COVID Virtual Press Conference 19-06 April 2020

WHO has been collaborating with Global Citizen for several weeks on the Together At Home concert series with artists like Chris Martin and John Legend providing free online performances.

We are now working with Lady Gaga and Global Citizen to take this concept and make it even bigger through the virtual global special One World Together At Home on Saturday, April 18th. Now I’m a great pleasure to call
Lady Gaga and Hugh Evans will say more about this very special event, One World.

0:03:10

LG Thank you very much, Dr. Tedros. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening to all who listen and watch. I would like to thank the World Health Organization and
The United Nations as well as Global Citizen; thank you very much, Dr. Tedros and Hugh Evans, for your leadership in the fight against COVID-19 and thank you to the World Health Organization for asking me to cooperate
with you on this special.

We are also grateful to all healthcare professionals across the country and the world who have been on the line during COVID-19. This global pandemic is a disaster. I am so grateful to them and so am I
praying for those who are sick. It was a pleasure to partner with Global Citizen and we all work together behind the scenes to raise money for the World Health Organization.

I would also like to send my prayers to people who lose their jobs and have a hard time feeding themselves and their children. We raise money for World Health
The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Organizer and seven days ago we held a call with more than 68 corporate leaders from some of the world’s largest and most talented companies and asked them to join my corporate courtesy
There were many corporations and philanthropists on the list who were very, very generous at the time.

0:04:38

Since then, we have been inviting philanthropists around the world as well as technology companies. I want to reiterate my deep gratitude to the medical community. My heart is very, very sore and warm for those
who are ambulance doctors as well as nurses sleeping in cars to make sure they do not infect their families or their patients. What you do is invest yourself in helping the world
and we all welcome you, and you are truly a triumph.

I am proud to say that we have raised $ 35 million over the past seven days for the Solidarity Fund. This money will [inaudible] essential personal protective equipment, supplies, and test kits around the world, and will help improve laboratory capacity
rapid processing of tests. It will [inaudible] Research and development. It is important to think globally and support the World Health Organization to combat the pandemic and prevent future epidemics.

I know that Dr. Tedros is particularly concerned about Africa and [inaudible], We also need to act globally by supporting local charities and initiatives so that emergency healthcare professionals need the resources they need
survive during this time. It was an honor to help with this huge broadcast event that will take place on April 18th at which we are they must tell stories and celebrate the front community, health professionals and their benefactors.

We will be on different networks, actually many networks and that is what I want [inaudible] about what we’re going to do. What is very important is that two things happen for all of us; to celebrate and highlight a unique, loving global community
appearing right now. Two, we want to highlight the seriousness of this historically unprecedented cultural movement and, three, we want to celebrate and encourage the strength of the human spirit.

0:06:47

On behalf of the World Health Organization and Global Citizen, I would like to thank Dr. Tedros as well as everyone who has donated so far. We will continue to raise funds, but I would also like to let you know
this special program is not really a fundraiser. We all wanted to raise money before we went on the air, so when we stream our wallets live on April 18, put away your credit cards, whatever
far away you just need to rest and enjoy the show you all deserve.

I’d like to pass this on to Hugh Evans, who was a wonderful partner to me. Hugh, thank you very much and thank you, Dr. Tedros.

HE Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and thank you Dr. Tedros and thank you Lady Gaga. Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen; Lady Gaga, Dr. Tedros,
both of you have shown extraordinary leadership in an unprecedented moment when our society is being challenged as never before and we are grateful for your leadership. I would like to reiterate the mood of Lady Gaga and praise the amazing acts
the courage demonstrated by community health workers around the world and I hope that as a common humanity from this moment on, we are forever grateful for the work of doctors, nurses, teachers, shopkeepers, and all those who
the backbone of our communities.

Global health is at the heart of the global civic mission and we must ensure that the poorest and most marginalized people in the world have access to the resources to deal with and deal with this health crisis. Through the One
World: Together at Home on April 18th, we will call on philanthropists, corporations and governments to fund critical global COVID-19 response efforts, including resource allocation and PPE for critical health
workers.

