Next pandemic a matter of when, not if — WHO chief
Ali Mohammed Zanna, Maiduguri.
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has warned that another pandemic will occur, urging countries to strengthen preparedness and cooperation before the next global health emergency.
Ghebreyesus said the international community must resolve outstanding differences over the Pandemic Agreement’s Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system to pave the way for the agreement to take effect.
He expressed confidence that member states would reach consensus on the remaining issues, stressing that agreement on the system was necessary for countries to begin ratifying the Pandemic Agreement.
The WHO chief also dismissed misinformation suggesting that the agreement would undermine national sovereignty or give the WHO control over countries.
He said sovereign nations negotiated and adopted the agreement in their own interests, adding that threats affecting all countries require collective responses.
Ghebreyesus said countries could not effectively tackle future pandemics by acting individually, noting that international cooperation was essential to closing existing gaps in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
He also backed a political declaration being considered at a United Nations high-level meeting, saying it contained commitments to concrete, measurable and urgent action to strengthen global pandemic preparedness.
The WHO director-general thanked member states for their commitment to the process and commended Armenia and Rwanda, which are co-chairing the negotiations, for their leadership.
He said WHO looked forward to the adoption of the declaration and pledged the organisation’s support to countries in implementing the commitments contained in it.
