WHO - 146th Executive Board - EU Statement: Item 15.2 - WHO's work in health emergencies

Mr. Chair,

Director-General,

Members of the Executive Board,

Colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Montenegro[*] and Albania[*], the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to WHO’s work in health and humanitarian emergencies, and its collaboration with Member States, UN Agencies and a broad range of international and local level actors across different sectors.

In 2019, WHO has coordinated the health and humanitarian response in 51 emergencies, in more than 40 countries and territories, for 65 million people in need for assistance. We encourage WHO to further strengthen its role as health cluster coordinator and to ensure that the cluster is an effective tool for joint analysis, response planning and priority setting.

WHO’s efforts to scale up support in emergencies are highly appreciated. We concur with the IOAC on the need to further improve these capacities, including psychosocial support for staff working in crises situations and the roll out of tools such as Go.Data. At the same time, it is crucial that WHO has a robust monitoring and control system in place and reports transparently to its membership about issues encountered. We further encourage strengthening risk management and mitigation measures. As part of the transformation, the capacities and skills of WHO country staff with regard to preparedness and emergency response should be enhanced.

Despite difficult circumstances, the Ebola response has yielded results in DRC. Preparedness capacities of the neighbouring countries have been significantly improved. The success with the development of vaccines and therapeutics for Ebola has demonstrated the value of global collaboration in R&D, including with the private sector.

Despite these successes, we remain highly alarmed by the increasingly complex settings in which WHO is operating, and which call upon the need to take further measures to guarantee the safety and security of health workers and health facilities, to enable an effective response, in line with obligations under international humanitarian law.

When it comes to the Novel Corona Virus, we would like to thank the Government of China for sharing outbreak information and epidemiological data. Cooperation at global level is of significant importance. It is of critical importance to avoid gaps in communication and that no region should be left behind. Ensuring that communities are engaged, well-informed and that they trust the response is also crucial in controlling an outbreak.

We are reminded of the importance of the IHR and the need for ensuring capacities for preparedness and response in all countries, as well as further improving international collaboration and existing mechanisms. The regional and national public health institutions and international networks, such as GISRS and GOARN, play a significant role. It is critical that the scientific community shares analyses WHO without undue delay, to enable real-time analyses of epidemics as they evolve.

We welcome the timely resolution on Strengthening Preparedness for Health Emergencies, bringing attention to the recommendations of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. We need to focus on sustained and adequate funding for preparedness, improving the capacity for surveillance, early warning and detection, strengthening emergency research capacities, and taking action to containing outbreaks before they become public health emergencies of international concern.

Furthermore, we wish to stress the importance of resilient health systems that are able to withstand the shock of health emergencies. We call on WHO to develop a horizontal approach at the intersection of health security and health systems, focusing on essential public health functions, primary health care and capacities for prevention, detection and response to health emergencies.

The EU and its Member States stand ready to support WHO and the international community in keeping the world safe.

Thank you.

[*] Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.