WHO panel highlights effective multilateralism in Covid response

Geneva, Jan 19 : A latest interim report by a WHO pandemic review panel has highlighted effective multilateralism in the preparation and response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, saying that the consequences of this pandemic remind the world of how important effective multilateralism is.
“Geopolitical tensions have impacted on the response, and the resulting pandemic has given us many interlinked reasons to rethink and reset the way in which the international system and countries prepare and respond to global health threats,” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, said in the report issued late Monday.
The Panel’s report, available in six UN official languages, will be discussed at the on-going World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board meeting.
The Panel was established by the WHO Director-General and its mandate is to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international response to Covid-19.
Its final report is scheduled for the World Health Assembly in May.
According to the interim report, the Panel found that member states have high expectations of the WHO but have left it underpowered to do that job.