0:09:09

In our partnership with WHO and the United Nations Global Citizens, we are committed to launching activities to ensure that our global health systems are strong enough to stop a future pandemic before it happens. April 18 will be a moment of global unity
connecting the world through a historic global show. We bring together the world’s greatest artists under the passionate and extremely talented curator of Lady Gaga.

In alphabetical order, some of the artists we will be announcing today include Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, Sir David Beckham, Eddie Vedder.
Sir Elton John, Finneas, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Sir Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan, Stevie Wonder and many will be announced over the coming weeks from all over the world under the passionate and extremely talented curator of Lady Gaga.

We thank all of you for your participation and support for this critical effort. One World Together At Home will air live on Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 5:00 PM PDT, 8:00 PM EDT and 12:00 BST, airing on ABC, NBC, Viacom and CBS,
IHeartMedia and Bell Media Networks and Platforms in Canada. Internationally BBC1 will host the program on Sunday 19 April, with additional international broadcasters including BN Media Group, Multi-Choice Group and RTE in Ireland.

0:11:43

The digital program will celebrate and support brave health professionals working to save lives on the front line and we have all seen the constraints of world leaders around the world step up and face this extraordinary challenge
and we want to do our utmost to support the essential work of the World Health Organization, drive action and fundraising. Thank you again, Dr. Tedros, and thank you, Lady Gaga, for your guidance.

Thanks everyone.

TJ Many thanks to our guests for their comments. Dr Tedros, I suppose you would like to thank them too.

TAG Once again, I would like to thank Lady Gaga and Hugh Evans for their partnership. We had a call last week and I was so amazed at Lady Gaga’s energy and passion. It’s an incredible commitment to humanity and that’s it
when i said, i think what she was planning might happen. This unites the world to raise awareness and mobilize resources to combat the pandemic, so I thank her for her incredible passion, dedication and leadership and
also to my friend Hugh Evans for connecting all the dots and for his guidance.

We are all looking forward to joining you at the One World: Together At Home concert on April 18th. As the pandemic continues, we recognize that individuals and governments want to do everything they can to protect ourselves and others, and so do we.
We understand that some countries have recommended or are considering the use of medical and non-medical masks in the general population to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

0:14:21

Health workers must first be given medical masks as a priority. We know that medical masks can help protect health professionals, but globally they are lacking. We are worried about the mass
the use of medical masks by the general population could exacerbate the lack of these specialized masks for the people who need them most. In some places, these deficiencies put health hazards in real danger.

WHO also recommends the use of medical masks, respirators and other personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals in healthcare settings. In the community, we recommend the use of medical masks to people who are ill and to those who do
nurture a sick person at home.

WHO has widely assessed the use of medical and non-medical masks for COVID-19. Today, WHO issues guidelines and criteria to support countries in achieving this decision. For example, countries might consider using masks in communities where other measures such as hand cleaning and physical removal are more difficult to achieve due to lack of water or cramped living conditions.

If the masks are worn, they must be used safely and properly. WHO has instructions on how to put on, remove and dispose of masks. What is clear is that there is little research in this area. We encourage countries that are considering use
masks for the general population to study their effectiveness so that we can all learn. Most importantly, masks are always used only as part of a comprehensive intervention package. There is no black and white answer and no silver bullet.
Masks alone cannot stop a pandemic. Countries must continue to find, examine, isolate and treat each case and monitor every contact. Mask or no mask, there are proven things we can all do to protect ourselves and others.

0:17:13

Keep your distance, clean your hands, cough or sneeze at your elbow and avoid touching your face. Less than 100 days after WHO was notified of new coronavirus research, it has accelerated at an incredible rate. The viral genome
it was made in early January and shared globally, which allowed testing to be developed and vaccine research begun. More than 70 countries join WHO solidarity trial to accelerate search for effective healing
20 institutions and companies are racing to develop vaccines.

WHO is committed to ensuring that medicines and vaccines are distributed equally to all countries and people. I want to thank the Medicines Patent and Unitaid for the initiative they announced
On Friday, they include medicines and diagnostics for COVID-19 in their license pool.

