WHO warns world still unready

The World Health Assembly spent May 21 pushing member states to turn pandemic preparedness into operating policy, as officials in Geneva debated health emergencies, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance and universal health coverage. WHO’s annual gathering runs from May 18 to May 23 and comes days after the agency declared a public health emergency of international concern over Ebola caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. WHO said the assembly is discussing current and future public health priorities while outbreaks and funding strains test health systems. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said this week that Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks show the world still is not ready to protect everyone from the next major health emergency. ### Why is this warning landing during the Geneva meeting? Geneva is hosting the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly, WHO’s annual decision-making meeting for member states, from May 18 to May 23. WHO said delegates and experts are using the session to discuss public health priorities that include emergency preparedness, health financing and cross-border health management. (who.int) The May 21 WHO daily update showed how broad the agenda is. The assembly endorsed work on a post-2030 tuberculosis strategy, tied that effort to primary health care and universal health coverage, and continued work across the wider health-security agenda. WHO’s governing-body documents for the meeting also include an updated global action plan on antimicrobial resistance for 2026-2036 and reports on public health emergencies, the International Health Regulations and pandemic-agreement talks. (who.int) ### What exactly did Helen Clark warn about? Helen Clark said the recent Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks exposed gaps in the world’s ability to detect threats early, even if emergency response systems have improved since COVID-19. Reports from Geneva on May 20 quoted Clark saying countries that cannot manage known endemic risks are unlikely to detect and contain new pathogens quickly enough. (who.int) The UN’s coverage of the assembly linked that warning to two live emergencies. WHO opened the meeting one day after its chief declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, while the agency was also coordinating the response to a hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius. ### Why does “One Health” keep coming up in these discussions? (ndtvprofit.com) WHO defines “One Health” as an integrated approach that connects the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems. The framework is designed for threats that move across those boundaries, including zoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance and environmental pressures that can worsen outbreaks. The assembly’s agenda helps explain why that language is getting attention now. (news.un.org) WHO documents for WHA79 combine emergency preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, universal health coverage and broader health-system resilience in the same week of negotiations, and outside commentary around the meeting has framed One Health as a way to turn those parallel tracks into coordinated policy. That link is an inference from the agenda and WHO’s definition of One Health. (who.int) ### What is happening with the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak? WHO said it was alerted on May 5 to a high-mortality outbreak of unknown illness in Ituri Province in eastern DRC, including deaths among health workers. Laboratory analysis confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease on May 15, and the DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak the same day. Uganda also confirmed an outbreak after identifying an imported case from DRC in Kampala. (apps.who.int) On May 16, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus determined that the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in DRC and Uganda constituted a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations. WHO said response measures include rapid-response teams, medical supplies, surveillance, laboratory confirmation, infection-prevention assessments, treatment centers, community engagement and cross-border preparedness. (who.int) ### Why are health officials focusing on this strain? Bundibugyo virus has no licensed vaccine or specific therapeutics, according to WHO. The agency said past Bundibugyo outbreaks had case fatality rates ranging from 30% to 50%, making early supportive care and infection control especially important. WHO’s assembly continues through May 23 in Geneva, with live proceedings and roundtables available on the organization’s World Health Assembly page. (who.int) Governing-body documents show the next formal milestones include continued debate on the antimicrobial-resistance plan and later reporting to future assemblies in 2027, 2029 and 2031. (who.int)