Recordings reveal WHO’s analysis of pandemic in private
GENEVA » As the coronavirus exploded around the globe, scientists at the World Health Organization were sometimes privately frustrated by the mistakes made by some of their top donor countries but reluctant to say so publicly, leaked recordings of internal meetings show.
After sharp criticism for not taking a stronger role in curbing the pandemic, the U.N. health agency holds its annual meeting this week under intense pressure to reform. WHO is also hoping that U. S. Presidentelect Joe Biden will reverse a decision by Washington to leave the organization made by the Trump administration in June.
One of WHO’s central dilemmas is that it has no enforcement powers or authority to independently investigate epidemics. Instead, the agency relies on behind-the-scenes talks and countries’ cooperation.
As the pandemic gained
pace, WHO often shied away from calling out some of its biggest donors, including Japan, France and Britain. WHO scientists labeled some of their approaches as “macabre” and “an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus,” according to dozens
of leaked recordings of internal WHO meetings and documents from January to April obtained by The Associated Press.
“By not speaking up when countries are doing questionable things, WHO is undermining its own au
thority while the planet burns,” said Sophie Harman, a professor of international politics at Queen Mary University in London.
Others said it would be politically unwise for WHO to be too outspoken unless countries give the agency more power.
“If Tedros was to take a very aggressive stance toward member countries, there would be repercussions,” said Suerie Moon, co- director of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute of Geneva, referring to WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
WHO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said that since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, “WHO officials have had and continue to have, frank and open discussions with government counterparts … We are proud of an organizational culture that fosters candid discussions.”
It’s not unprecedented for WHO to publicly question its member states. It threatened to close its China office when the country was hiding cases during the SARS outbreak and loudly called for Nigeria to reverse its boycott of the polio vaccine in 2003.
WHO’s reticence to call out countries started with China, as the AP earlier reported. Despite a January meeting between Tedros and Chinese President Xi Jinping, information from Beijing was still sparse throughout February. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, noted that the agency lacked “enough detail to say what has worked and what hasn’t.”
WHO scientists soon grew concerned about Japan. On Feb. 1, a passenger who disembarked the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Hong Kong tested positive for the coronavirus. At the ship’s next stop in Yokohama, authorities put all 3,711 people aboard under lockdown.
WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan told reporters at the time: “Let’s be careful here not to overreact.” But on Feb. 10, the case count nearly doubled overnight.
“( That’s) not surprising given the nature of the response of the investigation,” Ryan said at an internal meeting, noting Japan had only assigned a small number of epidemiologists to investigate.