WHA ends with strong global commitment to COVID-19 response

The 73rd World Health Assembly, the first of its kind to be held virtually since the World Health Organization was founded in 1948, ended on Tuesday with a strong global commitment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in his closing remarks that the focus of his organization now is fighting the pandemic with every tool at their disposal.

“At the end of the day, what matters is life. That should be at the center of everything we do, and everything we say,” he said. “For everything COVID-19 has taken from us, it has also given us something: a reminder of what really matters, and the opportunity to forge a common future,” he added.

Delegates adopted a landmark resolution to bring the world together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which was adopted by consensus and was co-sponsored by more than 130 countries, including the European Union, Russia and China. 

The resolution expressed optimism that the COVID-19 pandemic can be successfully mitigated, controlled and overcome through leadership and sustained global cooperation, unity, and solidarity.

It acknowledged the key leadership role of WHO and the fundamental role of the United Nations system in catalyzing and coordinating the comprehensive global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It called for the intensification of efforts to control the pandemic, and for equitable access to and fair distribution of all essential health technologies and products to combat the virus. It also called for an enhanced effort to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population as well as a comprehensive evaluation of the global response.