Media briefing on launch of the new One Health High-Level Expert Panel - 20 May 2021
CL Hello and good day to wherever you are listening to us today. It’s Thursday 20th May 2021. My name is Christian Lindmeier. I’m welcoming you to a very special press briefing today on One Health High-Level Expert Panel. Thank you very much for joining. We have a round of special guests today, and first and foremost, let me welcome His Excellency, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr Jean-Yves Led Drian. Bienvenue.
We have Mr Nils Annen, the Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Welcome, willkommen. We also have, from the FAO, the Director-General, Dr Qu Dongyu, from OIE, the Director-General, Dr Monique Eloit, and the UNEP, the United Environment Programme, Executive Director, Ms Inger Andersen. And, of course, we have, here in the room with us, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Welcome to you all, and I’ll hand over to Dr Tedros for the opening remarks.
TAG Thank you, Christian. Your Excellency, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Your Excellency, Nils Annen, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Professor Wanda Markotter and Professor Tomas Mettenleiter and my colleagues, Qu Dongyu, Inger Andersen and Monique Elliot, good morning, good afternoon and good evening.
00:02:04
First of all, I would like to thank the governments of France and Germany for their leadership and support in establishing the One Health High-Level Expert Panel. Its creation fulfils a commitment made at the Paris Peace Forum last November. I also want to give a special thanks to the Co-Chairs, Professor Markotter and Professor Mettenleiter and the other panellists for lending us their time and expertise.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful demonstration that human health does not exist in a vacuum, and nor can our efforts to protect and promote it. The close links between human, animal and environmental health demand close collaboration, communication and coordination between the relevant sectors. One Health is not a new concept, but the High-Level Expert Panel is a much-needed initiative to take it to the next level.
The High-Level Expert Panel will advise us on how to bridge the gaps between sectors, connecting veterinary and human medicine and environmental issues, and to address the challenge of implementation at both the global and country level. The work of the panel will help us advocate for bold policy measures and investments to reduce the risk of future pandemics and to change harmful practices that threaten us now and in future generations.
The four organisations that will participate in the joint secretariat bring world-class expertise in their respective areas. We believe that by working together more closely in this way, we will be much more than the sum of our parts. One of the many lessons of the pandemic is that we can only confront shared threats with shared solutions.
00:04:21
Thank you once again to France and Germany for your support, and to my colleagues at FAO, OIE and UNEP. Now, let’s go to work, and again, thank you so much to His Excellency, Minister Jean-Yves Le Drain. Thank you for your personal leadership and for leadership by France, and you have the floor, Your Excellency.
JYLD Thank you very much, Director-General. Director-Generals, Dear Friends, the pandemic crisis that we’ve been facing for more than a year now has recalled the overlap between human, animal and environmental health, and that’s why, last November, and you recall this, at the tripartite alliance meeting between the WHO or OIE and FAO during the Paris Peace Forum, France and Germany proposed the creation of a One Health High-Level Expert Panel, which is meeting this week for the first time.
We hope that the creation of this panel, which is a strong decision, borne of the crisis, will be followed by other sweeping measures. For example, the G20 Global Health Summit, which is organised tomorrow by Italy and the upcoming World Health Assembly, are occasions where we can debate the reforms to come. But the rapid establishment of this Panel shows the commitment of the international community to learn from all lessons of the current health crisis, whilst continuing, of course, to fight the virus.
00:04:21
I would thus like to thank the Director-General of the WHO for his mobilisation, as well as the Director-General of FAO, Mr Qu Dongyu, the Director-General of OIE, Dr Monique Eloit, and the Executive Director of UNEP, Ms Andersen. Thanks to their support, thanks to your support, we have been able to make this project a reality in rapid time. And I would also, of course, like to greet the 26 members of the panel who are the best international experts in their respective disciplines. Thank you very much for your commitment and to work side by side with Wanda Markotter and Thomas Mettenleiter, the two Co-Chairs of the panel.
As we are counting on our colleagues from IPCC for climate issues, we’re counting on you to help us to understand in real time how the emergence or the resurgence of zoonotic diseases and shifts in ecosystems can affect our human health. And this, therefore, is, on the one hand, to give more visibility to scientific research on these issues, and also to help us to make the right choices at the right time to prevent future health crises or to respond to them as best possible.
