Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
It is an honour and a pleasure to join you today for this signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between WHO and the Charité.
The Charité is one of Germany’s most research-intensive medical institutions, and it is an honour to join it in partnership for a long-term strategic collaboration to support the work of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.
As you know, I will have the honour of launching the WHO hub later today with Chancellor Merkel. This is to expand the support that WHO gives countries to predict, prevent, detect and respond to risks from known and emerging pathogens.
The Hub will make use of cutting-edge analytical technologies, coupled with insights from timely, high-quality, and high-frequency data sources to allow countries to respond rapidly to disease outbreaks.
The Hub is also a centre for collaboration and research, and will provide a nurturing environment for the brightest minds across disciplines and countries to work on challenging problems facing pandemic and epidemic risk management.
That has never been more important.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that trust, partnership and solidarity are essential for confronting shared public health threats.
It is more important now more than ever that we work across borders and across disciplines to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to known and emerging diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential.
Fundamental to our mission at the Hub is the visiting research fellows who will become part of our ever-expanding global network, so that our work is informed by practical, on-the-ground experience.
The WHO Hub will work for the benefit of all populations, based on principles of equity and the right to health.
The Charité will play a vital role in WHO’s work in this honourable endeavour. I look forward to working together with the Charité in the years ahead to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.
Vielen dank.