I would also like to thank the President of Costa Rica, President Carlos Alvadar, and Minister of Health Daniel Salas for the proposal to create a right of free access to tests or medicines and vaccines at reasonable and affordable rates
conditions for all countries. Muchas gracias, Mr. President. I support this proposal and we are working with Costa Rica to finalize the details.

0:19:09

Poor countries and fragile economies face the biggest shock of this pandemic, and if left unsecured, it will only prolong the health crisis and further harm the economy. My name
for all countries, companies and research institutions to support open data, open science and open collaboration so that all people can enjoy the benefits of science and research.

The end of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is finally approaching. This is good news. In the event that cases no longer exist, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo could declare an outbreak as soon as possible
like this Sunday. We have not arrived yet and remain in full response mode. We continue to investigate warnings and test samples.

This would not be possible without incredible healthcare professionals who have been at risk for more than 18 months to stop this epidemic, just as healthcare professionals are at risk of saving lives from COVID-19. Health
workers in the DRC are confronted with the dual threat of fighting a deadly virus in one of the most dangerous and volatile regions in the world, exposed to Ebola and bullets.

Tomorrow, as you know, is WHO’s birthday, a day we celebrate each year as World Health Day. This year, we pay tribute to the incredible contribution of all healthcare professionals, especially nurses and midwives. Nurses and midwives are the backbone
every healthcare system. They are there from the first moments of life to the last. Tomorrow, we are releasing the world’s first Nursing Report, highlighting the shortcomings and making recommendations for all countries.

0:22:00

One of the lessons that I hope the world learns from COVID-19 is that we need to invest in healthcare professionals, not only to protect lives, but also to protect livelihoods. Thank you.

TJ Thank you very much, Dr. Tedros. As always, Dr. Mike Ryan and Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, who will answer the questions. We will now open the floor. I’ll move on to one question
that I arrived by email this morning and promised to respond; it’s Ankit Kumar from India Today. Asks Ankit; we have recently seen a stab in cases caused by religious gatherings in India, in fact almost a third of new cases
were associated with one gathering in India. We have also seen incidents of violence against healthcare professionals out of fear and misinformation. Who is involved with WHO in these developments, what is the message of WHO to religious and community leaders and their members
followers?

MR First of all, the idea of ​​violence against health workers is triggered by fear and triggered by misunderstanding, but it is really unacceptable. We ask everyone and every community to see our healthcare professionals
as our heroes and to support them in every way possible.

Given rallies of any kind, whether religious or for other purposes, there are always risks associated with such rallies in the midst of a major epidemic. WHO issued guidelines on this. Many of these gatherings
have now been delayed or canceled. We work very, very closely with religious and religious organizations around the world, including groups in the Islamic tradition, Christian
traditions and others continue to work through religious organizations to communicate through our Epiwin platform.

0:24:21

We are also continuing to develop guidance specifically for the holy month of Ramadan and are working through our regional office in the Eastern Mediterranean to advise governments and religious institutions on how best to govern
the risks associated with such sacred events.

But again it is very important; having COVID-19 is not anyone’s fault. Every case is a victim and every case needs to be treated sensitively, as are the healthcare professionals who treat them, so it is very important that we do not profile COVID-19.
along with racial, religious, ethnicity. This is not useful.

TJ Thank you very much. This question became Ankit Kumar from India Today. We will now go online to reporters. We’ll start with Jamie from the Associated Press. Jamie, can you hear us?

JA Hi, yes. Can you hear me? TJ Yes. Please go ahead.

JA Great, thanks a lot. I wanted to ask you about it … Over the weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci mentioned that – if I understood correctly – as much as 50% of transmission could be symptom free. Just aligned
with that, if you can give us a little more about what you think about the fact that some countries have said this epidemic is more contagious than the flu. The CDC says it’s up
up to three times more contagious than the flu, so what do you have to say about it? Thank you.

0:26:13

I’ll start MK and then maybe Mike or DG would like to supplement. The means of transmission and the mode of transmission of this virus are of great importance to all of us. What we do works
we work with Member States with everyone affected by looking through research and trying to understand when most transmissions happen, when any transmissions happen.

