The world is still not ready to fight another pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said during a summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. However, since 2021, work has been underway on a global agreement to combat pandemics, which could be signed as early as next month. This was reported by UNN with reference to Al Arabiya English.
Details
"We are not ready, and we are still vulnerable to the same problem," said the WHO chief, referring to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that has brought the world to a standstill.
The agreement, which will help create a framework for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, has been under development since 2021. The head of the WHO expressed hope that it would be signed next month after numerous rounds of negotiations.
"This will help us to be better prepared and prevent a situation like COVID from happening again," he said.
At the global level, Gebreisus said, there has been an increase in intergovernmental cooperation: surveillance through shared intelligence, a mechanism for sharing pathogens for research, assistance to countries with the capacity to produce medical supplies, and the creation of a pandemic fund managed by the World Bank.
"The main thing is to have a binding agreement on the pandemic that will be followed by member states. So if something happens, it's best to prevent it," said the WHO director, adding, "And that's why we're building capacity.
Recall
In January, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the importance of preparing for the new "disease X.