GENEVA (Reuters) – An independent panel said on Monday that Chinese authorities could have applied public health measures more strongly in January to contain the initial outbreak of COVID-19, and criticized the World Health Organization (WHO) for do not declare an international emergency until January 30.
Experts looking at global pandemic treatment, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, called for reforms at the Geneva-based United Nations agency. expert Mike Ryan said global COVID-19 deaths are expected to reach 100,000 a week “very soon”.
“What is clear to the Panel is that public health measures could have been applied more vigorously by local and national health authorities in China in January,” said the report, referring to the initial outbreak of the new disease in the city. central Wuhan, Hubei province.
As evidence of person-to-person transmission emerged, “in many countries, this signal has been ignored,” he added.
Specifically, he questioned why the WHO Emergency Committee did not meet until the third week of January and did not declare an international emergency until its second meeting on 30 January.
“Although the term pandemic is neither used nor defined in the International Health Regulations (2005), its use serves to draw attention to the seriousness of a health event. Only on March 11 did WHO use the term, ”said the report.
“The global pandemic alert system is not adequate,” he said. “The World Health Organization has had little power to do the job.”
Under President Donald Trump, the United States accused the WHO of being “China-centered”, which the agency denies. European countries led by France and Germany have been pushing to address WHO’s shortcomings in financing, governance and legal powers.
The panel called for a “global reset” and said it would make recommendations in a final report to health ministers from WHO’s 194 member states in May.
Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Edition by Josephine Mason and Alex Richardson