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WHO Chief Says Emergence of Deadlier Pathogen than COVID-19 Is Still Possible
The possibility of another lethal pathogen arising with even more devastating potential than Covid-19 cannot be ruled out in the future, the World Health Organization's (W.H.O.) director-general said on Tuesday.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a World Health Assembly conference in Geneva, Switzerland, that the prospect of another public health disaster must be addressed, rather being pushed “down the road.”
He also said that even if the pandemic's harshest days have gone, a doomsday variety with the ability to rock the globe back to square one may yet arise. Tedros stated:
The threat of another variant emerging that causes new surges of disease and death remains. And the threat of another pathogen emerging with even deadlier potential remains.
Additionally, in the face of many crises that are overlapping and converging, “pandemics are far from the only threat we face”, the Ethiopian public health official added, before pleading for effective globalist mechanisms that enforce responses to emergencies of all kinds.
“When the next pandemic comes knocking – and it will – we must be ready to answer decisively, collectively, and equitably,” he advised.
The World Health Organization has selected nine priority illnesses that represent the greatest danger to public health. These were judged the most dangerous owing to a lack of cures or the potential to spark a pandemic.
Tedros also urged governments to “pick up the pace of development” on the Triple Billion and SDG objectives relating to health.
He urged speedy and productive discussions on the new global pandemic pact and the International Health Regulations (IHR), the treaty that controls health emergency planning and response, “so the world will never again have to face the devastation of a pandemic like COVID-19”.
Tedros closed by requesting governments to approve a 20% increase in contributions to the World Health Organization's Geneva headquarters.
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