GENEVA: The coronavirus disaster is not going to be the final pandemic, and makes an attempt to enhance human well being are “doomed” with out tackling local weather change and animal welfare, the World Well being Group’s chief mentioned.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus additionally condemned the “dangerously short-sighted” cycle of throwing money at outbreaks however doing nothing to organize for the subsequent one, in a video message marking Sunday’s (Dec 27) first Worldwide Day of Epidemic Preparedness.
The WHO director-general mentioned it was time to study the teachings from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For too lengthy, the world has operated on a cycle of panic and neglect,” he mentioned.
“We throw cash at an outbreak, and when it is over, we overlook about it and do nothing to forestall the subsequent one. That is dangerously short-sighted, and albeit obscure.”
The International Preparedness Monitoring Board’s September 2019 first annual report on world readiness for well being emergencies – printed a couple of months earlier than the novel coronavirus broke out – mentioned the planet was woefully unprepared for probably devastating pandemics.
“Historical past tells us that this is not going to be the final pandemic, and epidemics are a reality of life,” mentioned Tedros.
“The pandemic has highlighted the intimate hyperlinks between the well being of people, animals and planet,” he added.
“Any efforts to enhance human well being are doomed until they deal with the vital interface between people and animals, and the existential menace of local weather change that is making our earth much less liveable,” he mentioned.
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WORLD “TURNED UPSIDE-DOWN”
The novel coronavirus has killed not less than 1.75 million folks and almost 80 million circumstances have been recorded for the reason that outbreak emerged in China final December, based on a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
“Up to now 12 months, our world has been turned upside-down. The impacts of the pandemic go far past the illness itself, with far-reaching penalties for societies and economies,” mentioned Tedros.
However the Ethiopian former well being minister mentioned the coronavirus disaster shouldn’t have come as a shock, given the repeated warnings.
“We should all study the teachings the pandemic is instructing us,” he mentioned.
Tedros mentioned all nations ought to spend money on preparedness capacities to forestall, detect and mitigate emergencies of all types, and known as for stronger major well being care provision.
The UN well being company’s chief mentioned that with investments in public well being, “we will make sure that our kids and their youngsters inherit a safer, extra resilient and extra sustainable world”.
The Worldwide Day of Epidemic Preparedness was known as for by the United Nations Basic Meeting to advertise the significance of prevention, preparedness and partnership in tackling epidemics.
