Health

WHO resolves to vaccinate 70 percent of world population by mid-2022, close rich-poor pandemic gap

Geneva/New York, October 7 – The World Health Organization has launched a global vaccination strategy that calls for meeting targets of vaccinating 40 percent of the world population by end of 2021 and 70 percent by mid-2022. It has mobilized the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, UN agencies, organizations and civil society to ensure success of the strategy and end the deep inequality in vaccine distribution between rich and poor countries.

WHO said currently global vaccine production stands at about 1.5 billion doses per month, which should be sufficient to meet the demand of at least 11 billion vaccine doses to vaccinate 70 percent of the global population in 2022 provided there is equitable distribution of the doses. As of end of September 2021, just over 6 billion doses had already been administered worldwide.

The Geneva-based health organization had planned to vaccinate 10 percent of people in every country and territory by the end of September but it had not been able to do so in 56 countries, most of them in Africa and the Middle East.

“Science has played its part by delivering powerful, life-saving tools faster than for any outbreak in history,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the event launching the Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination ( Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022)

“But the concentration of those tools in the hands of a few countries and companies has led to a global catastrophe, with the rich protected while the poor remain exposed to a deadly virus. We can still achieve the targets for this year and next, but it will take a level of political commitment, action and cooperation, beyond what we have seen to date.”

“This is a costed, coordinated and credible path out of the COVID-19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Without a coordinated, equitable approach, a reduction of cases in any one country will not be sustained over time. For everyone’s sake, we must urgently bring all countries to a high level of vaccination coverage.”

Both Guterres and Tedros Adhanom called on governments and manufacturers to make good on their commitments to fund and provide vaccine doses without further delays.

The strategy calls for vaccination of all older adults, health workers and high-risk groups of all ages in every country first followed by the full adult age group in every country and lastly extended vaccination of adolescents. It says substantial investment has been made to procure most of the required vaccine doses for low- and lower-middle-income countries through its vaccine program known as COVAX, the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and bilateral contracts.

The Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022 can be read in its entirety here.

Slide deck on the Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022

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UPDATE: US urges world powers to “go big” on vaccines, orders 500 million doses for developing countries; WHO says not enough

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Governments urged to depoliticize Covid-19 issues and let scientists study Covid-19 virus’ origins

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Geneva/New York, August 12 – The World Health Organization is calling on governments to stop politicizing the issue regarding Covid-19 virus’ origins and provide “all data” to a scientific panel to study the virus and address the controversial “lab hypothesis.”

WHO said it is imperative to continue the study of the origins of Covid-19 virus following the first mission in China, which was carried out by a joint team of WHO and Chinese scientists in early 2021 and ended in March with a publication on the team’s work. But the publication provided no conclusive finding on the SARS-Cov-2 virus’ origins and some scientists had suggested that the virus may have originated from animals and transmitted to humans.

WHO has since then established an International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO, which is tasked with advising the health organization on the development of a global framework to study the emergence of future emerging pathogens with pandemic potential.

“To move forward, WHO calls for all governments to depoliticize the situation and cooperate to accelerate the origins studies, and importantly to work together to develop a common framework for future emerging pathogens of pandemic potential,” WHO said in a statement.

“WHO reiterates that the search for the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is not and should not be an exercise in attributing blame, finger-pointing or political point-scoring. It is vitally important to know how the COVID-19 pandemic began, to set an example for establishing the origins of all future animal-human spillover events. “

The statement said SAGO is “transparent foundation” and it expects governments will engage with SAGO. WHO said it hoped for continuity from previous missions to China for SARS-Cov-2 the same way it carried out missions to study the origins of avian influenza and Ebola in other countries.

“China and a number of other Member States have written to WHO regarding the basis for further studies of the SARS-CoV-2 “lab hypothesis,” the statement said. ”They have also suggested the origins study has been politicized, or that WHO has acted due to political pressure.”