What we know from the report, what we know from the published literature, is that the predominant way in which transmission is transmitted among symptomatic individuals is that of people who may be very early on symptoms, even when they occur.
to feel a little uneasy. This is supported by some data that attempt to capture the virus from individuals who are symptomatic.

We also know that it is possible for people to transmit in a few days before they become symptomatic or in their pre-symptomatic phase. There were some studies that came out and we found out about that while on a mission
in China, in January or early February, that there are individuals who can eradicate the virus one to three days before developing symptoms.

However, it is very important to note that even if you have symptom symptoms or even if you do not have recognized symptoms, which you must transmit with drops, you still need to have these infectious particles
nose and mouth. Although we know this is possible, we do not believe that it is the main driver of transmission.

0:27:42

We have also seen modeling estimates that suggest that there is a large number of unrecognized transmissions, and I deliberately used unrecognized as I am not saying it is asymptomatic. I say there may be people out there who are infected
but we miss them because of our current surveillance strategies. This is certainly possible in many parts of the world.

Whether or not these individuals are symptom-free; we will have to wait until we see the results of the serological studies, which we hope to see in the next days if not weeks.

So what we can say is that most people transmit this virus while they are symptoms.

I Hi, Jamie. Just a supplement because I think – I would never in any way contradict my good friend, Tony Faucius, such an eminent man. There are many different estimates of what could be asymptomatic
transmission or other infections in the community, and we know everyone accepts that when sero-epidemiological studies come online, we are likely to find more people who are unknowingly infected; there is no doubt about that.

What we need to address in all this is often the idea of ​​severity towards infection and there is a strong correlation between exposure dose and severity of infection. We see this in many others
infectious diseases, so we probably also need to consider who becomes ill and who is very ill, depending on the dose and type of exposure to those who may be exposed and seroconverted in the community.

0:29:26

So it’s not just a matter of looking at how many people in the community are infected, but there are specific elements of exposure that cause individuals to have a higher dose of exposure or a certain way of exposure
what causes more serious infections? There is also the concept of infectious dose when talking about different types of transmission. If one is exposed to a large dose from another individual directly or from the surface that is
very polluted you can imagine a big dose.

In other circumstances, individual particles or viral particles potentially floating in the air; it can be shown that this can happen in certain circumstances, certainly in health conditions. But is it significant in
In terms of driver infection, is it significant, does it produce an infectious dose that can successfully infect another individual?

These are all very important things to study. We are only a few weeks away again. I think we need to have seroepy studies. I think we need more information about the infectious dose, especially
the relationship between the dose of exposure or infection and the severity of the disease subsequently, which has been seen with many, many other diseases in the past, including cholera, Ebola, and others.

TJ Thank you very much, Mike and Maria. Let us now turn to our next question; it’s Kai Kupferschmidt. Kai, can you hear us?

0:31:01

KA Yes, Tariq. Thanks a lot for asking. I wanted to ask about the global pressure to try to find pre-exposure prophylaxis or post-exposure prophylaxis. I realize there is
Several trials are underway, most of them chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. I was just wondering if you could talk a little about what role this could potentially play.

Of course, there are also a lot of smaller studies going on. Is there any way to ensure that they all produce results that can be proven in the end?

MR Maria may give you more details, but certainly one of the solidarity processes – I think solidarity is 3 or 4 – we have one of the experiments that will be under development and which will be a multicenter study who will review the prophylaxis of health professionals to determine if there is evidence that administering lower doses of drugs such as chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to healthcare professionals will reduce the risk of infection in the healthcare environment.

These studies are ongoing and again there are a number of those studies that are underway at smaller studies around the world, but again as WHO we are trying to bring together a larger set of collaborative studies to give
give us the answers we need.

As for post-exposure prophylaxis, I do not believe that we are planning studies at this time, but Maria can talk about it, but there is certainly evidence for use – no proven evidence of effectiveness, but there are numerous
studies and experiments using hyperimmune globulin in the treatment of disease; in other words, they use this purified plasma of recovered individuals to amplify antibodies to people who are
suffering from illness.

