Need To Spend More On Preventing Pandemics: WHO Chief

Geneva: Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has expressed concern over poor spending to prevent outbreak of epidemics. He warned that COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic, and criticised the ‘dangerously short-sighted’ cycle of throwing money at outbreaks and forgetting all about it.

“History tells us that this will not be the last pandemic, and epidemics are a fact of life… The pandemic has highlighted the intimate links between the health of humans, animals and planet… Any efforts to improve human health are doomed unless they address the critical interface between humans and animals, and the existential threat of climate change that’s making our earth less habitable,” said Ghebreyesus in a video message.

“For too long, the world has operated on a cycle of panic and neglect… We throw money at an outbreak, and when it’s over, we forget about it and do nothing to prevent the next one. This is dangerously short-sighted, and frankly difficult to understand,” he added.

He urged the world to invest in preparedness capacities to prevent, detect and mitigate emergencies of all kinds.