France has made the decision to launch its initiative with Germany and has also mobilised some €3 million to support the secretariat of the Panel, and is now expecting the first analyses and recommendations from the experts because we believe, only multilateralism, which is funded on cooperation at an international scale and on science, can allow us to face the greatest challenges of the 21st century.
00:07:49
Humanity cannot live on an ailing planet. Everything is based on health. We’re talking about health, climate and biodiversity. Our responsibility, thus, is to work together to preserve our common good. And this requires double commitment, first of all, political, and, secondly, scientific. That is the raison d’être of this One Health Panel, and also the PRISOD [?] Initiative, which was launched by the President of the Republic President Macron, the One Planet Summit in January, done together with the FAO to, again, support integration and reinforce research, working on human, animal, health and the environment. I thank you very much for your kind attention.
TAG Thank you, again, for your leadership, Minister. Thank you, Your Excellency. The next speaker will be State Minister, Nils Annen, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Germany. Your Excellency, you have the floor.
NA Thank you very much, Dr Tedros and thank you, Minister Le Drian, for inviting me. It is thanks to your outstanding commitment and thanks to the commitment of the heads of FAO, OIE and UNEP that we are, today, able to present the One Health High-Level Expert Panel. The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call for multilateralism, and it shows how important global solidarity and international cooperation are.
The United Nations are at the front lines when it comes to the global response to the difficult impact of the crisis and to coordinating our response. Germany and France are supporting the United Nations to set the course, in order for the world to be better prepared for the next pandemic, because international cooperation is key for a better prevention and management of the pandemics of the future.
00:09:56
That is why we want to commit ourselves to multilateral solutions like the platform, ACT-A, initiated by the WHO and the COVAX Initiative. The Alliance for Multilateralism initiated by Germany and France has become an important forum for strengthening multilateral cooperation. That is why I am delighted also to be able to officially present the One Health High-Expert Panel. Together with France, we initiated this Panel at the event of the Alliance For Multilateralism in November 2020, during the Paris Peace Forum.
The fact that this new panel met for its first constituting session a little bit more than five months after the first formal launch is a sign of the fact of how important this multilateralism is and of how it actually works. And this is really a great success. Congratulations to the Co-Chairs and to the 24 scientists for their nomination. They reflect the regional and the interdisciplinary diversity, which is also part of the One Health approach.
The close connection between health of humans, animals and the environment is something that we have had to learn painfully during this pandemic, and the new panel will make an important contribution for the One Health approach to be integrated even more into international cooperation and for raising awareness for this approach. Then, one thing is clear, there will be outbreaks of novel pathogens in the future, and we need to prepare for this. The strengthening of the One Health approach must be at the centre of the recommendations of the WHO.
00:12:07
It is already the case, and that is why we are committed also for One Health to become a central component of a possible international agreement on pandemics. It is an important step, this new Panel, an important step, of our multilateral response to the pandemic. And that is why we wish great success to the experts of the Panel for their work, and also, I can say, we will support the collaboration of WHO, FAO, OIE and UNEP and all the experts. Thank you very much.
TAG Thank you, Your Excellency. Thank you for your leadership, and thank you to Germany. Then, next, I will invite my colleague, Dr Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations. Dr Qu, you have the floor.
QD Good morning, my Dear Colleagues, Tedros and Dear Friends and Ministers and Professors. I’m very pleased to be here to launch the One Health High-Level expertise with my colleagues from WHO, OIE and UNEP. We brought together one of the world’s best One Health Expert teams to help our organisation to better navigate One Health and to ensure that our collective responses are driven by the best available science. The partners’ broad range of expertise and the diverse regional backgrounds will support us in shaping the One Health future that we all aspire to.
One Health is an overarching value for our mandate, as a food that links human, animal, plant and the environment. Transformed agrifood systems can provide safe and nutritious foods to our dinner table.
00:14:26
Farmers with good biosecurity can prevent the spread of zoonotic disease that could later spill off to the humans, and prudent use of antimicrobials in agriculture can prevent the spread of superbugs. Food and health are interlinked. For a productive, healthy and happy life, we need a nutritious food, such as that in traditional and local diets. These diets promote local food production and consumption patterns. They encourage a sustainable culture and safeguarded landscapes.
We need to make sure that this indigenous knowledge is available for younger generations. FAO’s new strategy framework focuses on the transformation to more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems for a better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
With this nexus, FAO is working closely with our partners, the three partners’ organisation, the UAEP and the IOE and others, to, effectively implement, integrate One Health approach. The One Health [unclear] expert partner will support our organisations and members to make the right decisions and prevent a long-term public health crisis. I would like to encourage the curiosity of journalists present here with us, and they are interested to know more about the One Health to shaping the narrative to promote One Health for all. I thank you, Mr Tedros.
