COVID-19 Won’t Be Last Pandemic — WHO

By Seun Adeuyi

COVID-19 would not be the last pandemic in the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO), has said.

In a video released to mark the first ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness on Sunday, WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said “History tells us that this won’t be the last pandemic and epidemics are a fact of life.”

According to Ghebreyesus, better investment in public health supported by governments and society could “ensure that our children and their children inherit a safer, more resilient and more sustainable world.”

The WHO Chief added that the coronavirus turned the world “upside down” over the past twelve months with far-reaching consequences for societies and economies.

He, however, said the pandemic itself was not a surprise, especially since warnings of such a possibility, and of the world’s unpreparedness, had been issued many times over the years.

Ghebreyesus said, “We must all learn the lessons the pandemic is teaching us. This includes investment in preparedness capacities not just in the health sector but rather an ‘all-of-government and all of the social approach.’

“The pandemic has highlighted the intimate links between the health of humans, animals and planets, which require a common approach.”