Dear colleagues and friends,
Good morning, welcome to Geneva and to WHO. It is an honour and a pleasure to be able to greet you in person today.
I would especially like to thank the Chair, Marietjie Venter, and Vice-Chair, Jean-Claude Manuguerra, for your leadership, and all SAGO members present in person and online.
You joined SAGO because you understand how important this initiative is.
It has now been two-and-a-half years since we first identified cases of this novel coronavirus.
We do not yet have the answers as to where it came from or how it entered the human population.
As you know, studying how epidemics and pandemics begin and spread is extremely difficult, and we do not always get all the answers we want.
No matter the outcome, science will move us forward.
The COVID-19 pandemic is the most severe health crisis in a century. Understanding the origins of the virus is very important scientifically, to prevent future epidemics and pandemics.
But morally, we also owe it to all those who have suffered and died, and their families.
The longer it takes, the harder it becomes. We need to speed up, and act with a sense of urgency.
All hypotheses must remain on the table until we have evidence that enables us to rule certain hypotheses in or out.
Your work is scientific, but we are aware that is has also become political.
The way to prevent politicisation is for countries to share data and samples, with transparency, and without interference from any government.
The only way your work can progress successfully is with full collaboration from all countries, including China, where the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported.
For example, WHO has established a collaboration with Italy to verify results from samples from 2019. We thank Italy for willingly sharing data and samples for independent verification.
This collaboration has never become a political issue, because of the transparent way in which Italy has cooperated.
We recognize that your task is enormous. WHO will support you to ensure that the best scientific evidence is available to make the most robust assessment possible.
We are relying on you to advise clearly and analyse completely all of the material that you can, with complete candour and openness. Don’t hold back.
Beyond SARS-CoV-2, the global framework you will develop will identify and prioritize the studies and field investigations we need into emerging and re-emerging pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential.
Your work will provide vital clues for predicting and preparing for future epidemics and pandemics.
WHO will continue to support you, including continued requests to China for more information.
Thank you all for your work so far. We will continue to support you.