Coronavirus: World still has ‘long road to travel’ in pandemic response, warns WHO

Director general says process will begin at ‘earliest appropriate moment’

The director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that an independent evaluation of the agency’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic will take place.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, said on Monday that the process would begin at the “earliest appropriate moment”.

He also vowed that the organisation would be transparent and accountable.

Dr Ghebreyesus told the WHO’s annual ministerial assembly: “We all have lessons to learn from the pandemic. Every country and every organisation must examine its response and learn from its experience. WHO is committed to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement.”

“The risk remains high and we have a long road to travel,” he added.

According to Dr Ghebreyesus, less than 10 per cent of people in most countries have been infected with the virus.

The director-general’s comments followed a resolution from the European Union and other countries, which called for an independent evaluation of the WHO’s actions “to review experience gained and lessons learned”.

The draft resolution received the support of more than half of the health agency’s 194 member states.

Xi Jinping, China’s president, was among those leaders who backed the measure.

Speaking on Monday at the start of the online conference, Mr Xi called the coronavirus crisis “the most serious global public health emergency since the end of World War Two”.

He denied accusations, from Donald Trump among others, that China had been slow to share its knowledge of the virus with the WHO and the rest of the world.

“All along we have acted with openness and transparency and responsibility,” he said.

The Chinese president also promised to give the WHO $2 billion over the coming years to help it with its response to the pandemic.

His response is markedly different from the approach taken by the US, after Mr Trump decided last month to suspend his country’s funding to the health agency.

Criticism of the WHO’s handling of the crisis includes the fact that its officials said transmission of the virus was “limited” and that it did not declare a pandemic until 11 March.

Agencies have contributed to this report