Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon, and thank you for the invitation to speak to you today.
It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago, COVID-19 was still a completely unknown virus.
In 11 short months, it has turned the world upside down.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a health crisis, it’s so much more than that.
It has shaken the foundations of social, political and economic security.
Millions of jobs and livelihoods have been lost, businesses have been jeopardised, the global economy is in recession, and geopolitical divisions have been deepened.
More than 54 million cases of COVID-19 have now been reported to WHO, and more than 1.3 million deaths. This is very tragic.
Last week alone, more than 4 million cases and over 67 thousand deaths were reported, the most in a single week so far.
You know only too well that Brazil is among the most-affected countries, with more than 6 million cases and almost 170,000 deaths.
After several months of declining cases and deaths, Brazil has seen an increase in the past few weeks.
I would like to offer my deep condolences to all those in your country who have lost someone they love;
I offer my deep respect and admiration for your health workers, who have put themselves in harm’s way to serve others;
And I offer my deep commitment that WHO stands ready to support you in any way we can.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, WHO has been providing the world with the evidence-based tools it needs to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19.
At the same time, we knew that new tools would be needed.
That’s why WHO proposed the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, to develop vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics fast, and allocate them fairly.
With positive news from vaccine trials over the past few weeks, there is now real hope of bringing the pandemic under control.
No vaccines in history have been developed as rapidly as these. The scientific community has a new standard for vaccine development.
Now the international community must set a new standard for access.
Every government rightly wants to do everything it can to protect its own people.
But there is a real risk that the poorest and most vulnerable people will be trampled in the stampede for vaccines.
Once safe and effective vaccines are approved, we must also use them effectively. And the best way to do that is by vaccinating some people in all countries, rather than all people in some countries. Sharing is in the interest of each and every country.
This is not charity; it’s the fastest and smartest way to end the pandemic and accelerate the global economic recovery.
In our interconnected world, if some people miss out on vaccines, the virus will continue to circulate and the global recovery will be delayed.
Initially, vaccine supply will be limited, so health workers, older people and other at-risk groups must come first.
That’s the best way to break the chains of transmission, save lives and restore confidence.
187 economies, including Brazil, are participating in the COVAX Facility, which aims to ensure that vaccines are allocated equitably to all countries as global public goods.
But it’s important to emphasise that vaccines will complement, not replace, other proven public health measures.
Surveillance will need to continue;
Those infected will still need to be identified, tested, isolated and cared for;
Contacts will still need to be traced and quarantined;
Communities will still need to be engaged, and individuals will still need to be careful.
We still have a long road to travel, and all countries must continue to take a balanced and comprehensive approach, using all the tools in the toolbox, including diagnostics, therapeutics and public health measures to prevent transmission and save lives.
Above all, public health policy must be based on science.
And although a vaccine is needed urgently to control the pandemic, it will not fix the vulnerabilities at its roots.
There’s no vaccine for poverty, hunger, inequality, climate change or the lack of access to essential health services.
Every year, millions of people are plunged into extreme poverty because the health services they need are not available, or they cannot afford them.
That’s why WHO’s top priority is universal health coverage, built on the foundation of strong primary health care, with an emphasis on access and equity. All roads should lead to universal health coverage.
The pandemic has demonstrated that health is not simply a by-product of development, or a cost to be contained; it is the essential underpinning of productive, resilient and stable economies.
The pandemic has shown why investments in public health – and especially in health workers – are so important.
Far from being a choice between health and the economy, the pandemic has shown us that they are deeply intertwined.
When people are healthy, they can learn, earn and innovate.
When people are sick, the whole of society suffers.
And when a pandemic hits, the entire foundation of economies can crumble.
In recent years, many countries have made huge investments and advances in medicine, but too many have neglected their basic public health systems, which are the bedrock for preventing, preparing for, detecting and responding to outbreaks – and for promoting health and preventing illness of all types.
Brazil has a long and proud tradition in public health. The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on your country, but it has also demonstrated why public health is not a cost, but an investment in social, economic and political stability.
72 years ago, WHO was founded on the conviction that health is a human right, not a privilege for those who can afford it.
And for more than 30 years, that right has been enshrined in the Constitution of Brazil.
I give you my assurance that WHO and PAHO remain totally committed to working with you and supporting you to strengthen public health in Brazil, and to make the right to health a reality across your vast and beautiful country.
===
My brothers and sisters,
The COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-century crisis. But it’s also a once-in-a-century opportunity for building the healthier, safer, fairer and more sustainable world we all want.
Thank you so much. Obrigado.