Dear Reader,
As the 21st century unfolds before us and humanity passed the eight-billion mark, global challange to human security are increasing in number and magnitude. The current coronavirus pandemic reminds us that the health- related pillar of human security plays no minor part in this escalation. The pandemic has followed first resport of a novel kind of pneumonia on 8 December 2019. From 31 December, when the outbreak was reported to the WHO, the epidemic was official. Current time courses of morbidity and mortality indicate that an inflection point has not yet been reached. According to a Lancet Global Health report [1], 45 204 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were confirmed as of 12 February, and 1116 deaths had been reported in twenty-five countries. More recently, the WHO [2] reported 77 923 cases in twenty-nine countries and 2361 deaths as of 22 February.