“On review of the phase one study report, WHO determined that there was insufficient scientific evidence to rule any of the hypotheses out. Specifically, in order to address the “lab hypothesis,” it is important to have access to all data and consider scientific best practice and look at the mechanisms WHO already has in place. WHO is only focused on science, providing solutions and building solidarity.”

Zeng Yixin, vice premier of China’s National Health Commission, said on July 22 this year that his government rejected WHO’s proposal for a second phase of the studies into the virus’ origins after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus presented to the governments a plan for further study that includes searches of laboratories and markets in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the first Covid cases were found.

Beijing has rejected claims that the virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.

WHO said it has been working with governments that are WHO members since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to understand how the pandemic began so it can better prepare for the next one.

The statement said governments have a “collective responsibility to work together in the true spirit of partnership and to ensure scientists and experts have the space they need to find the origins of the worst pandemic in a century.” It said access to raw data is critical for scientists and it should “not be politicized in any way.”

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Ethics and human rights should be at the core of using artificial intelligence for health, WHO says

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Geneva/New York, June 28 – In its first move to provide guidance for the application of artificial intelligence in the vast field of healthcare, the World Health Organization said humans should remain in full control of healthcare systems and medical decisions.

The health organization headquartered in Geneva has just released a 165-page report called Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health, which it said is the result of a two-year consultations held by departments in the WHO Science Division and its own appointed panel of international experts.

“Like all new technology, artificial intelligence holds enormous potential for improving the health of millions of people around the world, but like all technology it can also be misused and cause harm,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“This important new report provides a valuable guide for countries on how to maximize the benefits of AI, while minimizing its risks and avoiding its pitfalls.”

The report cited the benefits of AI in healthcare, which is already being used in some wealthy countries: “to improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis and screening for diseases; to assist with clinical care; strengthen health research and drug development, and support diverse public health interventions, such as disease surveillance, outbreak response, and health systems management.”

It said AI could also empower patients to take greater control of their own health care and better understand their evolving needs. It could also enable resource-poor countries and rural communities, where patients often have restricted access to health-care workers or medical professionals, to bridge gaps in access to health services.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist, said in the report’s foreword that if AI is employed “wisely” it could empower patients and communities to assume control over the healthcare systems.

“But if we do not take appropriate measures, AI could also lead to situations where decisions that should be made by providers and patients are transferred to machines, which would undermine human autonomy, as humans may neither understand how an AI technology arrives at a decision, nor be able to negotiate with a technology to reach a shared decision,” she warned.

“In the context of AI for health, autonomy means that humans should remain in full control of health-care systems and medical decisions,” Swaminathan said.

A press release issued by WHO summarized the report, parts of it are published in full in this article to reflect the organization’s true intents:

The report cautioned against overestimating the benefits of AI for health, especially when this occurs at the expense of core investments and strategies required to achieve universal health coverage.

It also points out that opportunities are linked to challenges and risks, including unethical collection and use of health data; biases encoded in algorithms, and risks of AI to patient safety, cybersecurity, and the environment.

For example, while private and public sector investment in the development and deployment of AI is critical, the unregulated use of AI could subordinate the rights and interests of patients and communities to the powerful commercial interests of technology companies or the interests of governments in surveillance and social control.

The report also emphasizes that systems trained primarily on data collected from individuals in high-income countries may not perform well for individuals in low- and middle-income settings.

AI systems should therefore be carefully designed to reflect the diversity of socio-economic and health-care settings. They should be accompanied by training in digital skills, community engagement and awareness-raising, especially for millions of healthcare workers who will require digital literacy or retraining if their roles and functions are automated, and who must contend with machines that could challenge the decision-making and autonomy of providers and patients.

Ultimately, guided by existing laws and human rights obligations, and new laws and policies that enshrine ethical principles, governments, providers, and designers must work together to address ethics and human rights concerns at every stage of an AI technology’s design, development, and deployment.

Six principles to ensure AI works for the public interest in all countries.

