In Focus

WHO acted too slowly when COVID-19 pandemic began: Lancet Commission

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Asserts that the global health organization failed to issue warnings regarding the virus’s human transmission potential and deem it a public health emergency of global concern.

The Lancet’s COVID-19 Commission report has criticized the World Health Organization for acting too cautiously and too slowly when the pandemic broke out.

According to the Commission, WHO neglected to issue warnings regarding the virus’s human transmissibility, declare a public health emergency of international concern, support international travel guidelines intended to stop the virus’s spread, encourage the general public to wear face masks as protective equipment, and acknowledge the virus’ airborne transmission.

The Commission reported that as of May 31, 2022, there were 6·9 million reported deaths and 17·2 million estimated deaths from COVID-19, relying on the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimates of infections and deaths. 

The Economist, on the other hand,  has estimated a death toll of 19·4 million as of February 2022.

 “This staggering death toll is both a profound tragedy and a massive global failure at multiple levels. Too many governments have failed to adhere to basic norms of institutional rationality and transparency, too many people—often influenced by misinformation—have disrespected and protested against basic public health precautions, and the world’s major powers have failed to collaborate to control the pandemic,” the report said.

Call for multilateralism

The Commission has recommended strengthening of multilateralism in all crucial dimensions: political, cultural, institutional, and financial.

“We call for all countries, especially the richest and most powerful, to support, sustain, and bolster the work of the UN system,”  the Commission said.

The WHO, report said, should expand the WHO Science Council to apply urgent scientific evidence for global health priorities, including future emerging infectious diseases. 

“This Council should include experts from diverse fields and from all six WHO regions, and should include younger people and have gender parity,” the report said. “Establishing an understanding of exposure routes and the highest-risk environments for transmission should always be among the first essential steps for scientists in response to future disease threats because this knowledge should determine effective control strategies for reducing risk.”

The Commission has strongly supported the call of the UN Secretary-General for a new Common Agenda, and urged member states to engage in its implementation constructively and swiftly.

 “We encourage member states to enrich their deliberations and decisions with the voices of civil society, the private sector, local governments, parliaments, academia, and young people, among others,” the report said. “We note the timeliness of recommitting to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN’s moral charter, as we celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2023.”

WHO response

The WHO has responded constructively to the Commission’s recommendations saying these aligned with its “stronger global, regional and national pandemic preparedness, prevention, readiness and response.”

In a strong indictment of the current international order, the Commission said the COVID-19 crisis has exposed major weaknesses in the UN-based multilateral system, resulting from excessive nationalism, tensions among the major powers, and chronic underfinancing of global public goods including the UN system itself.  

Although major efforts have been made to stimulate recovery and a just transition to sustainable development, COVID-19 is being treated with the same lack of ambition as other pressing global challenges, such as climate emergency; the loss of global biodiversity; the pollution of air, land, and water; the persistence of extreme poverty in the midst of plenty; and the large-scale displacement of people as a result of conflicts, poverty, and environmental stress. the report said.

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