China made concerted efforts to help the world go through the pandemic
Beijing: The 76th World Health Assembly (WHA), focused on “saving lives, driving health for all,” wrapped up in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
This year’s WHA convened at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and the world is progressing toward a return to normalcy. At this crucial moment, the assembly emphasized the need to reflect on the past, strengthen disease response, and prepare for future pandemics and other threats.
During the past three years, humanity confronted an abrupt pandemic outbreak with insufficient preparedness. Throughout this challenging period, countries, including China, made concerted efforts to address this unprecedented global health crisis. Despite facing initial challenges and moments of uncertainty, the world has gained valuable lessons and insights for the future.
LIFE MATTERS
“It was a moment of relief and reflection,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in his report to member states at the 76th WHA. He noted that although it is encouraging to see life return to normal, many of us continue to carry grief over those we have lost and the feeling that it didn’t need to be this way.
The public health emergency declaration on Jan. 30, 2020, the highest level of global concern specified in the international, legally binding health regulations, did not lead to an urgent, coordinated and worldwide response. In the face of the sudden health crisis, different countries made varying choices regarding their response strategies.
China, home to 1.4 billion people, chose to protect the safety and health of its people.
Quarantining large cities, building a 1,000-bed hospital in just 10 days and sharing critical information with the world without delay ... China’s decisive and timely measures have not only safeguarded the health and lives of its own citizens but provided precious time for other nations to prepare, thereby playing a significant role in the global effort to fight the disease.
The Chinese people “are protecting the world from an even faster spread through their willingness to make sacrifices and their commitment,” said Michael Schumann, head of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade. “They deserve our respect and our active and energetic support.”
“If it weren’t for China’s efforts, the number of cases outside China would have been very much higher,” Tedros has said.