The end of Covid-19 as a global health emergency does not spell its end as a global health threat, said World Health Organization Chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the 76th World Health Assembly, outlining the need for greater surveillance, preparedness, and response measures.
During the pandemic, WHO and its partners were able to deliver nearly two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine, tests, therapeutics, oxygen, PPE, and other medical supplies. But the threat of another variant emerging “that causes new surges of disease and death remains”, he said.
In a world of overlapping and converging crises, “an effective architecture for health emergency preparedness and response must address emergencies of all kinds.”
The WHO chief outlined various measures undertaken, including a pandemic fund, enhanced surveillance through a hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, an international pathogen surveillance network, a BioHub (to share biological samples), a monitoring board, and the International Health Regulations, for enhanced governance.
He called for greater investments and speed towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
On the encouraging developments, he pointed to measures by member countries to address the harm to health from tobacco, sugar, and salt intake. But against the SDG backdrop, he said, between 2019 and 2021, an estimated 67 million children missed out on at least one essential vaccine, including 48 million who missed out entirely.
That said, countries continued to make progress in maternal and child health and invest in primary health care and universal health coverage.
Health emergencies
Besides Covid-19 and mpox, last year WHO responded to 70 graded health emergencies, from floods in Pakistan to Ebola in Uganda, the war in Ukraine, cholera outbreaks in more than 30 countries, and complex emergencies in the greater Horn of Africa, northern Ethiopia, and the Sahel, Tedros said.
The end of Covid-19 and mpox as public health emergencies of international concern means polio remains the only official global health emergency, he added.
Vaccines and data
“Vaccines are powerful tools, and so are data,” Tedros said.
In an effort to strengthen local production of vaccines, an mRNA hub was set up in South Africa. Since its establishment in 2001, it has now started transferring technology to manufacturers in 15 countries, supported by the biomanufacturing training hub in the Republic of Korea, which has trained 300 staff in low- and middle-income countries.
The mRNA Technology Transfer Programme holds promise, not just for vaccines against Covid-19, but also for other diseases including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and more, he added.
On data, Tedros said, “One of last year’s key data products was our estimate of excess mortality from Covid-19.” Based on consultations with member States, partners across the United Nations, and scientists, “we estimated 14.9 million excess deaths in 2020 and 2021.”
Last year, the agency completed the beta version of the World Health Data Hub, “providing a single source for publishing health data for the first time in our history,” he said.
This Assembly would see the launch of DataDot, the public-facing portal of the World Health Data Hub.