World must be ready to fight next disease together, says WHO chief

“Disease X” is a common enemy that the world must be prepared to fight together, World Health Organisation director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned yesterday.

The name, given to the asyet-unknown cause of the next potential pandemic, first appeared on the WHO’s list of priority diseases in 2018, the year before the first Covid-19 cases were reported.

“You may even call Covid the first ‘disease X’. And it may happen again,” Dr Tedros told a session at Davos.

“There are some people who say, oh, this may create panic. No, it’s better, actually, to anticipate something that may happen, because it has happened in our history many times, and prepare for it.”

Dr Tedros said Covid had taught the world many lessons on how to deal with the next pandemic.

Michel Demare, chairman of the board of AstraZeneca, told the session that countries are not spending enough to prepare for the next pandemic. “In OECD countries, the average spend on prevention is 3 per cent of the budget of health systems,” he said.

“Obviously, if you spend so little on prevention, you end up spending the majority of your budget on hospitalisation and on treatments.

“So there is a lot of change that needs to happen there.”

In 2021, the WHO outlined plans to create a pandemic treaty that would serve as a blueprint for tackling future global outbreaks.

Dr Tedros told Davos the pandemic treaty will be crucial in protecting the world from future outbreaks. However, countries have since been involved in a dispute over the terms of the treaty, which has not yet been finalised.

“Member states are negotiating. This is between countries, and I hope they will deliver this pandemic agreement by that time, on the deadline, because if this generation cannot do it, where they have firsthand experience, I don’t think the next generation will do it,” he said.

“For our children and grandchildren’s sake, I think we have to convert all the lessons we have learnt into this pandemic and prepare the world for the future.

“This is a common global interest, and very narrow national interests should not get in the way.”

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said innovations like AI could help address the lack of resources in underdeveloped countries. He said it was “imperative” to increase aid to such countries.

“There’s no doubt we find ourselves in a juncture where demand for resources exceeds the resources available,” he said.

I think we have to convert all the lessons we have learnt into this pandemic and prepare the world for the future DR TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS WHO Director General