To limit the risks and maximize the opportunities intrinsic to the use of AI for health, WHO provides the following principles as the basis for AI regulation and governance:

Protecting human autonomy: In the context of health care, this means that humans should remain in control of health-care systems and medical decisions; privacy and confidentiality should be protected, and patients must give valid informed consent through appropriate legal frameworks for data protection.

Promoting human well-being and safety and the public interest. The designers of AI technologies should satisfy regulatory requirements for safety, accuracy and efficacy for well- defined use cases or indications. Measures of quality control in practice and quality improvement in the use of AI must be available.

Ensuring transparency, explainability and intelligibility. Transparency requires that sufficient information be published or documented before the design or deployment of an AI technology. Such information must be easily accessible and facilitate meaningful public consultation and debate on how the technology is designed and how it should or should not be used.

Fostering responsibility and accountability. Although AI technologies perform specific tasks, it is the responsibility of stakeholders to ensure that they are used under appropriate conditions and by appropriately trained people. Effective mechanisms should be available for questioning and for redress for individuals and groups that are adversely affected by decisions based on algorithms.

Ensuring inclusiveness and equity. Inclusiveness requires that AI for health be designed to encourage the widest possible equitable use and access, irrespective of age, sex, gender, income, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability or other characteristics protected under human rights codes.

Promoting AI that is responsive and sustainable. Designers, developers and users should continuously and transparently assess AI applications during actual use to determine whether AI responds adequately and appropriately to expectations and requirements. AI systems should also be designed to minimize their environmental consequences and increase energy efficiency. Governments and companies should address anticipated disruptions in the workplace, including training for health-care workers to adapt to the use of AI systems, and potential job losses due to use of automated systems.

These principles will guide future WHO work to support efforts to ensure that the full potential of AI for healthcare and public health will be used for the benefits of all.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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End the pandemic with US$ 50 billion investment, world’s largest health, trade and finance organizations say

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Geneva/Washington/New York, June 1 – Leaders of the world’s four largest health, finance and trade organizations are jointly urging governments to invest US$ 50 billion in order to generate US$ 9 trillion in global economic returns by 2025. They said such an investment would lead to an accelerated end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization (WHO), Kristalina Georgieva of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), David Malpass of the World Bank Group and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of World Trade Organization (WTO) said In a statement published by newspapers around the world that the US $50 billion in new investment is needed to increase manufacturing capacity, supply, trade flows, and delivery, which would accelerate the equitable distribution of diagnostics, oxygen, treatments, medical supplies and vaccines. This injection would also give a major boost to economic growth around the world.

“By now it has become abundantly clear there will be no broad-based recovery without an end to the health crisis. Access to vaccination is key to both,” the leaders said.

“There has been impressive progress on the vaccination front. Scientists have come up with multiple vaccines in record time. Unprecedented public and private financing has supported vaccine research, development and manufacturing scale-up. But a dangerous gap between richer and poorer nations persists.”

“At an estimated $50 billion, it will bring the pandemic to an end faster in the developing world, reduce infections and loss of lives, accelerate the economic recovery, and generate some $9 trillion in additional global output by 2025. “

“Increasing our ambition and vaccinating more people faster: WHO and its COVAX partners have set a goal of vaccinating approximately 30 per cent of the population in all countries by the end of 2021,” said the four leaders. “But this can reach even 40 per cent through other agreements and surge investment, and at least 60 percent by the first half of 2022.”

The statement said US$ 35 billion of the US$ 50 billion could be in the form of grants as the G20 governments have shown willingness to provide about US$ 22 billion in additional funding for 2021 to the ACT-Accelerator, the WHO’s main program for vaccines.

The statement said an additional US$ 13 billion are needed to boost vaccine supply in 2022 and further scale up testing, therapeutics and surveillance. The remainder of the overall financing plan—around US$15 billion—could come from national governments supported by multilateral development banks, including the World Bank’s US$12 billion financial facility for vaccination.

“Investing US$ 50 billion to end the pandemic is potentially the best use of public money we will see in our lifetimes,” the statement said. “It will pay a huge development dividend and boost growth and well-being globally. But the window of opportunity is closing fast — the longer we wait, the costlier it becomes, in human suffering and in economic losses.”

