The World Health Organization\u2019s top emergency expert said on Monday that the world risked future pandemics if it suffered \u201camnesia\u201d and did not learn from the current coronavirus crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have seen the amnesia that seems to descend upon the world after a traumatic event, and that\u2019s understandable,\u201d Mike Ryan told a briefing in Geneva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut if we do this again like we did after SARS, like we did after H5N1, like we did after H1N1 pandemic, if we continue to ignore the realities of what emerging and dangerous pathogens can do to our civilization, then we are likely to experience the same or worse again within our lifetimes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan also took a swipe at developed nations, saying that northern countries had been running healthcare systems \u201clike low-cost airlines\u201d and that the world was paying for that now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the north, because of the cost model for health systems, we have designed our health systems to be delivered at 95%, 98%, at 100% efficiency. It\u2019s almost like a low-cost airline model for health service delivery,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, we\u2019re paying a price for that now, not having that extra-surge capacity built into the system — seeing health as a cost centre in our economy, seeing health as a drain on development, as dragging back the economy, and we need to re-address what that means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also urged countries not to politicize the hunt for the origins of the new coronavirus, saying that would only create barriers to learning the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to know the origin of this virus because it can help us to prevent future outbreaks,\u201d Tedros said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is nothing to hide. We want to know the origin, and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, which has accused China of hiding the extent of the outbreak and the Geneva-based global health body of being too close to Beijing, has criticised the terms of a WHO-led international investigation into the origin of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chinese state media have said the virus existed abroad before it was discovered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, citing the presence of coronavirus on imported frozen food packaging and scientific papers saying it had been circulating in Europe last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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