0:32:49

Similar approaches are applied in post-exposure prophylaxis for other diseases, but Mary may be aware of studies conducted in the field.

MK Just to add that, as you mentioned, there are a number of smaller studies taking place on a global scale and in a large number of countries. We have teams through our science department and through GOARN,
through the Global Outbreak Alert Network, which gathers available literature on a number of topics, one of which studies different types of therapies and medicines.

The idea is until we can have a study that will put together a sample size enough to get answers to those questions and try to evaluate every piece of evidence that is published so we can look our way into
what these studies have done, we can consider the benefits, we can look at the limitations that can help us get closer to effective treatment of COVID-19.

TJ Thank you very much. The next question is from BFM Radio. Is this Kate who’s with us?

KT Yes, hello. Good evening or good morning. I come from BFM Radio Malaysia. My point is that many countries around the world have imposed a deadlock or some kind of movement restrictions. I was wondering
what would be WHO guidelines; what is the dear point, the types of data that governments need to consider before repealing or relaxing some of these conclusions? Thank you very much.

0:34:29

MR thank you. At present, this is a problem for governments, since crashes in many situations prove to be effective in fighting the epidemic flames in these countries, but they
the fall-down is also causing great economic hardship and everyone, especially in the developing world, needs to come up with a more sustainable way of managing this epidemic and controlling COVID-19 without damaging economic and social life.

An out-of-lock transition strategy requires a calibrated, incremental approach. It would probably be very inappropriate to just lift the lock completely, by all measures, as blockages are a general term that
include closing schools, closing churches, ordering at home, closing jobs. It’s a mix of different things and I think every government needs to work out what actually makes our locks, what are the elements
of our lockdown, where it is happening in the country, do we now understand the epidemiology of the disease in every area in which we have an element of lockdown or exclusion.

Then, to chart the path, you need to build strong public health facilities to get them out of jail. In other words, locking pushes disease down by bringing people back to their homes, separating communities. Once you lift
To lock, you must have an alternative method of controlling the infection. The way to do this is through active case finding, testing, case isolation, contact monitoring, contact quarantine and strong community education and
participation and ownership of normal physical distance, hygiene and giving communities the power to control infection by managing their own physical distance, managing their own response support capacity.

0:36:32

In this situation, if you have a strong public health capacity, if you have a mobilized and empowered community, and if you have strengthened your healthcare system, you are potentially in a position to begin unlocking or removing a lock,
The specific parameters you need to look at are on two sides.

For one thing, it would be very unreliable to lock [sic] if the number of cases going through the hospital is already at a level where your bed occupancy is almost 100%. You need to be in a position where
you now have spare beds in your system so you can manage and handle the amount of cases, which means you have little absorption capacity left.

You need to look at things like double the rate; how many days should the number of cases double? You need to look at the rates of positivity; What is the proportion of all samples we test positive for? You will see in
somewhere like Korea, two to 6% of the samples they test are positive. Last week in New York, 37% of the samples tested were positive, so you need to look closely at which part of the test is positive.

0:37:45

You need to look at the number of contacts that are generated just in case and it goes on and WHO will issue guidance to countries that are much more specific about the parameters they need to look at. There are no absolutes there
no answers, no numbers that say if this is the number then do it. It doesn’t exist, but what we can do is offer countries very specific measurements to look at to draw a path out of lockdown.

That primal approach to unlocking and then waiting to see; I think you have to say, we will stop doing this shutdown element and then we will wait and we will look at the data and if it works, we go to the next
stage and next stage. So, careful, calibrated, gradual exit from prison and the establishment of public health facilities, building community capacity, strengthening the capacity of the healthcare system to cope in the event of illness being rejected; it is a surefire way out of disadvantage.

We want to achieve it as quickly as possible and we want to avoid many countries going into that circumstance and we still have many countries around the world who are not in a locked-down situation. In fact their epidemiology would suggest
they can avoid the worst of this and we need to support them to avoid them going into that situation.

The most damaging lock-downs are in many developing countries where people – as the DG has said many times – can live from hand to mouth, not from pay cheque to pay cheque but from day to day and we have to find adaptive solutions
around lock-down and around disease control in vulnerable periurban populations living in poverty, in poor rural communities. We have to find alternatives, listed ways to manage lock-downs or slow-downs or shut-downs in
those situations.