“On behalf of our four organizations, today we announce a new commitment to work togetherto scale up needed financing, boost manufacturing and ensure the smooth flow of vaccines and raw materials across borders to dramatically increase vaccine access to support the health response and economic recovery, and to bring needed hope”.

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World Health Assembly plans fall meeting to discuss international treaty to deal with future pandemics

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Geneva/New York, May 31 – The World Health Assembly decided to meet in November to work out an international treaty that would provide the organization all means necessary to confront future global health crises. The assembly, which is the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, scheduled the fall meeting and adopted scores of resolutions before closing its week-long annual session in Geneva.

“We need a generational commitment that outlives budgetary cycles, election cycles and media cycles, that creates an overarching framework for connecting the political, financial and technical mechanisms needed for strengthening global health security,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Such a treaty would “foster improved sharing, trust and accountability, and provide the solid foundation on which to build other mechanisms for global health security,” Dr Tedros said.

The WHA adopted more than 30 resolutions and decisions on various health issues including diabetes, disabilities, ending violence against children, eye care, HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, local production of medicines, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, noncommunicable diseases, nursing and midwifery, oral health, social determinants of health and strategic directions for the health and care workforce.

Dr Tedros reminded delegates in his closing address that the WHA session aimed at “Ending this pandemic, preventing the next: building together a healthier, safer and fairer world.”

“We’re very encouraged that cases and deaths are continuing to decline globally, but it would be a monumental error for any country to think the danger has passed,” Dr Tedros said. He urged governments to vaccinate at least 10 per cent of the population of all countries by the end of September, and at least 30 per cent by the end of 2021.

“One day – hopefully soon – the pandemic will be behind us but we will still face the same vulnerabilities that allowed a small outbreak to become a global pandemic,” he said.

“That’s why the one recommendation that I believe will do most to strengthen both WHO and global health security is the recommendation for a treaty on pandemic preparedness and response.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world must “respond resolutely and in solidarity” to stop the virus, bolster primary health systems and universal health coverage and prepare for the next global health emergency.

Guterres and WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denounced the lopsided situation in which rich countries piled up vaccine supplies while poor countries cannot afford them. Both leaders paid tribute to the millions of frontline health workers with Guterres calling the “heroes of this pandemic.”

“Millions of healthcare professionals continue to put themselves in harm’s way every day. We owe them our deepest appreciation,” Guterres said.

“The ongoing vaccine crisis is a scandalous inequity that is perpetuating the pandemic,” Dr Tedros said in opening the WHA, which is WHO’s decision-making body. “More than 75 per cent of all vaccines have been administered in just 10 countries.”

“There is no diplomatic way to say it: a small group of countries that make and buy the majority of the world’s vaccines control the fate of the rest of the world.”

“The number of doses administered globally so far would have been enough to cover all health workers and older people, if they had been distributed equitably. We could have been in a much better situation.”

The WHA’s May 24-June 1 session was focusing on ending the pandemic that has killed over 3.6 million people and infected 167 million others globally in the past 18 months. The week-long virtual meeting will be attended by delegations from all member countries, observers and non-governmental organizations.

The WHA ‘s agenda included discussion of its 2022-2023 budget and a host of health issues from non-communicable diseases, health emergencies to malaria and poliomyelitis. But the focus will remain on the current global response to and on ending the Covid-19 pandemic and ways to prevent the next one.

A high-level meeting will take place on May 24 with the participation from heads of state and governments and special guests.

WHO said the global response is still at a crucial phase, marked by deep contrasts in recovery between rich and poor countries and vaccine inequality. WHO said over 75 per cent of all vaccine doses have been administered in only 10 countries while the lowest income countries have administered less than 0.5 per cent of global doses.

New international expert panel on the emergence and spread of zoonotic disease

WHO has announced that international organizations has agreed to form a new expert panel called One Health High-Level Expert Panel to “improve understanding of how diseases with the potential to trigger pandemics, emerge and spread.”

