The pandemic has emphasised the need for physical infrastructure to be improved, including in rural areas, like this clinic in interior highlands of Sarawak. — Filepic A friend of mine recently opined that the worst thing that could happen after the year that we have had (2020), is for things to remain the same. The adage that “no crisis should go to waste” is often used in political and economic circles, but one of its earliest uses was by Dr M.F. Weiner. His article Medical Economics back in 1976. Dr Weiner was referring to the fact that a medical crisis can be used to improve aspects of personality, mental health or lifestyle.