TAG Thank you, my Colleague, Dr Qu Dongyu. And now I will proceed to our colleague, Dr Monique Eloit. Please, you have the floor.
00:16:48
ME Thank you very much, dear Tedros. Excellencies, Minister, bon chance, Monsieur Ministre, guten morgen, Minister. Dear Director-General of WHO and FAO, Dear Tedros and Dear Dongyu, dear Executive Director of UNEP, Dear Inger, Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s really with great pleasure that I participate today in this virtual press conference on One Health only a couple of days after the inaugural meeting of the newly established High-Level Experts Panel.
This panel, you need some of the best international experts from a broad range of disciplines, will work together to support us in building bridges between animal health, human health and environmental health. And today, I also would like to publicly acknowledge, in front of the ministers of France and Germany, the excellent spirit of cooperation that exists between the teams of our four organisations, which worked together, that this Panel could be established in a so very short period.
In fact, the intention to establish this Panel was only announced last November in the margin of the Paris Peace Forum, and now, in May, its works have begun. And in this context, enlarging the tripartite WHO, FAO and OIE collaboration to include UNEP was definitely a wise decision. Last year provided us with a dramatic reminder of how a thematic approach limits our ability to address complex issues, that a more holistic approach to health policy should allow us for developing more systematic action, that we could incorporate that in our shared agenda.
00:18:47
Preparedness, resilience, have become keywords, and that has been reminded by Mr Qu, but are really, now, common words. But let me also add the word, prevention. That is a very crucial concept when dealing with the control of risks at animal source. Indeed, the issue of risks related to the emergence of pathogens from the animal sector, and more particularly, from wildlife, needs to be considered in the more [unclear] way.
And today, the first lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis encourage us to urgently deal with these issues to identify relevant work programmes to address these issues, and above all, to act so that we are more and better prepared for the next time.
Political awareness of pandemic, and the ministers are with us today, and social expectations regarding how they are dealt with are higher than ever. Now we must deliver more efficiently and more quickly, but to achieve that, we need well-designed strategies. And that is the raison d’être of the High-Level Expert Panel, which will help us by providing robust scientific analysis that will connect the dots and by compiling science and evidence-based recommendations on policy approach with long-term relevance that will reduce the risk of emergence of zoonosis with pandemic potential.
Of course, those experts are encouraged, firstly, to break the boundaries between their respective domains of expertise, as well as to build bridges with other international initiatives and platforms related to One Health.
00:20:42
The Panel has already begun its work under the leadership of Professor Tomas Mettenleiter and Dr Wanda Markotter, whom I currently and warmly congratulate. And we look forward to receiving its first set of recommendations. In conclusion, Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me reiterate the full commitment of the IOE to support the work and the engagement of the Co-Chair and the full High-Level Panel in implementing the One Health approach, and I’m quite sure that, together, we’ll meet the expectation of our memberships, and more generally, the expectation of the public. Thank you very much.
TAG Thank you very much, my colleague, Dr Monique Eloit, Director-General of the World Organisation for Animal Health. And the next speaker will be, our colleague, Ms Inger Andersen, Executive Director for UNEP. You have the floor, Inger.
IA Thank you so much, Dr Tedros, and to Excellency, Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and of course, to His Excellency, Mr Nils Annen, State Minister for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Germany. To my colleagues, Mr Qu Dongyu, to Monique Eloit and to you, Dear Tedros, it is a pleasure to be here. Also, greetings to the two professors whose tireless work we know, and we look very much forward to seeing it in the context of the panel.
00:22:26
Deep thanks to the governments of Germany and France for leadership in this regard, because, as we know, to end the three planetary crises of climate change, of biodiversity loss and pollution, which threaten our peace and prosperity, we have to understand that human and animal and planetary health are one and the same. You have just said, Dr Tedros, human health does not exist in a vacuum, and that is indeed the issue.
Illnesses that jump from animals to humans as a result of degraded environments and unsustainable use of animal resources drive this message home, and COVID-19 being a very devastating example here. So, we need that One Health approach, but let’s be honest, the weakest link in terms of our attention as a global community, in terms of our research and our investment in the animal-human environmental continuum is environmental health. And together, we can fix that.
