COVID-19 No Longer A Global Health Emergency, Says WHO

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that COVID-19 has ceased to be a global health emergency.

WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, which discussed the pandemic on Thursday at its 15th meeting on Covid-19, concluded that COVID-19 no longer amounted to global concern.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also agreed that the public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, declaration should end.

In a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday, Tedros said: “For more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend. This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19. 

“Yesterday, the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”

The organization had declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020, about six weeks before characterizing it as a pandemic.

A PHEIC creates an agreement between countries to abide by WHO’s recommendations for managing the emergency. Each country, in turn, declares its own public health emergency — declarations that carry legal weight. Countries use them to marshal resources and waive rules in order to ease a crisis.

Nigeria had mounted a vigorious national health campaign against the dreaded virus and is on the verge of meeting the global target of vaccinating 70 per cent of her eligible population against the disease before the current declaration by WHO.

Covid-19 continues to spread, the virus is evolving and remains a global health threat, but at a lower level of concern, according to WHO officials.

“There’s still a public health threat out there, and we all see that every day in terms of the evolution of this virus, in terms of its global presence, its continued evolution and continued vulnerabilities in our communities, both societal vulnerabilities, age vulnerabilities, protection vulnerabilities, and many other things,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.

“So, we fully expect that this virus will continue to transmit, but this is the history of pandemics,” Ryan said. “In most cases, pandemics truly end when the next pandemic begins. I know that’s a terrible thought but that is the history of pandemics.”

Tedros however said that he would not hesitate to convene another emergency committee meeting and declare a global health emergency again if there is a significant rise in Covid-19 cases or deaths in the future.

“Covid-19 has left and continues to leave deep scars on our world. Those scars must serve as a permanent reminder of the potential for new viruses to emerge with devastating consequences,” Tedros said.

“One of the greatest tragedies of Covid-19 is that it didn’t have to be this way. We have the tools and technologies to prepare for pandemics better, detect them earlier, respond to them faster, and communicate their impact. 

“But globally, a lack of coordination, a lack of equity, and lack of solidarity meant that those tools were not used as effectively as they could have been. We must promise ourselves and our children and grandchildren that we will never make those mistakes again,” Tedros said.

COVID-19 No Longer A Global Health Emergency, Says WHO

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that COVID-19 has ceased to be a global health emergency.

WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, which discussed the pandemic on Thursday at its 15th meeting on Covid-19, concluded that COVID-19 no longer amounted to global concern.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also agreed that the public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, declaration should end.

In a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday, Tedros said: “For more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend. This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19. 

“Yesterday, the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”

The organization had declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020, about six weeks before characterizing it as a pandemic.

A PHEIC creates an agreement between countries to abide by WHO’s recommendations for managing the emergency. Each country, in turn, declares its own public health emergency — declarations that carry legal weight. Countries use them to marshal resources and waive rules in order to ease a crisis.

Nigeria had mounted a vigorious national health campaign against the dreaded virus and is on the verge of meeting the global target of vaccinating 70 per cent of her eligible population against the disease before the current declaration by WHO.

Covid-19 continues to spread, the virus is evolving and remains a global health threat, but at a lower level of concern, according to WHO officials.

“There’s still a public health threat out there, and we all see that every day in terms of the evolution of this virus, in terms of its global presence, its continued evolution and continued vulnerabilities in our communities, both societal vulnerabilities, age vulnerabilities, protection vulnerabilities, and many other things,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.

“So, we fully expect that this virus will continue to transmit, but this is the history of pandemics,” Ryan said. “In most cases, pandemics truly end when the next pandemic begins. I know that’s a terrible thought but that is the history of pandemics.”

Tedros however said that he would not hesitate to convene another emergency committee meeting and declare a global health emergency again if there is a significant rise in Covid-19 cases or deaths in the future.

“Covid-19 has left and continues to leave deep scars on our world. Those scars must serve as a permanent reminder of the potential for new viruses to emerge with devastating consequences,” Tedros said.

“One of the greatest tragedies of Covid-19 is that it didn’t have to be this way. We have the tools and technologies to prepare for pandemics better, detect them earlier, respond to them faster, and communicate their impact. 

“But globally, a lack of coordination, a lack of equity, and lack of solidarity meant that those tools were not used as effectively as they could have been. We must promise ourselves and our children and grandchildren that we will never make those mistakes again,” Tedros said.