WHO on Coronavirus: Nobody is safe until we are all safe

Geneva, Switzerland—The World Health Organization is calling on wealthy nations to support low-income countries through a coronavirus pandemic during their daily briefings in Geneva. Dr. Michael J. Ryan, head of the WHO Emergency Response Plan, states that these rich nations “must move to protect others.”

In the past, UN health agencies have faced criticism that their response to overreactions and fighting epidemics has been too slow, but has seldom been scrutinized as much as a coronavirus pandemic.

The World Health Organization was considered too cautious when faced with the H1N1 epidemic in 2009, but five years later, the emergence of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will kill more than 11,000 people Was accused of pulling a foot.

Following the catastrophic failure, WHO reformed and subsequently created a rapid response unit to support two Ebola efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Still, the organization is under attack again, and critics criticize it did not respond quickly or strongly to the new coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China at the end of last year.

Authorities delayed delaying alarms in fear of attacking Beijing, taking too long to declare the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic, and consistent international response Was accused of failing to make adjustments.

There also appears to be consensus on the need to close public spaces to limit spreads, but the WHO provides little guidance on these measures.

“WHO is surprisingly silent and lacks all of these practical questions,” said Antoine Frakhout, head of the Global Health Institute at the University of Geneva, in a Lancet Medical Review. I am. “Are there any orchestra conductors?”

“Mankind’s enemy”

However, other commentators praised WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his team for providing sound guidance, and instead accused countries of failing to take note of their advice.

According to Davis Ridal, a professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, WHO’s response was “ acceptable ” and that countries like South Korea that followed testing, tracking, and containment advice were better than others. He added that it was excellent.

One of the central plans of criticism is that the WHO is waiting until March 11, with nearly 120,000 patients already registered and declaring a pandemic. This is a real move to accelerate global efforts to control the virus.

By that time, the virus, dubbed “the enemy of mankind” by Tedros, had already become established in Europe and soon overtook Asia as the epicenter of the outbreak.

Lack of testing, lack of protective gear for healthcare professionals, and lack of critical medical equipment such as ventilators have pushed medical systems to their limits, even in rich countries.

More than 2.5 billion people around the world are now largely locked in their homes, the economy is largely stagnant and the global economy has stopped to stop the pandemic that has already killed more than 18,000 people. Threatening recession.

Chinese difficulties

Despite the confusion and evidence that Chinese authorities have hidden the crisis for weeks and suppressed doctors trying to sound alarms, WHO praised Beijing’s early response.

“ WHO early stated that it was a clear mistake, the epidemic was less serious, and the initial response was appropriate, ” said AFP, a professor of international health at Drexel University in the United States. Told.

China told WHO about an unknown form of pneumonia circulating in Wuhan on December 31, 2019.

Experts say that if the world had known the problem a few weeks ago, it would probably have been suppressed.

“If we knew about it, it could have made a huge difference,” Roland Khao, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, told AFP.

However, although experts do agree that there has been much criticism of China’s first response, many have dramatic blockades to quickly share the viral genetic sequence and slow its spread. WHO says it is appropriate to emphasize that the country is right, including taking action.

“It would have been a mistake to alienate China by pointing out mistakes early in the process,” said An Lindstrand, who is in charge of WHO’s extended immunization program, told AFP that Beijing’s cooperation is important He said.

“Tedros did the right thing”

Tedros himself dismissed claims that he and the WHO had bowed to Chinese pressure and emphasized the cooperation between government agencies and their members.

“I don’t consider anything coming from member states as pressure,” he said at a press conference this month.

Some say that the COVID-19 pandemic actually revealed the opposite problem—states need to feel pressure from WHO, but government agencies simply have no power.

“Dr. Tedros and WHO are working hard to lead the orchestra, but the players are not working together,” said Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute.