Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Thank you for joining us for today’s briefing.
First, some encouraging news: globally and in almost every region, the number of reported cases of COVID-19 has declined over the past few weeks.
We know that some of your countries still have increasing numbers of cases, but at the global level, the trend is positive.
This shows that with proven public health measures, we have the power to limit the spread of this virus. Even with the new variants in circulation, we can bring this pandemic under control.
But it also means that it is more important than ever that we not make the same mistakes as were made last year.
Many countries responded to a decline in cases by easing public health and social measures, and individuals let down their guard.
The virus came roaring back, like a forest fire that has found new fuel.
Positive trends can easily be reversed, and hard-won gains can be lost.
Now as we begin to roll out vaccines, we must remember that vaccines alone will not control this pandemic.
It is vital that governments do not rush to re-open, and that they continue public health measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Individuals must continue to take precautions.
That means doing what it takes to ensure safe working conditions, implementing manageable quarantine conditions, and safely re-opening schools and other essential services.
Controlling the spread of the virus saves lives now, and saves lives later by reducing the chances of more variants emerging.
And it helps to ensure vaccines, treatments and diagnostics remain effective.
At the Executive Board, I called for an historic effort to roll out vaccines to all countries in the first 100 days of this year to ensure that all health workers and those at highest risk are protected.
We have just 65 days left, but we are making progress.
As you know, two weeks ago COVAX announced the signing of an advance purchase agreement for up to 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Last week, WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, SAGE, issued recommendations for the use of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19.
And yesterday, we took an important step forward, as COVAX announced its interim distribution forecast for the first half of the year.
The interim distribution includes the projected number of doses of vaccines for delivery to Member States participating in COVAX.
My colleagues will present more details shortly.
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Before we get to that, I would like to highlight three technical products that have been launched in the past week, and which we urge Member States to use.
The first is the SCORE global report on health data systems and capacity, which provides a snapshot of the state of health information systems around the world.
This is the first report of its kind, covering 133 country health information systems and about 87% of the world’s population.
It assesses countries according to the five aspects of SCORE: Survey, Count, Optimize, Review and Enable.
The report shows that globally, four out of ten deaths remain unregistered.
This highlights the urgent need for investments to strengthen health information systems in all countries, to support the COVID-19 response and recovery, and progress towards universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The report offers solutions. The SCORE package is a set of tools that I call on all countries and partners to use to urgently address the data gaps.
I would like to thank all the countries who contributed to the report, and our partners including Bloomberg Philanthropies for their support.
The second product is the Essential Diagnostics List, a basket of diagnostics that WHO recommends should be available at point-of-care and in labs to improve timely and life-saving diagnosis.
The latest edition of the Essential Diagnostics List includes tests for the COVID-19 virus, expands the suite of tests for vaccine-preventable and infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and introduces a section on endocrinology, which is important for reproductive and women’s health.
And the third product is the new ten-year roadmap for neglected tropical diseases.
The roadmap includes ambitious but achievable targets to reduce the number of people who need treatment for a neglected tropical disease by 90%;
to achieve the elimination of at least one disease in 100 countries;
and to eliminate two diseases – guinea worm and yaws – globally, by 2030.
Once again, we urge all Member States to read these products and support their implementation at country level.
Finally, as you know the mission studying the origins of the virus in China has now completed its quarantine period and is continuing its work on the ground. We are in touch with the team on a regular basis and are pleased with the progress it is making.
Thank you all for your continued solidarity and support in the response to COVID-19.
We look forward to your questions and comments.
I thank you.