WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says lack of world unity a greater threat than virus – PerthNow

A lack of leadership is the biggest threat facing the world during the coronavirus pandemic, more so than the virus itself, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said in speech in Geneva this weekend.
Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was important for the world to come together to solve the problem of the coronavirus, which has ravaged the worlds economies since the start of the year and caused more than 500,000 deaths.
Its the lack of leadership and solidarity at the global and national levels (that the world needs to focus on), he said.
This is a tragedy that is forcing us to miss many of our friends, losing many lives. We cannot defeat this pandemic as a divided world.
How is it difficult for humans to unite to fight a common enemy thats killing people indiscriminately?
Are we unable to distinguish or identify the common enemy? Cant we understand that the divisions or the cracks between us actually are the advantage for the virus?
Together is the solution, unless we want to give the advantage to the enemy, to the virus, that has taken the world hostage, and this has to stop.
Some have noted the timing of the speech, which came after the Trump administration announced it would be withdrawing from the WHO and would break ties with the UN from July 2021.
Earlier this week longstanding German chancellor Angela Merkel told the European Union, where the virus has killed 100,000 people, that the pandemic revealed the weakness of leaders who used fact-denying populism to win votes.
Without naming names, Merkel said Europe should be careful not to slide back into nationalism, as it would lead to less coordination in the virus-control effort.
We are seeing at the moment that the pandemic cant be fought with lies and disinformation, and neither can it be with hatred and agitation, she said.
Fact-denying populism is being shown its limits.
In a democracy, facts and transparency are needed. That distinguishes Europe, and Germany will stand up for it during its presidency.”
12.7 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, including more than 3.3 million in the United States, 1.8 million in Brazil, and more than 800,000 in India.

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