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Updated October 25th, 2021 at 14:43 IST

'COVID-19 pandemic will end when the world chooses it to end': WHO Director-General

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted 'three specific requests' at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Sunday to effectively fight COVID-19.

Reported by: Dipaneeta Das
COVID-19
Image: AP/Pixabay | Image:self
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The COVID-19 pandemic will end when the world chooses to end it, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday. Noting the high number of global COVID-19 related fatalities in the past one week, which was around 50,000, Dr Ghebreyesus said, "We have all the tools we need: effective public health and medical tools but the world has not used those well."

Speaking at the World Health Summit in Berlin, the WHO chief also called on G20 countries to ensure vaccine equity in the global platform and engage in the COVAX mechanism and African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

Speaking at the global forum on Sunday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned that he is often faced with questions as to when the pandemic will end. "My answer is that the COVID-19 pandemic will end when the world chooses it to end," he said.

"Frankly, the world doesn’t need another structure or institution. We have enough institutions, including WHO. It needs a strengthened, empowered and sustainably financed institutions, including WHO, at the centre of the global health architecture (sic)," WHO quoted Dr Ghebreyesus as saying.  

He also highlighted "three specific requests" that could help bolster the world's fight against the common enemy:

1. All countries must reach the 40% complete vaccination target by the end of this year.

2. Prevent the "next pandemic" with better governance, financing, systems and tools, and by strengthening WHO.

3. All countries must invest in primary healthcare as the foundation of universal health coverage.

World COVID-19 tally

As per the reference website, worldometer, globally the COVID-19 daily caseload on October 24 was 3,75,426, including 4,401 deaths. The recent tallies have taken the total COVID-19 count to 24.4 crore cases and 49.5 lakh deaths globally since the inception of the pandemic.

The USA tops the list with over four crore cases and 7.36 lakh deaths, followed by India with 3.42 crore cases and 4.54 lakh COVID-related fatalities, Brazil (2.17crore cases), the UK (87.7 lakh cases) and Russia (81.1 lakh cases). On the vaccination front, over 30 crore people have been completely vaccinated so far, as per the New York Times' data tracker. At least 38 crore people have been jabbed with at least one coronavirus vaccine dose.

(Image: AP/Pixabay)

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Published October 25th, 2021 at 14:43 IST

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