The expert panel will advise the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE); the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the WHO “on the development of a long-term global plan of action to avert outbreaks of diseases like H5N1 avian influenza; MERS; Ebola; Zika, and, possibly, COVID-19. Three quarters of all emerging infectious diseases originate in animals.”

“Human health does not exist in a vacuum, and nor can our efforts to protect and promote it,” Dr Tedros said. “The close links between human, animal and environmental health demand close collaboration, communication and coordination between the relevant sectors. The High-Level Expert Panel is a much-needed initiative to transform One Health from a concept to concrete policies that safeguard the health of the world’s people.”

WHO said the expert panel will “operate under the One Health Approach, which recognizes the links between the health of people, animals, and the environment and highlights the need for specialists in multiple sectors to address any health threats and prevent disruption to agri-food systems.”

“Key first steps will include systematic analyses of scientific knowledge about the factors that lead to transmission of a disease from animal to human and vice versa; development of risk assessment and surveillance frameworks; identification of capacity gaps as well as agreement on good practices to prevent and prepare for zoonotic outbreaks.”

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UN agencies: Remove wild animals from food markets to prevent emergence of new, deadly virus

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Geneva/New York, April 13 – Traditional food markets known as wet markets should stop selling wild animals, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies proposed as an interim measure to prevent the emergence of a new, deadly virus.

The organizations called for “suspending” sales of wild mammals in a newly published document, interim guidance, in order reducing public health risks associated with these transactions as most emerging infectious diseases have wildlife origins.

The WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) published the interim document in the wake of failure by a team of 17 international scientists and experts and 17 Chinese experts to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 virus. The investigation was conducted in January 2021 in Wuhan, China.

“Traditional food markets that are regulated by national or local competent authorities and that operate to high standards of hygiene and sanitation are safe for workers and customers,” the document said. “Significant problems can arise when these markets allow the sale and slaughter of live animals, especially wild animals, which cannot be properly assessed for potential risks in areas open to the public.”

“When wild animals are kept in cages or pens, slaughtered and dressed in open market areas, these areas become contaminated with body fluids, feces and other waste, increasing the risk of transmission of pathogens to workers and customers and potentially resulting in spillover of pathogens to other animals in the market.”

The document said animals, particularly wild animals, are responsible for more than 70 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, many of which are caused by novel viruses. It said wild mammals pose particular risk as there is no way to check if they carry dangerous viruses.

The document said some of the earliest known cases of Covid-19 were linked to the wet market in Wuhan.

“It is likely that the virus that causes Covid-19 originated in wild animals, as it belongs to a group of coronaviruses normally found in bats,” the document said.

“One hypothesis is that the virus was initially transmitted to humans through an intermediary animal host that is, as yet, unknown. Another possibility is that the virus was transmitted directly from a host species of animal to humans.”

The document also called for governments to close markets, or sections of markets, and to re-open them “only on condition that they meet required food safety, hygiene and environmental standards and comply with regulations.”

“During this pandemic, additional measures for crowd control and physical distancing, hand washing and sanitizing stations as well as education on respiratory hygiene including on use of face masks should be introduced in market settings to limit the possibility of person-to-person transmission of disease,” it said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that a report written by the investigative team in Wuhan represented a “very important beginning, but it is not the end.” We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do.”

The WHO chief emphasized that the report raised “further questions that will need to be addressed by further studies, as the team itself notes in the report.” He added that the investigation would need access from Chinese authorities “to data including biological samples from at least September” 2019.

“In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data. I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing,” he said.

“Again, I welcome the recommendations for further research, including a full analysis of the trade in animals and products in markets across Wuhan, particularly those linked to early human cases,” Tedros said.

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World needs an international treaty to deal with the next pandemic, governments and WHO say; report on Covid-19 origins published

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Geneva/New York, March 30 – Deeply battered by the Covid-19 pandemic that has entered into a second year, more than 20 heads of government and the World Health Organization have decided to work on a treaty to deal with the next pandemic, which they say is certain to strike again.

