As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. In essence, the saying points to how problems encountered can pave the path to creative, adaptive and deep changes that meet the needs of tomorrow. Within the disruption of change lie the seedlings of inspiration and creativity that will enable humankind to adapt and thrive in a new normal.

Since the December 31, 2019, announcement by Chinese authorities to the World Health Organization (WHO) of the first pneumonia-like cases in Hubei province, more than 2.5 million individuals have now been confirmed to have the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), and over 175,000 people have lost their lives as a result. The global pandemic has led to unprecedented lockdowns of economies in many parts of the world, as governments grapple with adequate mitigation measures.

The immediate effects of the lockdowns, beyond helping to contain the spread of the virus, are also multifaceted. The notion that Earth is taking a break has often been cited to explain the decrease in levels of pollution related to reductions in mobility and industrial activities.

In the northeastern Italian city of Venice, for instance, the city’s grand water canals are appearing much clearer in the absence of its usual heavy boat traffic. Between January and February, NASA and European Space Agency satellite images showed clear reductions in nitrogen dioxide emissions in China and Italy.

What these will mean for broader global climate change mitigation goals may be too early to tell. Nevertheless, they force us to ponder the innovation and sustainable progress that we want to see in a post-COVID-19 world.

Yet the immediate and devastating impact of the pandemic and the “Great Lockdown” is an economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has referred to the COVID-19 induced lockdowns as the "worst economic downturn since the Great Depression," anticipating global growth in 2020 to fall by three percent.

Both developed and developing countries grappling with a health emergency will be confronted in parallel with an economic crisis equally pressing. The complexity added to such overlapping challenges is that no one can determine with certainty the duration and intensity of the global health crisis. In some countries, such as South Korea, that had effectively contained the spread, we see cases of relapse, while China is experiencing new infections. Such examples indicate the scale of the crisis and the uncertainty hovering over our default modus operandi.

Throughout human history, every crisis has introduced an opportunity for change. Indeed, the complexity of our globalised and interdependent lives may give the impression that a new reality is unimaginable. Yet as we find ourselves gripped by uncertainty and in flux, acknowledging the transition we are in and preparing for the inevitable new normal is a necessary step ahead.

The unavoidable prerequisite for survival as adapting to new circumstances is poignantly captured by a quote often attributed to Charles Darwin.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

In the wake of the Black Death pandemic of the 14th century, estimated to have claimed over 50 million lives in Europe, various technological innovations emerged as a result of the unprecedented changes introduced.

Mechanical clocks, hourglasses, new medical ideas and the advent of agricultural technology is attributed to the period. Similarly, the so-called Spanish Flu of the early 1900s revolutionised the public health sector in the wake of the colossal deaths the pandemic caused.