Credit: un.org / World Health Organization Director -General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  – NEW YORK –  As some countries lift COVID-19 restrictions and begin re-opening certain segments of the economy, the head of the  World Health Organization warned Monday that the worst of the corona virus is still ahead. 

” The worst is yet ahead of us. Let’s prevent this tragedy. It’s a virus that many people still don’t understand. Unity is the only option to defeat this virus.”

-WHO  Director -General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros told reporters from WHO headquarters in Geneva.

The WHO also stated  that global, coordinated action is required to deal with the extraordinary challenges the pandemic poses to people’s health as well as their livelihoods. ”  Last week,  UN Secretary General António Guterres  issued a call for international unity in the global battle to push the COVID-19 pandemic into reverse, and said now is not a time to cut the resources of the World Health Organization (WHO). The  UN chief made the comments after President Trump’s  move to halt funding to the WHO.   Trump claimed the health agency has been too close to Beijing and covered up for its mistakes over the handling of the coronavirus. Trump’s action unleashed a groundswell of international criticism.

The WHO Director-General has staunchly defended the  global health organization in response to criticism from the US and other sceptics over WHO’s handling of the early stage of the international health emergency in China, that “since the beginning”, the agency had “sounded the alarm bell loud and clear”,  he said.  “And we continue to fulfill our mandate to coordinate the global response, working with partners to save lives. We’ve engaged thousands of scientists and experts all over the world to develop detailed technical guidance for countries. We’ve shipped supplies of lab diagnostics and personal protective equipment to many countries, and expanded testing capacity.”