The World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, has warned that another pandemic will occur, urging countries to learn from the COVID-19 experience and strengthen global preparedness.
Ghebreyesus said during an online news conference on Friday, September 25, that COVID-19 was the most severe global health crisis in a century, killing at least 20 million people and causing more than 10 trillion dollars in economic losses. He said the pandemic exposed weaknesses in global health security and underscored the need for stronger international cooperation.
The WHO chief cited the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a recent hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius as reminders that infectious disease threats can emerge anywhere and require coordinated international responses. He said WHO had introduced several initiatives since COVID-19, including the Pandemic Fund, disease surveillance and early-warning systems, vaccine and biotechnology programmes, and the Global Health Emergency Corps.
Ghebreyesus also highlighted the adoption of amendments to the International Health Regulations in 2024 and the WHO Pandemic Agreement in 2025 as important steps towards strengthening global pandemic prevention and response. He rejected claims that the agreement would transfer national sovereignty to WHO, saying it was negotiated and adopted by sovereign countries in their own interests.
He said the remaining task was for countries to conclude negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system, which would enable nations to begin ratifying the Pandemic Agreement and bring it into force. Ghebreyesus expressed confidence that countries would resolve their differences and urged continued cooperation, stressing that shared global health threats require shared responses.
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