That means ending over-exploitation of wildlife and natural resources. That means having a conversation about global dietary patterns. That means farming that is nature-positive. This means finance that doesn’t destroy nature, and it means investing in the science and the partnerships across disciplines and capacities so that we’re able to prepare and prevent the next pandemic. It’s precisely for this reason that we, at UNEP, welcome this One Health High-Level Expert Panel.
As we tackle complex and multidisciplinary issues that are at that interface of human, animal and environmental health, we need the disciplines of skillsets, of knowledge, of experiences on geographies and solutions. This panel breaks silence between these disciplines, and in doing so, represents a fundamentally new approach to tackling the planet’s challenges that we face.
00:24:31
We, at UNEP, count on your invaluable scientific advice in exploring the role of ecosystem health in the wellbeing of people and animals.
I also welcome, and we at UNEP stand ready to join as a member, the tripartite alliance of WHO, OIE and FAO to deepen and also, of course, to deepen our bilateral partnership with our friends at OIE. UNEP can bring to the table our networks and assets, data and science, networks with the ministries of environments, and of course, the 17 multilateral environmental agreements that we host, as well as youth groups and so much more. So, together, we can secure human, animal and environmental health, but only if we address them together and do the work together.
And the mission could not be more important, because right now, we are in the middle of pandemic, and COVID-19 has taught us, if it has taught us anything, that we cannot be caught off-guard again. There’s simply too much at stake. So, to all, my deep thanks for this, and we stand ready to work and put our shoulder to the wheel. Thank you.
TAG Thank you, Inger. With that, I think, I’m really glad. Very good timekeeping, but finally, I would like to recognise the presence of the Director-General of IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr Raphael Mariano Grossi. He is in attendance online, and with that, to receive questions from the media, Christian, back to you. Bye.
00:26:14
CL Thank you very much, Dr Tedros, and thanks to all the speakers. Yes, with this, we come to the questions from the media. To get into the queue to ask questions, you need to raise your hand using the Raise Your Hand icon on your screen. Let me also mention that, as UNEP Executive Director, Ms Inger Andersen, just briefly indicated, we have the two Panel Co-Chairs of the One Health High-Level Expert Panel online with us. And that’s Professor Thomas Mettenleiter from the German Federal Research Institute for Animal Health and Ms Wanda Markotter from South Africa, the Director of the Centre for Viral Zoonosis and Department of Medical Virology at the University of Pretoria.
And both would be happy to answer any questions if they come. The first question goes to Laurent Siero from the Swiss News Agency. Laurent, please unmute yourself.
LS Yes, thank you, Christian, for taking my question. This is a question to Mr Le Drian, so I assume, I’m going to ask it in French. Distinguished Minister, in your statement earlier, you expressed the hope that this would be followed quickly by other initiatives. For example, the report of the Independent Panel on the pandemic last week, there were two measures that were mentioned that could, perhaps, echo the launch of this panel. First of all, the launch of a mechanism for evaluating each member state by its partner state’s peer review, if you will, on human rights. And then the second was, pushing the WHO to carry out investigations.
00:28:03
So, going beyond the Expert Panel that you’re launching today, are those two proposals something that you think would improve the preparation of the world for future zoonotic diseases, and improve animal/human health and the environment? Thank you.
CL Laurent, merci, and, yes, we’ll hand over to Your Excellency, Monsieur Jean-Yves Le Drian.
JYLD Yes, thank you for your comments. Setting up… I beg your pardon, I’ve got a frog in my throat. My apologies. Setting up a review mechanism for peer review by organisation, by countries of one another, is something that France sees as very much doable. And the fact that there will be an implementation of an enquiry mechanism in the field in the case of crisis, and in particular, in terms of strengthening the International Health Regulations, we think, that’s useful.
That’s not the role of the expert group that we have just established, but it’s certainly something that will be discussed at the World Health Assembly in a few days. Thank you.
CL Thank you very much for this. The next question goes to Vera Scherbakova from the TASS. Vera, please unmute yourself. Vera Scherbakova…
VS Do you hear me?
CL Yes. Please, go ahead.
00:30:07
VS Yes, hello. I would like to ask, what impact had, or has, COVID pandemic on farming? And what is the role of veterinary in the case of a pandemic like this? Thank you.
CL Thank you very much, Vera. We’ll hand over to the FAO, either Director-General or the Chief Veterinary Officer, Keith Sumption, who would like to answer, please?
