“We cannot talk about Covid in the past tense. It’s still with us, it still causes acute disease and long Covid, and it still kills.”
These were the words of World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who reminded the world that Dec 31 marks the fifth anniversary of the first reports to WHO, of pneumonia caused by a then-unknown pathogen.
“In the past five years, more than seven million deaths from Covid-19 have been reported to the WHO, but we estimate the true death toll to be at least three times higher,” he said.
“The world might want to forget about Covid-19, but we cannot afford to.”
Ghebreyesus said on average, about 1,000 deaths from Covid-19 were reported to WHO each week. This figure only includes the countries that are still reporting.
Speaking at a special briefing for reporters accredited to the United Nations in Geneva yesterday, Ghebreyesus said WHO continues to support countries to prevent and manage Covid-19 as well as other health threats.
WHO, he said, is releasing a package of policy briefs to help countries update their policies to monitor and reduce the circulation of Covid-19, and to reduce illness, death and long-term consequences of the disease.
“One of the questions I am asked most often is, ‘is the world better prepared for the next pandemic than we were for Covid-19?’
“The answer is yes, and no.”
Ghebreyesus said if the next pandemic arrived today, the world would still face some of the same weaknesses that allowed Covid-19 to take hold five years ago.
“But the world has also learned many of the painful lessons the pandemic taught us, and has taken significant steps to strengthen its defences against future epidemics and pandemics,” he said.
“Together with the World Bank, WHO established the Pandemic Fund, which now finances 19 projects in 37 countries, with US$338 million in grants.”
WHO has also supported many countries to strengthen their lab capacity to detect and sequence pathogens. The world health body, he said, had also established the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Germany to foster collaborative surveillance.
Ghebreyesus said that in May this year, the World Health Assembly adopted a package of amendments to the International Health Regulations, and member states continue to negotiate the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
“They are committed to finalising the Agreement in time for the World Health Assembly next May. I remain confident they will.”
