desperate diseases must have desperate remedies
Extreme and undesirable circumstances or situations can only be resolved by resorting to equally extreme actions. I know that the austerity measures introduced by the government during the recession are unpopular, but desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.
Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.
Prov. If you have a seemingly insurmountable problem, you must do things you ordinarily would not do in order to solve it. Fred: All my employees have been surly and morose for months. How can I improve their morale? Alan: Why not give everyone a raise? Fred: That's a pretty extreme suggestion. Alan: Yes, but desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.