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27 January 2023

Note for journalists: Below are the remarks of WHO's Director-General today at the 14th session of the Emergency Committee on COVID-19 pandemic, which has been meeting every three months since January 2020. The Emergency Commitee is expected to issue a statement on its advice after its deliberations conclude.

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the 14th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee on COVID-19 pandemic

27 January 2023

Professor Houssin, members and advisors of the Emergency Committee, dear colleagues and friends,

This coming Monday marks three years since I made the determination, based on your advice, that the outbreak of a previously unknown coronavirus constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Today, you meet for the 14th time to assess the evidence and advise me on whether, in your view, that remains the case.

As we enter the fourth year of the pandemic, we are certainly in a much better position now than we were a year ago, when the Omicron wave was at its peak, and more than 70 thousand deaths were being reported to WHO each week.

When you last met in October, the number of weekly reported deaths was near the lowest since the pandemic began – less than 10 thousand a week.

However, since the beginning of December, the number of weekly reported deaths globally has been rising.

In addition, the lifting of restrictions in China has led to a spike in deaths in the world’s most populous nation.

Last week, almost 40 thousand deaths were reported to WHO, more than half of them from China.

Today we will update our COVID-19 dashboard to incorporate cases and deaths reported by China in recent weeks.

In total, over the past eight weeks, more than 170 thousand deaths have been reported. The actual number is certainly much higher.

Vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics have been critical in preventing severe disease, saving lives and taking the pressure off health systems and health workers.

But the global response remains hobbled because in too many countries, these powerful, life-saving tools are still not getting to the populations that need them most – especially older people and health workers.

Many health systems around the world are struggling to cope with COVID-19, on top of caring for patients with other diseases including influenza and RSV, and with work shortages and fatigued health workers.

At the same time, surveillance and genetic sequencing have declined dramatically around the world, making it more difficult to track known variants and detect new ones.

And public trust in the safe and effective tools for controlling COVID-19 is being undermined by a continuous torrent of mis- and disinformation.

My colleagues will provide more information on the global situation and the global response.

My thanks once again to you, Professor Houssin, for your leadership.

And my thanks to each of the committee members and advisors for sharing your expertise, and for your dedication and commitment.

As always, the International Health Regulations will guide your deliberations.

I look forward to your advice.

I thank you.

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