World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has issued a new warning about the possibility of Disease told the leaders of
Tedros, who goes by his first name, issued a similar warning to attendees at the World Government Summit in Dubai earlier this week that a pandemic was likely to occur in 2018, citing the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. He said he was proven right.
Mr Tedros complained that the world was not yet ready for a new pandemic, and reiterated the urgent need for a global deal to be agreed by May, raising concerns that it would lead to a WHO power grab. He dismissed the allegations as outlandish.
He called the treaty “a mission of vital importance to humanity.”
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has issued a fresh warning about the possibility of an outbreak of Disease X, telling world leaders that it is only a matter of time before a new pathogen or pandemic emerges. (Ryan Lim/AFP via Getty Images)
WHO Director-General calls for conclusion of a global pandemic treaty to prepare for Disease X
“Today, I stand before you in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed millions of people and continues to cause social, economic and political shock,” Tedros said. ” he said.
“Despite some progress, including improved surveillance, pandemic funds, and building vaccine production capacity, the world is not prepared for a pandemic.
“As attention turns to the many other crises facing the world, the painful lessons we have learned are in danger of being forgotten.”
If the world does not learn these lessons, Tedros said, “we will pay a high price next time, and we will have another chance next time.”
“History teaches us that it’s not a matter of if the next pandemic will occur, but when,” Tedros added.
“It could be caused by the influenza virus, the coronavirus, or a new pathogen that we don’t know about yet, which we call Disease X.”
Disease X is a hypothetical “placeholder” virus that has not yet formed, but scientists say it could be 20 times more deadly than COVID-19. About eight years ago, it was added to the shortlist of research pathogens with the potential to cause a “serious international epidemic,” according to a 2022 WHO press release.
World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. (Reuters/Dennis Baribous)
“As it stands, the world remains unprepared for the next Disease X and the next pandemic,” he said.
Mr Tedros argued that although there has been a lot of attention recently on Disease X, it is not new.
“In 2018, at the same time I spoke at this World Government Summit, we first used the term Disease
“COVID-19 was disease X, a new pathogen causing a new disease. But there will be another disease X, or disease Y, or disease Z.”
WHO Director-General calls for conclusion of a global pandemic treaty to prepare for Disease X
The clock is ticking for countries to come together and sign an international agreement on pandemic preparedness to prepare for the next outbreak, with just 15 weeks left until the deadline to be agreed in 2021, Tedros said. Stated. This is a series of commitments by countries to strengthen the world’s defenses with a “One Health” approach.
That includes cooperation in research and development, access to vaccines and other products, and sharing of information, technology and biological samples.
He cited two reasons why no agreement has been reached. First, he believed that there were some differences between countries, but that they would be resolved.
President Biden will receive a COVID-19 booster on October 25, 2022. (Tom Brenner of The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The second major barrier, he said, is “a litany of lies and conspiracy theories about the agreement.”
“It’s a power grab by the World Health Organization. It’s about the World Health Organization ceding sovereignty to the WHO. It’s about giving the WHO the power to impose lockdowns and vaccination requirements on countries. It’s an ‘attack on freedom.’ That WHO doesn’t allow people to travel and that WHO wants to control people’s lives.
“These are some of the lies that are being spread. If they weren’t so dangerous, these lies would be funny. But they are putting the health of people around the world at risk. And it’s It’s no laughing matter.”
Who has halted the investigation into whether the new coronavirus leaked from a Wuhan laboratory, claiming it is unlikely
“These claims are completely, completely, categorically false. … Anyone who says this is the case either knows nothing or is lying.”
Critics, including the American Alliance for Freedom (AAF), argue that the legally binding treaty amounts to a power usurpation, ceding sovereignty to a global organization. AAF is a nonprofit advocacy organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.
Tedros said a draft agreement was available on the WHO website and called on the public to read it for themselves.
In proposing the treaty, he exempted the WHO from imposing lockdowns and vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This aerial photo shows the P4 laboratory (center) on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where many believe the new coronavirus spread. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
“We cannot allow this historic agreement, this milestone in global health, to be sabotaged, knowingly or unwittingly, by those who spread lies.
“Let me be clear: WHO is not imposing anything on anyone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not lockdowns, not mask mandates, not vaccine mandates.
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“We don’t have the power to do it, we don’t want it, and we’re not going to have it.”
The WHO has faced strong criticism from around the world for its slow response to China’s investigation into the coronavirus outbreak. The WHO team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic also downplayed the possibility that the virus leaked from a laboratory near Wuhan, China.
