At the World Health Summit in Berlin, a hundred nations gathered until Tuesday, October 26, to take stock of the COVID-19 pandemic but above all to know how to protect against it in the future, especially through better preparedness for epidemics and emerging diseases.
“Viruses move fast, but data can move even faster.”said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the second day of the Summit. “With the right information, countries can stay ahead of emerging risks and save lives. Urbanization, deforestation, climate change and intensification of agricultural practices increase the risk of epidemics and pandemics.”
For the WHO chief, even if the pandemic is not over yet, the end of Covid-19 is at hand. “The pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it, it is in our hands, we have all the tools we need,” had launched Sunday, the head of WHO in preamble of the summit.
Target: vaccinate 70% of each country’s population by 2022
WHO has set a target that 40% of each country’s population will be vaccinated by the end of the year and 70% by mid-2022.
“The goal is achievable, but only if the countries and companies that control the supply translate their statements into actions,” said Dr Tedros, who regularly deplores the hoarding of Covid vaccines by rich countries.
“Countries that have already reached the 40% target, including all G20 countries, must give way in vaccine deliveries” to the international Covax scheme and the African Vaccine Acquisition Fund (Avat) set up by the African Union, Dr. Tedros.
Vaccine manufacturers “must share know-how, technology and licensing, as well as the waiver of intellectual property rights”.
WHO also stressed the need to focus on research and new technologies to prevent one of the emerging diseases from turning into a global health disaster such as Covid-19, which has claimed more than 4.9 million lives worldwide.