Your Excellency Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Health and Family Welfare of India and Chair of the Executive Board,
Distinguished members of the Executive Board,
First of all, I would like to wish the Chair a very happy Diwali, and thank you for taking time away from your family and friends at this important time of year to chair today’s meeting.
I would also like to thank all members of the Executive Board for your work in preparing for and executing a very successful World Health Assembly last week.
Although we had hoped to hold the resumed WHA in person, this was not possible. Thank you for your flexibility in enabling a fully virtual WHA.
Together we have shown that with the aid of modern technologies, the work of the organization can continue even in the most extreme circumstances.
The Assembly adopted important resolutions on emergency preparedness, meningitis, neglected tropical diseases, epilepsy and other neurological disorders, immunization, cervical cancer, tuberculosis, healthy ageing, innovation and intellectual property, eye care and food safety – and declared 2021 the International Year of the Health Worker.
As you know, I also announced three new initiatives to further strengthen both national capacities and WHO’s efforts to support them.
First, the Universal Health and Preparedness Review;
Second, the Council on the Economics of Health for All;
And third, the idea of a new “biobank” for sharing pathogens and clinical samples.
We are now developing each of these concepts and we will shortly be sharing more information about how Member States can engage with them.
Although the pandemic has been a setback to our collective efforts to attain the “triple billion” targets and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, we in the Secretariat remain completely committed to supporting Member States to get back on track.
The new results framework, which was noted by the Assembly, and the “triple billion” dashboard will be important tools for keeping ourselves accountable.
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The Member States represented in this Executive Committee represent the full range of experiences with COVID-19.
Some of your nations have not yet recorded a single case, or a single death;
Some have had clusters of cases, but have avoided widespread transmission;
Some have had large outbreaks and have managed to bring them under control;
And some are still facing large outbreaks with sustained community transmission.
WHO remains committed to supporting countries in every scenario.
Last week we had encouraging news about vaccines.
And commitments to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator have now reached more than 5 billion U.S. dollars, thanks to new contributions from France, Spain, the Republic of Korea, the European Commission and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced at the Paris Peace Forum.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we knew that a vaccine would be essential for bringing the pandemic under control, which is why WHO proposed the ACT Accelerator.
But it’s important to emphasise that a vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them.
A vaccine on its own will not end the pandemic.
Initially, supply will be limited, so health workers, older people and other at-risk populations will be prioritised.
That will hopefully reduce the number of deaths and enable health systems to cope.
But that will still leave the virus with a lot of room to move.
Surveillance will need to continue;
People will still need to be tested, isolated and cared for;
Contacts will still need to be traced and quarantined;
Communities will still need to be engaged, and individuals will still need to be careful.
We still have a long road to travel, and you as our Executive Board have a vital role to play.
We look to you for guidance and advice on how we in the Secretariat can better support all Member States to break the chains of transmission and save lives.
Thank you once again for your service. We look forward to today’s discussion, and to working with you in the weeks and months ahead.
I thank you.