GENEVA: The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday that he would initiate an independent evaluation of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic at the “earliest appropriate moment” and vowed transparency and accountability.
“We all have lessons to learn from the pandemic. Every country and every organisation must examine its response and learn from its experience. WHO is committed to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told its annual ministerial assembly.
Tedros thanked early high-level speakers for their “strong support for WHO at this critical time” and said that the review must encompass the responsibility of “all actors in good faith.”
“The risk remains high and we have a long road to travel,” Tedros said. Preliminary serological tests in some countries showed that at most 20% of populations had contracted the disease and “in most places less than 10%,” he added.
Meanwhile, China said it supports a comprehensive review of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic led by WHO after the virus that causes the disease is brought under control.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s comments, in a video speech to the assembly, come as a resolution pushed by the European Union and Australia calling for a review of the origin and spread of the novel coronavirus gathers international support. The pandemic has killed more than 310,000 people globally.
China had previously opposed calls for such investigations from Washington and Canberra, but Xi signalled on Monday that Beijing would be amenable to an impartial review.
“China supports a comprehensive evaluation of the global response to the epidemic after the global epidemic is under control, to sum up experiences and remedy deficiencies,” Xi told the assembly.
“This work needs a scientific and professional attitude, and needs to be led by the WHO; and the principles of objectivity and fairness need to be upheld.”
Xi reiterated Beijing’s defence of its actions when the Covid-19 outbreak emerged in the country and said China was open and transparent and had acted quickly to share information about the disease.
He also pledged US$2 bil (RM8.74 bil) in financial support over the next two years to help deal with Covid-19, especially to help developing countries. China will also make self-developed Covid-19 vaccines a public good to help with the efforts to curb the pandemic, he said.
Beijing will work with the United Nations to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China and help establish so-called green corridors to move essential goods quickly throughout the world, Xi said. – May 18, 2020, Reuters
