective and rational decision approach. Result: This study found that SARS-CoV-2 is a delicate virus; that COVID-19, pre se, is a mild illness; that the global community was, and is still very resilient; that avoidable mismanagement of the global response enabled the outbreak to escalate to a devastating pandemic; that if existing and emerging global resilient capacities were fully harnessed and applied, COVID-19 would have been effectively controlled by March 2021. Conclusion: The study concludes that SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 could not have devastated our resilient global community if not for the avoidable mismanagement of the global response. The study recommends among others, that member-states conduct post-pandemic reviews that will establish better mechanism for multilateral engagements that will achieve the dual mandate of safeguarding national interest in flux-free multilateral cooperation.},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community
AU  - Emmanuel Chukwuma Obiano
Y1  - 2025/12/09
PY  - 2025
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DO  - 10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19
T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
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AB  - Introduction: Owing to the vast devastation that COVID-10 wrecked on the global community, some hold the misconception that COVID-19 was intractable, that our health systems were weak and that the global community lacked adequate resilience to contain the outbreak from escalating to a pandemic. With such misconceptions, some stakeholders are canvassing new pandemic treaties and new pandemic preparedness and response strategies for the future. This study aims to interrogate further COVID-19 and the pandemic response to establish new lessons learned on which future remedial policies and actions will be based, not on misconceptions. Methods: An exploratory research method was adopted, applying the tools of desk review/data extraction, input-output device, time-frame analysis, management by objective and rational decision approach. Result: This study found that SARS-CoV-2 is a delicate virus; that COVID-19, pre se, is a mild illness; that the global community was, and is still very resilient; that avoidable mismanagement of the global response enabled the outbreak to escalate to a devastating pandemic; that if existing and emerging global resilient capacities were fully harnessed and applied, COVID-19 would have been effectively controlled by March 2021. Conclusion: The study concludes that SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 could not have devastated our resilient global community if not for the avoidable mismanagement of the global response. The study recommends among others, that member-states conduct post-pandemic reviews that will establish better mechanism for multilateral engagements that will achieve the dual mandate of safeguarding national interest in flux-free multilateral cooperation.
VL  - 11
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Emmanuel Chukwuma Obiano

Department of Environmental Health Science, Taraba State University, Jalingo, Nigeria

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http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8617-3118

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Obiano, E. C. (2025). COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community. Central African Journal of Public Health, 11(6), 401-414. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19

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Obiano, E. C. COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2025, 11(6), 401-414. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19

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Obiano EC. COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2025;11(6):401-414. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19

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@article{10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19,
  author = {Emmanuel Chukwuma Obiano},
  title = {COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community},
  journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {11},
  number = {6},
  pages = {401-414},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20251106.19},
  abstract = {Introduction: Owing to the vast devastation that COVID-10 wrecked on the global community, some hold the misconception that COVID-19 was intractable, that our health systems were weak and that the global community lacked adequate resilience to contain the outbreak from escalating to a pandemic. With such misconceptions, some stakeholders are canvassing new pandemic treaties and new pandemic preparedness and response strategies for the future. This study aims to interrogate further COVID-19 and the pandemic response to establish new lessons learned on which future remedial policies and actions will be based, not on misconceptions. Methods: An exploratory research method was adopted, applying the tools of desk review/data extraction, input-output device, time-frame analysis, management by objective and rational decision approach. Result: This study found that SARS-CoV-2 is a delicate virus; that COVID-19, pre se, is a mild illness; that the global community was, and is still very resilient; that avoidable mismanagement of the global response enabled the outbreak to escalate to a devastating pandemic; that if existing and emerging global resilient capacities were fully harnessed and applied, COVID-19 would have been effectively controlled by March 2021. Conclusion: The study concludes that SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 could not have devastated our resilient global community if not for the avoidable mismanagement of the global response. The study recommends among others, that member-states conduct post-pandemic reviews that will establish better mechanism for multilateral engagements that will achieve the dual mandate of safeguarding national interest in flux-free multilateral cooperation.},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - COVID-19 Pandemic and the Global Response: Why a Delicate Virus and a Mild Illness Devastated a Resilient Global Community
AU  - Emmanuel Chukwuma Obiano
Y1  - 2025/12/09
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19
DO  - 10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19
T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
SP  - 401
EP  - 414
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-5781
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20251106.19
AB  - Introduction: Owing to the vast devastation that COVID-10 wrecked on the global community, some hold the misconception that COVID-19 was intractable, that our health systems were weak and that the global community lacked adequate resilience to contain the outbreak from escalating to a pandemic. With such misconceptions, some stakeholders are canvassing new pandemic treaties and new pandemic preparedness and response strategies for the future. This study aims to interrogate further COVID-19 and the pandemic response to establish new lessons learned on which future remedial policies and actions will be based, not on misconceptions. Methods: An exploratory research method was adopted, applying the tools of desk review/data extraction, input-output device, time-frame analysis, management by objective and rational decision approach. Result: This study found that SARS-CoV-2 is a delicate virus; that COVID-19, pre se, is a mild illness; that the global community was, and is still very resilient; that avoidable mismanagement of the global response enabled the outbreak to escalate to a devastating pandemic; that if existing and emerging global resilient capacities were fully harnessed and applied, COVID-19 would have been effectively controlled by March 2021. Conclusion: The study concludes that SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 could not have devastated our resilient global community if not for the avoidable mismanagement of the global response. The study recommends among others, that member-states conduct post-pandemic reviews that will establish better mechanism for multilateral engagements that will achieve the dual mandate of safeguarding national interest in flux-free multilateral cooperation.
VL  - 11
IS  - 6
ER  -

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