Antoinette Tummillo, President of The Empire Club of Canada,
Distinguished guests, dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon, and I would like to thank the Empire Club for the opportunity of sharing a few reflections with you today.
My Canadian colleague Peter Singer has told me about the long tradition and enormous influence of the Empire Club, so it’s an honour to be invited.
I’m delighted to hear that the Empire Club will give its annual “Nation Builder of the Year Award” next month to the country’s health and other frontline workers.
Recently, Member States at the World Health Assembly designated 2021 as the International Year of Health and Care Workers, recognizing the dedication and sacrifice of the millions of health and care workers at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thanks also to my friend John Kirton.
I also want to greet all those who have joined us online.
On behalf of WHO, I would like to thank Prime Minister Trudeau, his cabinet, your provincial premiers, local mayors and the millions of people across your country for the leadership Canada has displayed during this pandemic.
Things have been far from easy. And we know that more challenges lie ahead. But Canada has treated this pandemic seriously and adopted an approach that many other countries regard as an example.
I also want to note the long, productive history shared by Canada and WHO.
Indeed, WHO’s first Director-General was Canadian – Dr Brock Chisholm. As one of the authors of WHO’s Constitution, his legacy endures.
We have Dr Chisholm to thank for the definition of health in the WHO Constitution, that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Dr Chisholm was a psychiatrist, and he fought hard to ensure that mental health was included in that definition.
Canada has continued to lead in multiple areas of public health, including gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, polio and more.
This pandemic has reminded us of the importance of multilateralism – something that Canadians have always embraced.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, countries came together to form the United Nations, recognizing that international cooperation is the only alternative to international conflict.
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested and strained the multilateral system, and shown why it is more relevant and more necessary than ever.
In my address to the World Health Assembly last week, I called for a renewed multilateralism – with a focus on solidarity, equity and results.
Health, inequality, climate, and conflict cannot be tackled in siloes.
It’s a time to forge a new era of cooperation to fight the deep-seated inequalities that are at the root of so many of the world’s problems.
Canada is answering that call.
WHO sincerely thanks Canada for your leadership. Your nation’s consistent recognition that we are in this together, as one humanity, is widely appreciated, and widely acknowledged.
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Let me turn to where we are in our international efforts to combat COVID-19.
More than 54 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 1.3 million deaths have now been reported to WHO.
Last week alone, almost 4 million cases and 60 thousand deaths were reported, the most in a single week so far.
Unfortunately, Canada has not been spared. Like much of Europe and the Americas, in recent weeks you have seen a steep increase in cases and deaths.
Much progress has been made. But great challenges still confront us.
We might be tired of COVID-19. But it is not tired of us.
The virus has no ideology or beliefs. Its only goal is to spread.
The good news is that we know what works.
It starts with the fundamentals of public health - with a focus on finding, testing, isolating and caring for those infected, and tracing and quarantining their contacts.
And individuals and communities must play their part in keeping themselves and others safe, by physical distancing, avoiding crowds, ventilation, wearing masks and cleaning hands.
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 to bring the pandemic under control.
That’s why WHO proposed the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, to develop vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics fast, and allocate them fairly, as global public goods.
But the ACT Accelerator will be no more than a noble gesture unless it is fully funded.
We greatly appreciate Canada’s generous support of 440 million Canadian dollars for the ACT Accelerator.
The current financing gap for the ACT Accelerator stands at 23.8 billion US dollars – and 4.3 billion dollars is needed urgently to maintain momentum.
We are now starting to see very promising results from clinical trials of vaccines. But there are still many challenges to overcome.
Moving from trials to vaccinating the world’s population will not happen easily – or instantly.
The successful global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines will be among the most daunting logistical and operational efforts since World War 2.
Production, procurement, supply and distribution will require tremendous resourcing, coordination and planning.
We must move now to identify and overcome hurdles such as vaccine verification, safety and monitoring of supply and – very importantly – responding to the spread of disinformation that might be employed to discourage vaccination.
It will require innovation, persistence and solidarity.
But it’s also important to emphasize that a vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them.
Once we have a safe and effective vaccine, we must also use it effectively. And the best way to do that is by vaccinating some people in all countries, rather than all people in some countries.
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, supply will be limited, so health workers, older people and other at-risk populations will be prioritized.
But that will still leave the virus with a lot of room to move.
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 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 or climate change.
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.
My personal hope is that we will see the world respond to the challenge of COVID-19 with a pronounced effort in the years ahead to extend the reach of primary health care, which is the best defence against future crises and every other sort of health challenge.
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Even as we continue to battle this pandemic, I am feeling hopeful.
Hopeful because we know more;
Hopeful because we are doing more;
Hopeful because we will do more;
And hopeful because we are coming together to get it done.
In that spirit, I would like to close with a couple of modest asks.
I would ask that in the difficult weeks to come you follow the advice of local public health officials – even when it requires real sacrifice.
I would ask that you recognize and offer practical support to those many health care workers upon whom we all rely.
And, finally, I would ask that you maintain your hope —we will defeat COVID19, together!
Thank you so much. Merci beaucoup.