Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Sunday warned that the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) would not be the last such crisis.
Tedros gave the warning in a video released to mark the first-ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness on Sunday.
“History tells us that this won’t be the last pandemic and epidemics are a fact of life,” he said.
The WHO head said that better investment in public health supported by governments and society could “ensure that our children and their children inherit a safer, more resilient and more sustainable world.”
Tedros added that the new coronavirus turned the world “upside-down” over the past twelve months with far-reaching consequences for societies and economies.
He, however, said the pandemic itself was not a surprise, especially since warnings of such a possibility, and of the world’s unpreparedness, had been issued many times over the years.
“We must all learn the lessons the pandemic is teaching us,” Tedros said.
This includes investment in preparedness capacities not just in the health sector but rather an “all-of-government and all of the social approach.”
“The pandemic has highlighted the intimate links between the health of humans, animals and planet,” which required a common approach, the WHO chief said.
