RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 28. The world may face the same problem, as it was during the pandemic period, unless it speeds up the initiatives that have already been started, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said during the panel discussions held as part of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) annual meetings in Riyadh, Trend reports.
“The COVID-19 situation is now much better and emergency is over. Of course, that doesn't mean the virus is not around. The virus is around, but it's controlled and it's not an emergency. We're glad that the world is now back to normal.
But to be honest, we're not still ready and we're still vulnerable. We may face the same problem unless we speed up the initiatives that we have started. Especially, the pandemic agreement should be concluded by May this year, so we have a binding agreement to work together to prevent the same thing from happening and if it happens, to manage it without much impact,” he said.
WHO director general noted that there are three lessons learned from COVID-19.
“First, we have seen that our investment in public health and primary health care was actually weak. That's why even high income countries were surprised, because their investment was more in high technology, while the public health and primary health care was neglected. The second lesson is equity. COVID has exposed the unfairness of our world, the inequity of our world.
In the pandemic agreement we're trying for operationalizing equity, so we can prevent the same thing from happening again. The third lesson is politicization. If you remember, at national level, there was no national unity. Political parties were using COVID as a punching tool,” he added.
The Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) is holding its 2024 Annual Meetings and Golden Jubilee in Riyadh from April 27-30, under the Royal Patronage of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
The 2024 Annual Meetings are being held under the theme of “Cherishing our Past, Charting our Future: Originality, Solidarity and Prosperity”, which marks IsDB’s 50 years of fostering socio-economic development in its member countries.
Among other topics, the meetings will also feature roundtable on COP29 with participation of Azerbaijani government representatives.
As the premier South-South multilateral development Bank, the 2024 IsDB Group Annual Meetings and Golden Jubilee attracts international and regional attention.
The Annual Meetings feature a series of side events with top-level panelists from government, international and regional organizations, the private sector, academia, and civil society.
Ministers of Economy, Planning, and Finance from IsDB's 57 member countries are participating in the event, along with representatives of international and regional financial institutions, Islamic banks, private sector companies, national and international development finance institutions, international and regional organizations, NGOs, chambers of commerce & Industry, and business councils.