2024-02-29 01:33:11
Tedros Adhanom believes that several factors will affect whether the world will experience a critical situation in the event of a new pandemic.
In the recent World Government Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusstressed the need to prepare for a next pandemic because “it is a question of when, not if it will happen.”
According to him, a situation like the one experienced in 2020 with COVID-19 could be triggered by pathogenic agents such as a new coronavirus, flu or Diseasealluding to a new and unknown virus.
In this sense, Tedros Adhanom assured that The world is not prepared to experience a similar situation to that experienced a few years ago, despite the “progress” that was generated.
“The cycle of panic and neglect is beginning to repeat itself. The painful lessons we have learned risk being forgotten when attention turns to the many other crises facing our world. But If we don’t learn those lessons, next time we will pay dearly.“he warned.
Regarding Disease X, the director of the WHO clarified that it is not a new term and that it was coined for a disease still unknown but anticipatedand for which we must prepare.
“COVID-19 was Disease X, a new pathogen that caused a new disease. But there will be another Disease X, or a Disease Y, or a Disease Z“Tedros stated.
The agreement that could not be fulfilled
Given what happened with COVID-19, in December 2021, the WHO Member States committed to developing an agreement to prepare for a new pandemic and then adapt it at the World Health Assembly in May 2024.
However, the director of the WHO believes that there are “two major obstacles” to meeting this deadline: lack of consensus on certain issues and the dissemination of “lies and conspiracy theories” about the agreement.
“We can not allow “That this historic agreement, this milestone in global health, be sabotaged by those who spread lies, deliberately or unknowingly,” he asserted.