WHO chief taps ex-leaders to head Covid response panel

| | Geneva
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WHO chief taps ex-leaders to head Covid response panel

Friday, 10 July 2020 | AP | Geneva

The head of the World Health Organisation said Thursday that former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark will head a new panel tasked with giving “an honest assessment” of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose agency is facing a US pullout following Trump administration complaints about its early handling of the virus emergency, announced the appointments to the newly created Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

“I cannot imagine two more strong-minded, independent leaders to help guide us through this critical learning process to help us understand what happened — an honest assessment — and to help us understand also what we should do to prevent such a tragedy in the future,” Tedros said.

The WHO chief reiterated his calls for global unity and decried a general lack of leadership, but he made no reference to the Trump administration giving formal 1-year notice this week of its intent to withdraw the United States from the UN health agency.

The United States is the WHO’s biggest donor, contributing $400-$500 annually in recent years.

“My friends, make no mistake: The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself. Rather, it’s the lack of leadership and solidarity at the global and national levels,” Tedros said at a weekly meeting of member states.

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