0:39:41

TJ Thank you very much. This was Kate from BFM Radio in Malaysia. Now we will go to Nigeria for Natural Star and it’s Innocent. Innocent, can you hear us?

IN Thank you. Can you hear me?

TJ Not very well but we will try. Please go ahead.

IN Okay, thank you for taking my questions. I have two questions to ask. They; how will WHO assess African countries on what they’ve done about the COVID-19 lock-down and management?

Then the second one; there’s news going around that vaccines are being tested on Africans when they’re developed. How true is that and is there a window that is in the nearer future when vaccine will be developed for COVID-19? Thank you.

Hello?

TJ Yes, we are just trying to make sure that we understand the question but we will try. MR I think this is Nigeria. Is it?

TJ Yes.

0:41:08

MR Maria may answer the question around vaccine development. With regard to our general assessment on lock-down – and the Director-General may wish to comment on this because he has been speaking with many leaders in Africa
        and, I believe, spoke with  the whole of the African Union leadership and countries late last week so therefore is in a much better position than me to speak about that.

We would characterise so far, Africa’s actually doing well in this response thus far. Countries have essential capacities for testing, many countries are taking strong action and want to really focus on finding cases and doing contact tracing and trying to stop this disease becoming much more extensive given the fact that health systems are not as strong in many countries.

They need support in that though, they need support in testing, they need support with protective gear and they need to be given the resources to be able to mount those types of responses so I would characterise that Africa has not suffered the worst
        of this pandemic so far. The worst of it can be avoided with very, very swift action to support those countries in Africa who really do want to take a comprehensive approach to this disease.

With the many vulnerable  people  including  refugees and migrants  who live  in  those countries it is our responsibility to provide that support but, DG, you may wish to speak about your interactions with the African
        Union countries.

00:42:46

MK      I’ll answer the question  around vaccines. What we can say is  that there are a number of vaccines that are in development and vaccines will be tested through clinical trials with all ethical considerations
        in place in whichever  populations  are under  study  with informed consent, with open and transparent communication. This is of the utmost importance, that not only do we have strong, robust  scientific  evidence 
        but  we ensure that all  of the studies  that are done are done with appropriate and the highest level of ethical considerations.

One thing on the first question around Africa is that there are a number of countries in Africa right now which have very few cases and Mike has alluded to this in his earlier response.

Some only have imported cases and there is an opportunity here, this  window  of opportunity that the DG has spoken about exists  in  many countries  still.  There is  an opportunity to prevent the worst from happening
        in a number of countries across Africa and across countries that are still seeing their first case; in some island countries.

We need to support those governments, those countries, all of the people in those areas to prevent the worst from happening, to prevent these individual cases from becoming clusters, these clusters from becoming community transmission. I think that’s
        where we need to put  a lot of emphasis and support so that we can prevent countries  from reaching a point  where they need to put in these very restrictive movement restrictions.

TAG    Thank you. Thank you for that question, my brother from Nigeria. On the situation, as Mike said, of course when you see the number of cases the African continent has the lowest number of cases so far but that doesn’t mean that
        the situation will not deteriorate. It may.

00:45:06

So Africa should do everything to prevent this situation from getting worse and that’s why African leaders are doing their best. I had a chance to participate in a meeting, a Leaders’ Coalition which was arranged or invited by the current Chairperson
        of the African Union, the President of South Africa, President Ramaphoza and many leaders from all corners of the continent have actually participated.

The main agenda is to have a continental strategy and also make sure that that continental strategy helps the national strategy but in addition to a coalition of political leaders or the heads of state and government they have also agreed to have a coalition of business leaders. Business leaders in Africa are also getting together because Africa will need resources and one of the major problems that was identified during the discussion
        was especially shortage of equipment starting from medical equipment, PPE and test kits and so on.

