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December 31, 2024 | 02:52 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The World Health Organization (WHO) implored China on Monday, December 30, to share data and access to help understand how COVID-19 started, five years after the outbreak spread across the globe.
Citing Channel News Asia, COVID-19 killed millions of people, shredded economies, and crippled health systems.
"We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative," the WHO said in a statement, adding that the world could not “adequately prevent and prepare” for future pandemics without cooperation among countries.
The WHO recounted how on December 31, 2019, its country office in China picked up a media statement from the health authorities in Wuhan concerning cases of "viral pneumonia" in the city.
"In the weeks, months, and years that unfolded after that, COVID-19 came to shape our lives and our world," the UN health agency said.
"As we mark this milestone, let's take a moment to honour the lives changed and lost, recognise those who are suffering from COVID-19 and Long COVID, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from COVID-19 to build a healthier tomorrow."
Earlier this month, the WHO's Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the issue of whether the world was better prepared for the next pandemic than it was for COVID-19.
"The answer is yes, and no," he told a press conference. Tedros said the world would still face some of the same vulnerabilities that gave COVID-19 a foothold five years ago, but at the same time, it has taken significant steps to strengthen its defenses.
In December 2021, spooked by the devastation caused by COVID-19, countries decided to start drafting an accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
The WHO's 194 member states negotiating the treaty have agreed on most of what it should include but are stuck on the practicalities. The deadline for the negotiations is May 2025.
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