On Monday May 18, the World Health Assembly began its 73rd session in virtual mode, an historic first, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The 194 member states had two days to place international cooperation in the fight against the virus at the center of the agenda, after the World Health Organization (WHO) came in for sharp criticism for its handling of the early stages of the epidemic.
Unanimous adoption
The priority of this exceptional edition, whose agenda was considerably reduced, was the adoption of a resolution on the response to Covid-19 promoted by the European Union. The text referred to the issue of "universal, rapid and equitable access to all
products", the technologies needed to combat this new form of coronavirus. An "independent assessment of the international health response coordinated by the WHO" to the pandemic was also called for "as soon as possible". The unanimous adoption by consensus is a victory for the Director General of the specialist health agency
, since apart from the difficulties arising from the tug-of-war between Beijing and Washington, the health context prevented meetings and behind-the-scenes negotiations, all of which had to be carried out by e-mail and videoconference. This result is also an indication of the strength and unity of Europe, which was able to lead the general mobilization in the fight against COVID-19. It is perhaps a sign that Brussels could once again play an important role in these troubled times.
Violent criticism
During the week, we also had to deal with the demand for clarification regarding the management of the early stages of the epidemic. Indeed, for some countries, the organization and in particular its Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, showed too much complacency towards China, and thus masked its lack of transparency. To mark its disapproval, the United States suspended its financial contribution. In response, the head of the WHO announced at the opening of the WHA that "independent investigations will be launched 'as soon as possible' to assess the organization's response to the crisis. For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized those countries that have "ignored" WHO recommendations.
The United States, in third place behind China and the European Union, is the country hardest hit by the pandemic.
Pandemic response
On Friday, during a virtual session, Dr. Tedros told the 34 members of the organization's Executive Board that "WHO has been working day and night to coordinate the global response at all three levels of the organization, providing technical advice, catalyzing political solidarity, mobilizing resources, coordinating logistics and much more." As part of the World Health Organization's appeal for programs to combat COVID-19 nearly $800 million has been pledged or received. This still leaves a shortfall of just over 900 million dollars, as earlier this month WHO launched an appeal for 1.7 billion dollars to fund its response.