Covid-19: WHO chief calls for global solidarity

With the death toll from coronavirus exceeding 8000, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom has said that the coronavirus pandemic presents an unprecedented threat but it also offers an unparalleled opportunity “to come together as one against a common enemy”. The WHO chief also lauded the Covid-19 vaccine trials as an incredible feat to achieve in just two months after the outbreak.

“The first vaccine trial has begun, just 60 days after the genetic sequence of the coronavirus was shared. This is an incredible achievement. We commend the researchers around the world who have come together to systemically evaluate experimental therapeutics,” he said.

Dr Adhanom said that WHO needs strong evidence about treatments that can help save lives. “Multiple small trials with different methods may not give us the clear, strong evidence we need about which treatments help to save lives. WHO and partners are organizing a study in many countries in which some of these untested treatments are compared with each other,” he said.

Solidarity Response Fund

The WHO chief expressed hope that the world would eventually prevail over coronavirus. “I continue to be inspired by the many demonstrations of solidarity from all over the world. The Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund has now raised over $43 million from more than 173 thousand individuals and organizations. I’d especially like to thank FIFA for its contribution of $10 million. “These and other efforts give me hope that together, we can and will prevail.”

To date, more than 160 countries have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a Reuters count, as of March 17, there were nearly 182,000 cases of infections and 7,165 deaths worldwide. In mainland China, over 3,200 people have died from the disease. European nations such as Italy, France, Germany, the UK, and Spain have witnessed a massive increase in coronavirus cases. In India, 126 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 infection as of March 19, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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