WHO warns of a new pandemic: “We will have to pay a heavy price”
Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesushas warned “The question of the next pandemic is when, not if.”And it could be caused by the flu virus, the new coronavirus or a still-unknown disease called “Disease X.”
Tedros said this within the framework of the World Government Summit, an annual event that is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. There, he reiterated that, despite the “progress” of the COVID-19 phase, the world “Not prepared for a pandemic.”
“The cycle of panic and neglect is beginning to repeat itself. As attention turns to the many other crises facing our world, the painful lessons we have learned risk being forgotten. But if we do not learn these lessons, we will have to pay a heavy price next time.” he announced.
The WHO director noted that, recently, ‘Disease X’ has received a lot of attention, but “it is nothing new.” The term was first used in 2018 as a placeholder for a disease that is not yet known, but for which it is still possible to prepare.
,COVID-19 was ‘Disease X’, a new pathogen causing a new disease. But there will be another ‘Disease X’, or ‘Disease Y’, or ‘Disease Z’. And, as things stand, the world is not prepared for the next ‘Disease X’ and the next pandemic,” Tedros stressed.
In his opinion, “if this happened tomorrow”, the world would face many of the same problems it faced with COVID-19.
International agreement on pandemic preparedness and response
For this reason, in December 2021, WHO member states met in Geneva and agreed to develop a International agreement on pandemic preparedness and responseA legally binding agreement to stay safe and work together to protect others.
The countries have set a deadline to complete the agreement in time for its adoption at the World Health Assembly in May this year. Only 15 weeks left.
However, according to Tedros, there are currently “two major obstacles” to meeting that deadline. The first is a set of issues on which countries have not yet been able to reach consensus.
The second obstacle is “the lies and conspiracy theories about the deal: that it is a power grab by WHO; that it would cede sovereignty to WHO; that it would give WHO the power to impose lockdowns or vaccination orders on countries; that it would attack freedoms.” Is; that WHO will not allow people to travel; And that WHO wants to control people’s lives“, the health organization’s director general lamented.
For Tedros, these “lies” endanger the health of the world’s population. He concluded, “These statements are completely, utterly and categorically false. The agreement on the pandemic will not give WHO any power over any state or any individual.”
,We cannot allow this historic agreement, this milestone in global health, to be destroyed By those who spread lies, knowingly or unknowingly,” Tedros said.
In this sense, Tedros reminded that WHO did not impose anything on anyone during the COVID-19 pandemic. “No lockdowns, no mask mandates, no vaccine mandates. We don’t have the power to do it, we don’t want it and we’re not trying to get it,” he insisted.
Therefore, he reminded that the work of the organization is “to support governments with evidence-based guidance, advice and, where necessary, supplies to help them protect their populations.”
Rather than renouncing sovereignty, the agreement reaffirms national sovereignty and national responsibility in its fundamental principles. In fact, the agreement is “an exercise of sovereignty in itself.” These are commitments that countries make to protect themselves and others from the pandemic.