Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Arabia as Al Nassr head coach on one-year deal    The hidden power in your kitchen: Why scientists are studying palm oil's secret vitamin    Etidal and Telegram remove over 30 million extremist posts in Q2 2025    HR Ministry launches 'Skills Week' to empower youth and align talent with labor market needs    Saudi Arabia operates 10 renewable energy projects with SR19.8 billion in investment by end of 2024    Saudia posts 7.2% passenger growth in H1 2025, leads global punctuality    Al-Khateeb hails Taif's tourism appeal as Saudi Summer 2025 gets underway    Housing-starved Hong Kong turns Covid quarantine site into hostel    Trump to meet NATO secretary general as plan takes shape for Ukraine weapons sales    Trump defends US Attorney General Pam Bondi over Epstein files    At least 30 killed in sectarian clashes in Syria    SA police minister suspended over organized crime allegations    Wirth opens registration for world-class traditional arts programs in Riyadh    MWL chief welcomes Uzbek official, hails Center's efforts in promoting Islamic values    Jeddah exhibition showcases 500 years of Makkah and Madinah imagery    Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz to win his maiden Wimbledon title    Chelsea defeat PSG 3-0 to win first expanded Club World Cup    France's Lady Liberty artwork goes viral as a new Statue of Liberty could be in the works    Theo Hernández: Al Hilal can compete with Europe's best    SFDA approves 'Winrevair' for rare pulmonary hypertension treatment    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Independent panel finds critical early failings in COVID-19 response
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 20 - 01 - 2021

The global system for pandemic alert and response is "not fit for purpose", highlighting the need for a new framework in the wake of COVID-19, experts appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an interim report presented on Tuesday.
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response found critical elements to be "slow, cumbersome and indecisive" in an era when information about new disease outbreaks is being transmitted faster than countries can formally report on them.
"When there is a potential health threat, countries and the World Health Organization must further use the 21st century digital tools at their disposal to keep pace with news that spreads instantly on social media and infectious pathogens that spread rapidly through travel", said Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and co-chair of the panel.
"Detection and alert may have been speedy by the standards of earlier novel pathogens, but viruses move in minutes and hours, rather than in days and weeks."
‘Lost opportunities' at the outset
The Independent Panel was established to review lessons learned from international response to COVID-19, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Nearly 94 million confirmed cases and more than two million deaths have been reported globally as of Tuesday.
The panel's second progress report said countries were slow to respond to the new coronavirus disease, noting ,"there were lost opportunities to apply basic public health measures at the earliest opportunity."
Although WHO declared on Jan. 30, 2020 that COVID-19 was a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the panel found many countries took minimal action to prevent spread both within and beyond their borders.
"What is clear to the panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January," the report said.
"It is also clear to the panel that there was evidence of cases in a number of countries by the end of January 2020. Public health containment measures should have been implemented immediately in any country with a likely case. They were not."
The report also outlined critical shortcomings at each phase of response, including failure to prepare for a pandemic despite years of warning.
"The sheer toll of this epidemic is prima facie evidence that the world was not prepared for an infectious disease outbreak with global pandemic potential, despite the numerous warnings issued that such an event was probable," it said.
Deepening inequalities
Pandemic response has also deepened inequalities, according to the panel, with inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines a glaring example as rollout has favored wealthy nations.
"A world where high-income countries receive universal coverage while low-income countries are expected to accept only 20 per cent in the foreseeable future is on the wrong footing — both for justice and for pandemic control. This failure must be remedied," said the panel's co chair, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia.
The report further highlighted the need to strengthen the UN's health agency.
"The WHO is expected to validate reports of disease outbreaks for their pandemic potential and, deploy support and containment resources, but its powers and funding to carry out its functions are limited," Sirleaf said. "This is a question of resources, tools, access, and authority."
Countries are also urged to ensure testing, contact tracing and other public health measures to reduce virus spread, are being implemented, in efforts to save lives, particularly as more infectious virus variants emerge.
The Independent Panel began its review last September and will present a report to the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of WHO, in May. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.