QD Thank you. I think that veterinary, it looks at the health of animals. That’s the basic professional function. Of course, veterinary, also, they look their disease, and also the production and the safety. It’s an industrial value chain. You have to look at all the elements surrounding the veterinary, because animals, also they have several functions, not only for food, and also for biodiversity and also for the environment. And so, we have to look holistically, what is veterinary and all these science-based solutions.
And there also, you have to develop the more healthy elements to keep animal health fixed, because animal health is interlinked with human beings’ health, interlinked with the environment. So, the One Health approach, it’s not new, but that’s why we need more people understanding from an agrifood system and from environment experts, and from the policymakers and investment. I think, yes, all the education in the university, already well-educated, but now it’s time to take action like some countries.
That’s why I mentioned, not only with our colleagues here. We need more pathways, because they are really complex issues. If we wanted to solve that problem, build the One Health’s approach effective and efficient.
00:32:46
That’s why, also, the World Bank, they already have a big project. There’s a 300 million project in China with the Hainan Province. So, it’s just to take the action on the ground. It’s more than just talking. So, I think, I strongly encourage all of my colleagues and all the partners, roll up your sleeve. Go do the work. Thank you.
CL Thank you very much, Director-General. And I’m looking at the OIE Director-General, Dr Monique Eloit.
ME Thank you. I’ll reply in French, since we have our Minister, Mr Le Drian here. Veterinarians have been very active during this pandemic, right from the beginning, specifically by making available to the medical sector all their laboratories for analysis. The veterinary laboratories were able to cover samples for human health, and since April, we published recommendations and guidelines for these veterinary laboratories so that they can respond in the best way possible to the needs of human health.
And in particular for our profession, as vets, it was important to have surveillance of domestic herds to ensure that COVID-19 could not be transmitted through domestic animals and create an extra reservoir for virus. And so, many scientists have worked. Professor Mettenleiter is with us, and they carried out a great deal of studies to ensure that COVID could not be transmitted to other animal species.
00:34:50
And you will know that in some countries, the mink farms in particular were affected, and it was veterinarians who worked with these farms to ensure that there was not an extra reservoir for the virus.
Also, studies were carried out to ensure that there was not any transmission through food products, because there could be a risk, in terms of, international trade with the spreading of the infection. And another point I’d like to highlight is the work that’s carried out, in terms of, the surveillance of new outbreaks. And this is something that is difficult to manage. It’s a point we’re going to be looking at, reviewing the modes of surveillance for the circulation of pathogens at risk within wildlife.
This is something that’s very important, and that’s why it’s very useful to have UNEP working with us. It’s going to be part of our work in the coming months, and it’s part of the strategic proposals that the experts have developed. So, the Expert Panel will, no doubt, help us to carry out and finalise these projects and how we can coordinate with platforms for scientific studies. Thank you.
CL Thank you very much, Director-General. Next question I see is from Albert Otti from the German Press Agency, DPA. Albert, please unmute yourself.
AO Hello, can you hear me?
CL Very well.
AO Yes, hello. Albert Otti, German Press Agency. Thanks for taking my question. I have a question for the Chairman of the Panel. I think, his name is Professor Mettenleiter. Sorry if I didn’t hear the name correctly. My question is, by what time do you expect the Panel to produce its first recommendations?
00:36:53
How can the Panel make sure, what mechanisms are there in place, to make sure that these recommendations actually have an influence on UN organisations and national policies?
TM I thank you very much for the question. Actually, we are the two Co-Chairs. My name, Thomas Mettenleiter, and Wanda Markotter as well. I’ll start with the answer. Indeed, these were quite interesting days, the past few days. The Panel members were notified last week on Monday that they were actually part of the Panel, and we already had a first meeting this week on Monday and Tuesday, and in fact, Wanda and myself, we were asked whether we would chair the initial year on Friday.
So, I think, this is already a rather good sign for the speed of work of this Panel. During this first session, we established four working groups. These working groups have specific issues to discuss. Dealing with One Health, first of all, in the definition, and I think, there is still room for improvement of definitions or for clarification of definitions. And then on One Health implementation, so what are the obstacles towards implementation of the One Health concept, which is actually, [unclear] in the different areas.
The second is an inventory of the programmes and projects at a global level that exist and extract best practices so that we can have blueprints and don’t have to, indeed, reinvent the wheel.
