Coronavirus pandemic will not end without leadership, says WHO chief as he congratulates Joe Biden

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that the WHO was looking forward to working with US president-elect Joe Biden.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) (EPA-EFE)

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) director general has said the coronavirus pandemic will not end without leadership and has congratulated Joe Biden for his election victory today.

Donald Trump has previously accused the organisation of being "China-centric" in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a charge WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly denied.

Mr Biden has said he would rescind Trump's decision to abandon the WHO on his first day in office amid comments from Mr Ghebreyesus today that leadership is needed to tackle the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Tedros urged the international community to recapture a sense of common purpose, adding: "In that spirit we congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and we look forward to working with this administration very closely.

"We need to reimagine leadership, build on mutual trust and mutual accountability to end the pandemic and address the fundamental inequalities that lie at the root of so many of the world's problems," he said.

Tedros was addressing the ministerial session of WHO's 194 member states that resumed on Monday after a short meeting last May. 

Speaking from quarantine after being in contact with an individual with COVID-19 more than a week ago, he began with a minute's silence, noting that COVID-19 cases approached 50 million with 1.2 million deaths.

An oversight panel called last week for reforms at the WHO including "predictable and flexible" funding and setting up a multi-tiered system to warn countries earlier about disease outbreaks before they escalate.

(REUTERS)

Tedros said that COVID-19 vaccines being developed should be allocated fairly as "global public goods, not private commodities".

The WHO chief’s words come as cases spike in a number of European countries , such as England and France, who have subsequently announced a raft of new lockdown measures.

Mr Ghebreyesus yesterday also tweeted congratulating Mr Biden for his victory in the hard fought election.

He said: "Congratulations to President-elect @JoeBiden & Vice President-Elect @KamalaHarris! My @WHO colleagues and I look forward to working with you and your teams. Crises like the #COVID19 pandemic show the importance of global solidarity in protecting lives and livelihoods. Together!"