The WHO annual meeting began in Geneva.
In their speeches, those responsible criticized the handling of the corona pandemic and complained about the deaths.
Geneva - "We are at war with a virus", declared UN Secretary General António Guterres at the start of the annual meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday (May 24th).
Dealing with the corona pandemic is one of the main topics of this year's virtual conference of the 194 member countries of the WHO, which will last until June 1st.
WHO annual conference: Corona pandemic causes "tsunami of suffering"
According to figures from Johns Hopkins University, more than 3.4 million people have died from the coronavirus * worldwide since the pandemic began. According to Guterres, more than half a billion people have lost their jobs. "The weakest suffer the most, and I'm afraid that is far from over," complained the UN Secretary-General. The corona pandemic triggered a "tsunami of suffering".
In his address, Guterres called for “the logic and urgency of a war economy”.
It must be ensured that all countries have equal access to the "weapons" in the fight against the corona pandemic * - the corona vaccines *.
If action is not taken quickly, the majority of the population in rich countries will soon be vaccinated and the economy will recover, while the coronavirus will continue to rage and mutate in poor countries and "cause deep suffering," said the UN Secretary General.
That would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands more and slow the recovery of the global economy.
Corona: WHO chief criticizes rich countries - unequal vaccine distribution
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also sharply criticized the rich countries.
He called on the world to ensure that at least ten percent of the world's people can be vaccinated by September and 30 percent by the end of the year.
Ten countries have currently bought 75 percent of the total available corona vaccination doses *.
In other countries, millions of health workers would have to wait for the important vaccination, said the WHO chief.
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WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is sharply critical of the way rich countries are dealing with the corona pandemic.
© Laurent Gillieron / dpa
Corona: WHO chief names sad number of deaths among nurses - at least 115,000 victims
In his address, Tedros underlined with figures that the protection of nurses against corona infection * is particularly important. "There are only sparse reports, but we estimate that at least 115,000 employees of the health and care services have paid with their lives for their service to others," said the WHO chief on Monday. He called on the few present in the conference room as well as everyone connected online to a thank you campaign for the millions of nurses around the world. Tedros encouraged viewers to make a lot of noise, such as applauding, shouting or stamping their feet. He himself joined in with sustained applause.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) warned of new dangers * after Corona at the WHO annual conference.
“This pandemic has not yet been overcome;
and it won't be the last either, ”she explained in her video message, among other things.
In her address, Merkel suggested possible solutions.
(ph / dpa / afp) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubric lists: © Laurent Gillieron / dpa
