Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.
Let me start by introducing our guests.
Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi.
Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid.
Dr. Bill Rodriguez, CEO of FIND.
And Dr. Juan Pablo Uribe, the Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank.
Welcome to our guests, thank you for joining.
Over the weekend, WHO released an update about cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin among children.
So far, at least 169 cases of acute hepatitis have been reported from 11 countries in Europe, and in the United States, in children aged from 1 month to 16 years.
Seventeen children – about 10 percent of the reported cases – have required liver transplants, and one death has been reported.
The symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, jaundice, severe acute hepatitis, and increased levels of liver enzymes.
The viruses that commonly cause acute viral hepatitis have not been detected in any of these cases.
Adenovirus has been detected in at least 74 cases, and this and other hypotheses are being explored.
WHO is working closely with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the affected countries, to support ongoing investigations, including additional lab testing.
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Also over the weekend, health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola, after a case was confirmed in Mbandaka, a city in the north-western Equateur Province of DRC.
A second case was confirmed today, in a relative of the first patient. Unfortunately, both patients have died.
WHO is supporting the government to scale up testing, contact tracing and public health measures.
Stockpiles of Ebola vaccines in Goma and Kinshasa are now being transported to Mbandaka so that vaccination can start.
The government and people of the DRC have a great deal of experience stopping Ebola outbreaks and WHO will support them to do whatever is needed.
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Now to COVID-19.
Globally, reported cases and deaths continue to decline, which is very encouraging and good news.
Last week, just over 15 thousand deaths were reported to WHO – the lowest weekly total since March 2020.
This is a very welcome trend, but it’s one that we must welcome with some caution.
As many countries reduce testing, WHO is receiving less and less information about transmission and sequencing.
This makes us increasingly blind to patterns of transmission and evolution.
But this virus won’t go away just because countries stop looking for it.
It’s still spreading, it’s still changing, and it’s still killing.
The threat of a dangerous new variant remains very real – and although deaths are declining, we still don’t understand the long-term consequences of infection in those who survive.
When it comes to a deadly virus, ignorance is not bliss.
WHO continues to call on all countries to maintain surveillance.
Last week, I had the honour to visit Nepal, and to discuss the impact of the pandemic with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and President Bhandari.
I saw how, with WHO support, Nepal has established genome sequencing in its National Public Health Laboratory, which will be key to identifying potential variants of SARS-CoV-2, as well as future pathogens.
I also had the honour of witnessing Nepal’s first typhoid vaccination campaign.
Nepal’s constitution says that basic healthcare is a fundamental right of every citizen, and it was a privilege to see that right in action – to meet the children who were vaccinated, their families and the amazing health workers.
And my appreciation also to Gavi and partners.
It was a great reminder of the power of vaccines to save lives – from COVID-19 and many other deadly diseases, including measles, meningitis, Ebola, polio and more.
This week is World Immunization Week – an opportunity to highlight the incredible power of vaccines, not just to save lives, but in the words of this year’s theme, to offer the opportunity of “A long life for all”.
But around the world, the pandemic has caused severe disruptions to routine immunization programmes, putting millions of children’s lives at risk, and opening the door to fresh outbreaks of measles and polio.
One of WHO’s priorities is supporting countries to conduct catch-up campaigns to protect as many children as possible, as fast as possible in partnership with Gavi.
Last week, I also had the honour of visiting India, where I met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
I also inaugurated the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine with Prime Minister Modi, which will help to harness the power of science to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine.
Both Nepal and India are getting closer to vaccinating 70 percent of their populations against COVID-19 by the middle of the year, and they’re also rolling out boosters to the most vulnerable.
As a result, both countries are now seeing a decoupling between cases and deaths.
This is the level of vaccination we need to see in all countries.
Almost 60 percent of the world’s population has now completed a primary course of vaccination, but only 11 percent of the population of low-income countries.
Closing this gap remains essential to ending the pandemic as a global health emergency.
And it’s not just vaccines.
On Friday, WHO recommended the antiviral combination nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, also known as Paxlovid, for patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 that are at high-risk of hospitalization.
This treatment helps prevent hospitalizations and is easy to administer.
However, several challenges are limiting its impact.
It is largely not available in the vast majority of low- and middle-income countries, and requires prompt and accurate testing before administration, within five days of symptom onset.
This is compounded by a lack of price transparency in bilateral deals made by the producer.
The persistent global gaps in access to tests, vaccines and treatments highlight why the ACT Accelerator remains crucial to the global response to COVID-19.
This week marks the second anniversary of the ACT Accelerator.
This unique partnership of governments, global health agencies, civil society and industry has many achievements to be proud of, as outlined in the ACT Accelerator Two-Year Impact Report, which was published today.
Together, we have enabled 40 countries to begin their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
We have helped to build the sequencing capacity in Southern Africa that first detected the Omicron variant.
And we have negotiated unprecedented deals with the world’s largest oxygen suppliers to increase access in more than 120 low- and middle-income countries.
In October last year, the ACT Accelerator launched a new Strategic Plan and Budget – and yet halfway through its current budget cycle, just over 10% has been funded.
The pandemic is not over, and neither is the work of the ACT Accelerator.
We recognize that we live in a world with multiple overlapping crises, and multiple demands for funding.
Governments can find plenty of money for tools that take lives; we call on all countries to invest in tools that save lives.
I’m pleased that next month, United States President Joe Biden will hold a Global COVID-19 Summit with world leaders, to maintain the high-level attention that this ongoing pandemic deserves.
It will take all countries, regardless of income level, to commit to steps that can bring the pandemic to an end, end inequities, save lives, prevent suffering, and help get economies back on track.
Today we’re honoured to be joined by leaders from four key partners in the ACT Accelerator, representing each pillar whom I introduced earlier:
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, who will speak on behalf of COVAX, the vaccines pillar;
Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid, on behalf of the therapeutics pillar;
Dr Bill Rodriguez, CEO of FIND, on behalf of the diagnostics pillar;
And Dr Juan Pablo Uribe, the Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank, on behalf of the health systems and response connector.
Thank you all for joining us, and thank you all for your partnership over the past two years.
Seth, let’s start with you. You have the floor.
[DR BERKLEY SPEAKS]
Thank you, Seth. Philippe, over to you.
[DR DUNETON SPEAKS]
Thank you, Philippe. Bill, over to you.
[DR RODRIGUEZ SPEAKS]
Thank you, Bill. And last but not least, Juan, over to you.
[DR URIBE SPEAKS]
Thank you, Juan, and my thanks once again to all of you, and to all our ACT partners. I assure you of WHO’s continued commitment to working with you to expand access to all the tools needed to bring this pandemic under control.
Fadela, back to you.