00:38:29
The third will be surveillance and early warning, and surveillance, I put it in parentheses, in as real time as possible. And the fourth is the identification of spill-over factors. Risk assessment procedures following other risk assessment procedures like the hazard analysis and critical control point concept, and, of course, then prevention.
So, this is the task that we set up to do. We plan to have the next meeting of the full Panel before the summer break, and we hope to have the first tangible results by fall this year. So, I think, you see that we are all set. The Panel, Wanda, I think, is very enthusiastic. We have lively discussions, and I’m optimistic that we’ll be successful along the timeline, but Wanda, over to you for comments as well.
WM Thank you, Thomas. I think, you explained it very well, but I think, an important point is that it’s time for action, and I think, everybody around this table, not just the Panel but the partners also, really want practical solutions that are going to translate into practical actions quickly. We can’t wait until there’s another pandemic on the rise. We really need to act, and we’re really all committed to doing it as quickly as possible. Thank you.
CL Thank you very much, both, for this. And I think, we have time for one last question, and that goes to Jeremy Lanche [?] from RFE. Jeremy, please unmute yourself.
JE Thank you so much. I would like to ask my question in French, if I may, for the French Foreign Minister, Le Drian.
00:40:20
Minister, I’d like to know if you are concerned about the latest concerns of scientists who talk about the potential of an accident in a laboratory in Wuhan, and is this going to be raised at the World Health Assembly?
CL Mr Minister?
JYLD Microphone, please? I didn’t understand the beginning of the question.
JE Can you still here me?
JYLD Yes, I can.
JE I wanted to know if you were concerned about the subject of the latest scientific suspicions, which the French press, in particular has raised, that they talk about a laboratory accident in Wuhan. And is France going to raise this at the World Health Assembly?
JYLD According to the information in the report that was produced by the WHO China Report, it’s a hypothesis but one of the least plausible about the pandemic, but France is, of course, open to carrying out any necessary further scientific work. But we don’t think that is the priority at this stage.
CL Thank you very much, Mr Minister. With this, we come to the final comments. And I’ll look also at the State Minister and at the French Minister for any final comments before I hand back to Dr Tedros for the closing remarks. Mr Minister? Let me look at State Minister, Nils Annen, for any final comments?
00:42:26
NA I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone here. I believe, the importance of this work has become very clear also through our personal experiences in this pandemic, and this new strengthened collaboration is very positive, and I can only reiterate Germany’s support for this. And we will do everything we can to work on this to make sure this Panel will have a successful work. And I thank, also, my French colleague and everyone involved.
We are looking forward to the cooperation, and I think, it is a good thing to hear from the Co-Chairs of the Panel that work has already started and that they have a plan for the future work. This is what we want to achieve. Thank you very much for this, and greetings from Germany.
CL Thank you very much, Mr State Minister. Mr Le Drian, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs?
JYLD Thank you, Director-General. I think, what we have heard shows the relevance of this initiative and the need to anticipate and work on prevention that the Expert Panel will help us to work on and to identify. I think, it’s urgent, and thanks to the initiative of Germany and France, we’ve been able to very rapidly move this into actions, and the bringing together of the four international organisations has been rapid and very relevant. So, here we are meeting the needs and requests of the international community to this, and we hope that this will become as important as the IPCC, in terms of, climate. Thank you.
00:44:28
CL Thank you very much, Mr Minister. Before I hand over to Dr Tedros for closing, let me remind everyone and thank the participants, but let me remind everyone that there’s a press release already accompanying this event, which is either already out, or just about to be sent out. The audio files of this press briefing will be shared right after the press conference, and Dr Tedros’ remarks as well, and the transcript will be available as of tomorrow. Thank you, and Dr Tedros, for closing?
TAG Thank you, Christian. So, I’d like to use this opportunity again to thank Minister Le Drian, and also State Minister, Nils Annen, for your leadership. I’m also glad to see that the High-Level counsel is moving fast, has already made progress since its first meeting, as you have heard from both Professor Thomas Mettenleiter and Professor Wanda Markotter. So, thank you so much to both Co-Chairs for accepting the challenge. And as, what you suggested, look forward to having the product from you by fall this year.
And finally, I would like to thank my colleagues also, Dr Qu Dongyu, Dr Monique Eloit and Ms Inger Andersen. Thank you for your leadership. And to the media, thank you for joining us today, and look forward to seeing you in our upcoming pressers. Thank you so much.
CL Thank you.