In his message on the occasion of the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness celebrated this Wednesday, the manager explained that we must do a better job in the next pandemic, but we are not yet prepared.
He called for some countries to stop allowing the hoarding of vaccines, tests and treatments.
“We must reject the moral and medical catastrophe of countries hoarding and controlling pandemic-related health supplies and ensure everyone has access to diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines.” “We must also strengthen the authority and funding of the World Health Organization (WHO)” , he emphasized.
He stressed that although the end of Covid-19 was declared a public health emergency last May, this does not mean that the disease no longer poses a global threat.
The pandemic has affected hundreds of millions of people, caused millions of deaths and had a devastating impact on humanity, he noted.
“The economic damage caused by the pandemic remains. Many health systems have problems. “Millions of children are at risk of disease because they do not receive routine childhood vaccinations,” Guterres said.
To address this, he argued that the path forward lies in global cooperation, improving global virus surveillance, strengthening health systems and realizing the promise of universal health coverage.
He assured that these efforts are moving forward, recalling that the high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response in September ended with a solid political statement that complements the ongoing negotiations on a global pandemic agreement.
As WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained in his year-end message published the previous day, this first agreement aims to improve collaboration, cooperation and equity in responding to future pandemics.
The agreement will help create a safer and healthier world with a universal response system for disease outbreaks, he added.
“Let us learn and respond together from the lessons of Covid-19, prepare and build a fairer and healthier world for all,” Guterres concluded.
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