Member states seek a review of COVID-19 situ, probe on what happened in China and examination of good, bad & ugly of national responses

An evaluation “to review experience gained and lessons learned and to make recommendations to improve national and global pandemic preparedness and response” would start at the earliest appropriate moment, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the World Health Assembly on Tuesday.

This followed the adoption by consensus of a resolution, co- sponsored by more than 130 of the 194 member states, which called for an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the international response – including but not limited to WHO’s performance. Among other goals, the WHO is to probe what happened in China late last year, both the biomedical chain of infection and the Chinese concealment, as well as examine the good, bad and ugly of national responses.

The 73rd World Health Assembly was the first in WHO history to be held virtually from Geneva.