Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening to all Member States, and thank you for joining us once again.
Last week, we saw the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths since the early days of the pandemic.
We are pleased to see a downward trend, but the pandemic is still far from over.
Transmission remains very high, vaccination coverage remains very low in too many countries, and the relaxation of many public health and social measures is allowing continued transmission, with the risk of new variants emerging.
Some countries are still experiencing serious spikes in cases, which is putting pressure on hospitals.
And our ability to monitor trends is compromised as testing has significantly reduced.
This week, the COVID-19 IHR Emergency Committee met and unanimously agreed that the pandemic remains a public health emergency.
I appreciated their advice and agree that far from being the time to drop our guard, this is the moment to work even harder to save lives.
Specifically this means investing so that COVID-19 tools are equitably distributed and we simultaneously strengthen health systems as outlined in the 2022 WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, which we will be discussing today.
It remains of major concern that large numbers of health workers and others at high risk are still unvaccinated.
Today, only 30% of healthcare workers and 20% of people aged 60 or older have been vaccinated in low-income countries.
Equitable access to vaccination of the most at-risk groups remains the single most powerful tool we have to save lives.
Striving to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country remains essential for bringing the pandemic under control, with priority given to health workers, older people and other at-risk groups.
Bridging the vaccine equity gap is the best way to boost population immunity and insulate against future waves.
But it’s not just vaccines.
Just as I said last year that trickle down vaccination is not an effective strategy for fighting a deadly respiratory virus; trickle-down treatment and testing are also similarly reckless.
Diagnosing at-risk patients early enough for new antivirals to be effective is essential and should be available to everyone, everywhere.
In addition, higher testing and sequencing rates will be vital for tracing existing and identifying new variants as they emerge.
This virus has over time become more transmissible and it remains deadly - especially for the unprotected and unvaccinated that don’t have access to health care and antivirals.
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Now, for an update on Ukraine. Today marks 50 days since Russia invaded its neighbour, Ukraine.
In that time, 4.6 million refugees have left the country.
Thousands of civilians have died, including children.
There have been 119 verified attacks on health care.
Health services continue to be severely disrupted, particularly in the East of the country.
For the sake of humanity, I once again urge Russia to come back to the table and to work for peace.
In the meantime, humanitarian corridors must be established so that medical supplies, food and water can be delivered and civilians can move to safety.
To date, WHO has received almost 53% of its funding requirement for Ukraine for the first three months.
I would like to thank Canada, Ireland, Japan, Norway, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Switzerland and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund for their timely contributions.
I would also like to thank ECHO, Germany, Saudi Arabia KSRelief and the United States for committing additional support to the health response in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
But additional resources will be required to cover longer-term needs.
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In Tigray, Ethiopia, it is now three weeks since a truce was called.
After one of the longest blockades in history, there is a need for 100 trucks per day containing life saving supplies to Tigray, according to the United Nations.
Since the truce, there should have been at least 2,000 trucks going into Tigray.
But there have been only 20 trucks in total – representing one percent of the need.
In effect, the siege by the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces continues.
To avert the humanitarian calamity and hundreds of thousands more people from dying, we need unfettered humanitarian access from those reinforcing the siege.
As well as medicines, the immediate need is for food and fuel and other basic services to be allowed into the region.
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On World Health Day last week, I drew attention to the multidimensional crisis that humanity is facing.
War, the climate crisis and the COVID pandemic are driving up food and fuel prices.
The Horn of Africa and the Sahel are at high risk of famine and many people are already starving or food insecure and increasingly on the move.
I am deeply concerned about the impact this will have not only on health but on overall national and regional security.
Peace underscores our ability to make developmental progress on all fronts. But conflict makes it all harder.
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Now, for today’s presentation on the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan 2022.
The plan sets out the strategic adjustments that every country needs to make to address the drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, lessen the impact of COVID, and end the global emergency.
This is the third strategic preparedness and response plan for COVID-19 released by WHO – and we hope it will be the last.
Using this updated plan, Member States can revise and update their own COVID-19 national action plans, incorporating the lessons learned since the start of the pandemic.
They should also take into consideration the three planning scenarios we have outlined, as well as the possible threat of the emergence of a new SARS-COV-2 virus.
For WHO to carry out this critical work, we need your support.
So far, we have only received about 30% of the total requirement to fund WHO’s work to end the acute phase of the pandemic. We face a shortfall of US$ 1.1 billion.
We call on the international community to provide full and flexible funding, so that WHO can play its global role in tackling the pandemic.
Our work is only possible because of the support, confidence and trust that you, our Member States, place in the Organization, and we thank you for this.
As always, we are grateful for your engagement with today’s presentations, and we look forward to your questions, comments and more importantly, your guidance.
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I thank you.