“There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies,” the governments and WHO said in a statement. “No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when.”

“We are convinced that it is our responsibility, as leaders of nations and international institutions, to ensure that the world learns the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said, adding that the pandemic was the biggest challenge to the world since the 1940s.

The statement was signed by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the leaders of countries including Britain, France, Germany, Spain, South Africa, South Korea and Indonesia. The United States and China have not signed but the two countries, which have been at loggerheads, have expressed support for the proposal.

“From the discussions we had during member states sessions, the comment from member states including U.S. and China was actually positive and we hope the future engagements will bring all countries,” the WHO chief said.

“The proposals are not sufficiently detailed at the moment,” said an adviser to a Western government helping craft the proposal. “It’s going to take a number of years of negotiation… you’re talking two to four years.”

“This comes down to what governments are willing to agree to in terms of allowing investigative teams into their countries,” the adviser said.

WHO also issued a separate statement calling for a “more robust international health architecture.” It said the new treaty would “foster an all-of-government and all-of-society approach, strengthening national, regional and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics.”

It called for greatly enhancing international cooperation to improve alert systems, data-sharing, research and local, regional and global production and distribution of vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment. The treaty should also build mutual accountability, shared responsibility, transparency and cooperation within the international system with rules and norms.

The statement was signed by:

J. V. Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji; Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand; António Luís Santos da Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal; Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy; Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania; Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Charles Michel, President of the European Council; Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece; Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea; Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile; Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica; Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania; Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa; Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Kais Saied, President of Tunisia; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain; Erna Solberg, Prime Miniser of Norway; Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia; Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia; Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine; Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

14 countries raise “concerns” about WHO report on Covid-19 origins

The WHO made public the report on the investigation of the origins of the pandemic’s virus, which was drawn together by an international team composed of 17 members from WHO and 17 members from China. The investigation took place in Wuhan, China, January 10 to February 14, 2021.

“As far as WHO is concerned, all hypotheses remain on the table,” the WHO chief said. “This report is a very important beginning, but it is not the end. We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do. Finding the origin of a virus takes time and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again. No single research trip can provide all the answers.

In Washington, the United States joined 13 other countries to raise “concerns” about the released report because the investigators were not given full access to information they neede

“We voice our shared concerns that the international expert study on the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples,” the 14 countries said in a joint statement.

“Scientific missions like these should be able to do their work under conditions that produce independent and objective recommendations and findings. Going forward, there must now be a renewed commitment by WHO and all Member States to access, transparency, and timeliness,” the statement said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: “They have not been transparent, they have not provided underlying data, that certainly doesn’t qualify as cooperation.”

“We don’t believe that in our review to date that it meets the moment,” Psaki said of the report.

The 14 countries are Australia, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, South Korea, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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International investigation says Covid-19 virus likely transmitted from animals to humans

Michael Bloomberg, a major contributor to UN programs, is honored with new, separate terms as UN climate and WHO ambassador

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New York, February 5 – Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, Founder, Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, was re-appointed the UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action in the lead-up to the critical Glasgow Climate Conference – COP 26 – in November 2021.”

Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor and a US presidential candidate, was also confirmed (February 3) for a third term as the World Health Organization Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General in Geneva.

Following is the statement issued by the UN on Bloomberg’s reappointment as climate envoy:

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (February 5) announced the reappointment of Michael R. Bloomberg of the United States as his Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions to mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action in the lead-up to the critical Glasgow Climate Conference – COP 26 – in November 2021.

Mr. Bloomberg will support the work of the Secretary-General in growing and strengthening the coalition of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions committing to net-zero before 2050 in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Special Envoy will engage government officials and members of the private sector and civil society to finalize and implement plans, particularly in high-emitting countries, industries and sectors, to vastly accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. Mr. Bloomberg will leverage his deep experience and track record in accelerating the transition from coal to help deliver on the Secretary-General’s global call for the phase-out of coal in industrialized countries by 2030, and all other countries by 2040, underpinned by a just transition for affected communities and workers.

As Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, Mr. Bloomberg’s work will build on the outcomes of the 2019 Climate Action Summit and 2020 Climate Ambition Summit and will stress the Secretary-General’s call to ensure that all measures to respond to the CoViD-19 pandemic are aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

As founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the 108th Mayor of New York City, Mr. Bloomberg is globally recognized for his work to accelerate climate action, including support for the Beyond Coal movement, which helped to catalyze momentum towards the clean energy transition in the United States and other countries, and America’s Pledge, an initiative to quantify and report the actions of U.S. states, cities, businesses and organizations, to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

In addition, Mr. Bloomberg also supports efforts of cities and mayors taking climate action at the local level. He is the board president of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a global network of 97 major cities, and co-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, a network of more than 10,000 cities and local governments. He also currently serves as chair of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and at the Secretary-General’s request, formed the Climate Finance Leaders Initiative in 2019.

Mr. Bloomberg is a graduate of John Hopkins University and Harvard Business School and is co-author of Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet.

—-WHO in Geneva said Bloomberg has contributed to efforts to tackle noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer and respiratory diseases, which account for over 74% of deaths globally and worsen outcomes of patients with COVID-19.

Following is the statement issued (February 3) by WHO in Geneva:

His WHO Ambassador role follows decades of involvement in health policy, including his three terms as mayor of New York City, and a long-standing collaboration with WHO to take on some of the biggest global health challenges.

In his role, Bloomberg will continue to raise awareness about the link between COVID-19 and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), advocate for investment in measures to tackle NCDs and injuries, mobilize cities for better health, and support the use of health data to drive programs and policies.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the full danger of noncommunicable diseases – and signaled the urgent need for stronger public health policies and investment to prevent them,” said Dr Tedros. “We urge world leaders in business and government to take aggressive steps to prevent noncommunicable diseases. Fewer NCDs would have meant fewer deaths during the pandemic.”

“The majority of those who have died from COVID-19 had an underlying noncommunicable disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease or cancer. NCDs account for nearly three-quarters of all deaths around the world, and the scale and urgency of the problem was thrown into sharp relief by COVID-19. NCDs can be prevented, and we know what works,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries.

“Bloomberg Philanthropies has been working with WHO to reduce tobacco use, support healthier diets, fight cardiovascular disease, and strengthen health data to guide our work. We look forward to expanding our efforts to help more cities and countries take action on NCDs and to save lives.”

NCDs currently kill over 40 million people every year. These chronic conditions have also increased the death toll from COVID-19, which has already taken over two million lives. People who are obese, who use tobacco, and who have hypertension are at increased risk of being hospitalized and dying from COVID-19.

In addition to COVID-19, Bloomberg’s work with WHO and investments more broadly in public health focus on major, life-saving initiatives to reduce tobacco and youth e-cigarette use, support healthy food policy, reduce drowning, and improve road safety and maternal health, among others.

In 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with WHO and Vital Strategies to launch the Partnership for Healthy Cities, a network of 70 global cities, covering nearly 300 million people, committed to preventing NCDs and injuries since 2017. Over the past year, it has expanded its support to urban leaders around the world to include the resources and tools to overcome the challenges of the pandemic.

After more than 15 years of collaboration, WHO and Bloomberg Philanthropies have shared major achievements across public health:

5 billion people covered by at least one strong tobacco control measure

3.3 billion people have benefitted from stronger road safety laws

70 cities covering almost 300 million people, committed to preventing NCDs and injuries

Countries around the world have been supported to strengthen their health data systems through the Data for Health Program. The newly released SCORE Report is the first to gauge countries’ progress in producing sustainable health data.

WHO and Bloomberg Philanthropies will continue to drive change in tobacco control, prevention of noncommunicable diseases, road safety, injuries and improving health data. Later this year, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO will launch a new “NCD investment case” outlining the value of investing in policies and interventions to prevent NCDs.

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