WHO said Tuesday the world needs to properly prepare for future pandemics after finally ending three years of Covid «crisis, pain and loss,»
In his end-of-year message, World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 2023 had marked a turning point in fighting major health challenges but had also brought «immense and avoidable suffering.»
Tedros called for ramped-up relief efforts for the Gaza Strip and urged nations to seal a «monumental» pandemic accord to plug preparedness gaps that were exposed during the pandemic.
Tedros declared an end to Covid-19 as an international public health emergency in May.
«This marked a turning point for the world following three years of crisis, pain and loss for people everywhere,» he recalled in a video message. «I'm glad to see that life has returned to normal.»
After 10 months, the WHO also lifted a similar emergency on mpox in May 2023, while the UN health agency approved new vaccines for malaria, dengue and meningitis, Tedros said.
Meanwhile Azerbaijan, Belize and Tajikistan were declared malaria-free.
Tedros also noted that the health impacts of climate change featured prominently at COP28, the latest annual UN climate conference held a few weeks ago.
However, «2023 has also been a year of immense and avoidable suffering and threats to health,» he added.
Tedros spoke of the «barbaric» Hamas attacks on Israel, «followed by the unleashing of a devastating attack on Gaza.»
The bloodiest ever Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 and killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
They took 250 hostages of whom