WHO asserts South Africa and Botswana must not be 'penalized' for detecting Omicron

As more and more nations continue to impose travel bans on African nations over the Omicron scare, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that South Africa and Botswana should “not be penalised” for detecting the new variant of SARS-CoV-2. In the opening remarks to the special session of WHO’s decision-making body World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday, Tedros hailed the South African nations for detecting the strain. The earliest known case of Omicron was detected on 6 November, stated the WHO. 

It is pertinent to note that South Africa has already said that the country is being “punished” for detecting the newest variant of coronavirus. It was the South African scientists who had alerted WHO regarding the new B.1.1.529 variant on 24 November. Later, the UN health agency named it 'Omicorn' on November 26 and called it a "variant of concern". Now, WHO head said that both South African nations must be thanked for flagging the new variant which drove a steep rise in Coronavirus infections.

Tedros said, “The emergence of the highly-mutated Omicron variant underlines just how perilous and precarious our situation is.”

“South Africa and Botswana should be thanked for detecting, sequencing and reporting this variant, not penalized,” he added. 

WHO chief calls for ‘accord’ on pandemics

Additionally, the WHO chief also called for a “new accord on pandemics” in the wake of the “highly-mutated Omicron variant”. He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and even exacerbated fundamental weaknesses in the global architecture for pandemic preparedness and response.

According to the United Nations (UN) health agency chief, the best way to address the challenges around the global health crisis is to legally bind the nations in an agreement with a vision that the countries have no future but a common future. Now, as the concerns of the Omicron variant continue to spark fears across the globe and has prompted nations to reimpose the restrictions, the WHA yesterday kicked off the special session where the members attempted to negotiate a new “pandemic treaty”.

WHO Director-General Tedros said in his opening remarks, “COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated fundamental weaknesses in the global architecture for pandemic preparedness and response: Complex and fragmented governance; Inadequate financing; And insufficient systems and tools. Voluntary mechanisms have not solved these challenges.”

“The best way we can address them is with a legally binding agreement between nations; an accord forged from the recognition that we have no future but a common future,” he added.

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