by Ang Shi En (S4 2021)

        I agree that prevention is always better than cure. Prevention is to stop something from happening in the first place. It is easier to stop something happening in the first place than to repair the damage after it has happened. Take Singapore as a case study. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore had a lock-down, had mandatory laws to wear a mask, stopped people from coming to Singapore, and more. This helped Singapore reduce the number of COVID cases. In this essay, I will explain why I agree that prevention is always better than cure.

       Firstly, you would be prepared for some setbacks. When a problem hits you all of a sudden, you would not be able to solve it immediately or have a plan. You would need some time to figure out the cause and other factors that are included. When you have a plan for these emergencies, you will be able to tackle the problem easily as you have thought of the best solution to deal with it. For example, some companies would hire technology personnel even though the companies do not deal with technology directly. The companies hire them just to keep the companies’ data secure from hackers. It would allow their technology to be at its safest so hackers cannot easily obtain the companies’ confidential files. When the companies’ confidential files are leaked, other companies could steal the ideas for their own use, but with technology personnel, it could prevent hackers from stealing them and exposing them to the world. Hence, it is better to be prepared for sudden unexpected problems that may occur.

       Secondly, you would be able to reduce the impact of the issue. You are already prepared for it so you would be able to lessen the damage. When it is too late, it is very difficult to manage the fallout. This means that it caught you off-guard which does not give you time to process; you are already in danger of being threatened. Prevention gives you a base where you are ready for a percentage of the issue or problem, reducing the difficulties of bouncing back to its original state. For example, exercising prevents the human body from falling ill or catching any disease. Even if this is not guaranteed, when you exercise, you will have a stronger heart and body so you have a higher chance of surviving a disease. Therefore, prevention helps reduce the damage of any health issue sustained.

       However, some would say everything is planned. You cannot deny it. Most people believe that they are destined to whatever that is handed to them. They call it fate. There are some problems or setbacks you definitely cannot predict and prepare for, so why not let it be? It is true we are not prepared for some situations and have to solve it on the spot. For example, cancer patients cannot predict if they will have the disease or not. Some are lucky to find out early while others are not. They have to treat their illnesses with chemotherapy. Therefore, since we cannot prevent everything from happening, preventing is not always better.

       Despite that, the benefits of a cure only apply to unpreventable diseases. We can stop preventable diseases from occurring. Most people will prepare for those diseases that are preventable like a cough, flu and more. When we feel like you are going to fall sick, we would prevent it by taking some medicine to help us feel better. For example, when you are drenched in the rain, you would immediately go home to shower and change. This is so that you would not get a flu or even a fever. Hence prevention will alleviate the preventable disease.

       In summary, prevention is better than cure as you would be prepared for any problem in your way and to reduce the difficulty required to solve the issue. Even though some things are meant to be, we can change it before it takes a turn for the worse. For example, if countries had taken greater precaution against COVID, it would have definitely slowed down the spread of the virus. Scientists will have more time to solve the issue as there is no rapid increase in cases of the COVID-19 virus. Hence, I believe to a large extent that prevention is always better than cure since you would have a high chance of succeeding in keeping the problem at bay.

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