The leaders have agreed to look for concrete solutions to address the problem and they also believe that considering the number of cases we have in the continent testing cases, tracing contacts and isolating them, meaning using the comprehensive approach,
        will actually  help. They believe that lock-downs alone may not help or the physical distancing alone cannot help and they have agreed to do everything to follow the comprehensive approach.

From WHO’s side we have been supporting and we increased, improved  the testing capacity in Africa significantly in the past two months and many countries in Africa have now testing capability although we may have a shortage of test kits but 
        we’re working  on that too and we’re finding different ways of addressing the gap.

00:48:06

But we will support the African Union, we will support the Africa CDC and also we will continue working through our WHO regional office in Congo Brazzaville and continue to support and fight the pandemic together.

Then on the vaccines issue there was, I think, a comment last week from a couple of

scientists who said the testing ground for the new vaccines will be Africa. To be honest,  I was so appalled and it was a time when I said, when we needed solidarity these kind of racist remarks actually would not help, it goes against the solidarity.

Africa cannot and will not be a testing ground for any vaccine. We will follow all the rules to test any vaccine or therapeutics all over the world using exactly the same rules. Whether it’s

in Europe, Africa or wherever we will use the same protocol and if there is a need to be tested elsewhere to treat human beings the same way, equally.

The hangover from a colonial mentality has to stop — and WHO will  not  allow  this  to happen. It was a disgrace actually  and appalling  to hear during the 21st century from scientists that kind of remark and we condemn
        this in  the strongest  terms possible  but  we assure you  that this will not happen in Africa and will not happen elsewhere, in any country. Proper protocols will be followed and human beings will be treated as human
        beings because we’re all human beings.

00:50:37

Then after saying this the vaccine development; we’re addressing two issues and we will be announcing as soon as possible, hopefully during this week, a big initiative to accelerate the research and development and production of vaccines and also
        design mechanisms for equitable distribution of the vaccines.

While we’re looking for vaccines, unless we break the barriers to equitable distribution of the products, whether it’s vaccines or therapeutics, we will have a problem, so we need to address the problem ahead of time, we need to address the problem
        of access or challenges to access ahead of time.

That’s why we will put together a mechanism and we will appoint senior people from the North and South that will work out the details on how they can accelerate production but at the same time how they can ensure equitable distribution. Solidarity
        is very important here. When a vaccine or a medicine is ready we have to be able to deliver it all over the world.

There should not be a divide between the haves and the have-nots.

If we say solidarity, solidarity should be in its full form and I hope each and every individual, each and every human being will go for that kind of solidarity. I thank you.

TJ        Thank you, Dr Tedros. We’ll take a couple more questions. We go to Yang from Xinhua news agency. Yang, can you hear us?

00:52:58

YA      Can I hear you?

TJ        Yes, we can hear you. Please go ahead.

YA      As World Health Day is approaching  what do you  have to say to the  front-line medical workers in China and around the world in  the global  anti-virus  efforts? This  question is
        for Dr Tedros. Hvala vam.

TJ        If we understood well, the question is what is the message to health workers in China and around the world. Maybe you can repeat the question one more time, please.

YA      Okay. As World Health Day is approaching what would you say and what message do you want to deliver to the front-line medical workers in China  and around the world  in  the global anti-virus effort?

TAG    I think I have said it earlier;  as you  know,  this  is  the year of  the nurse and the midwife, 2020. We were ready to celebrate it in a big way and it was supposed to be the main event in our
        Assembly in mid-May. Unfortunately we’re in this situation but  we will  be launching a report tomorrow which is the first of its kind.  It’s a report on the  state of nursing. We will launch it tomorrow during the World Health
        Day.

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But while launching that report, although it’s about nursing, we will celebrate all health workers, midwives, pharmacists, doctors, you name it. I think the world is now seeing the importance and the central role that health workers play. People,
        when they’re asked, of course, to choose they would say health first because it’s only when you’re healthy that you can aspire to anything, whether it’s wealth or fame or anything. It doesn’t matter if you’re not healthy.

If you’re not healthy the first thing you ask for is to get back your health and our health workers are making sure that happens and they’re central and very important for any individual. So not only during COVID but during other times too health
        professionals are very important because they are safeguarding that very important aspect of life — that’s health.