COVID showed the world where our individual and collective weaknesses lay, as organizations and countries alike. But it also sparked great collaboration, investment and innovation.
We have the knowledge, tools, and experience to prevent the next pandemic. What we need now is determination, cooperation, and the will to act before disaster strikes again.
History will judge us, not on whether we saw the next pandemic coming, but on how well we were prepared. We know we cannot sustain a repeat of the losses inflicted by a crisis like COVID. So I am confident my answer will turn to an unequivocal "yes" when we are asked in the future if we are primed for preventing or containing the next pandemic. We have no other alternative -- our collective global security demands it.
-- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization, "After COVID-19, is the world ready for the next pandemic?", on the 5th anniversary of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic (11 March 2025)
No comments:
Post a Comment