“More than 60% of the world’s population has already completed a primary course of vaccination against COVID-19,” said the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in Rwanda. However, he expressed concern given that “40% of the world’s population remains unvaccinated ,” so “ the risk of a new and more dangerous variant emerging continues to be very real.”
“Reported cases of COVID-19 here in Rwanda are now at their lowest levels since the pandemic began, and there has not been a reported death from COVID-19 in more than three months. However, this is not the case in all countries. Transmission is increasing in many nations,” said the official in his speech for a meeting on Vaccine Equity in Africa.
“Although we have made a lot of progress and have many reasons for optimism, the perception that the pandemic is over is understandable but wrong,” so “ending the acute phase of the pandemic must remain our collective priority,” highlighted the director general of the WHO.
“One of the biggest risks is that we move on to the next crisis and forget the lessons the pandemic has taught us, lessons that have come at a great price. The most important thing is the centrality of health,” he highlighted.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recalled that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, since it touches all areas of life, such as business, economy, education, employment, families, technology, tourism, commerce, travel, politics and security. among others.
“The pandemic has taught us that when health is at risk, everything is at risk, especially for small, low-income island states,” he emphasized.
“If the nations of the world can come together to agree on a common approach to these man-made threats, then it is common sense for countries to now agree on a common approach, with common rules for a common response, to threats arising from our relationship with nature, threats that we cannot completely control,” the official continued.
Finally, he concluded: “Epidemics and pandemics begin and end in communities. That’s why strong community-level health systems are the best defense against health emergencies, as well as the many health threats your people face every day.”
