WHO's Tedros says appointment of IPPR co-chairs expedited to prevent delays

The World Health Organisation's decision to appoint two co-chairs to the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR) has been expedited in order to prevent delays, the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on October 6. Speaking at WHO Board Executive session, the secretary-general revealed that he had already appointed the co-chairs in order to avoid delays in work. As per ANI, Former Liberian President and Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark have been chosen for the position.

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"I appointed the two co-chairs, that's it, then empowered the two co-chairs to select the rest of the panel, as reported today -- that makes the panel really independent -- and also to hire their own secretariat and to avoid also any influence from any donor," Tedros remarked.

IPPR created in July

The IPPR has created in July with an aim to analyse and evaluate global response to coronavirus pandemic. Speaking about the appointment, Ghebreyesus said that the two co-chairs were selected only after random and limited consultation with members states

"There were some concerns from a few member states ... about the selection of the two co-chairs, the first initial stage, especially with regard to consultation. One thing I'd like to share with you is there was consultation. But the consultation was not like with all 194 countries. It was random and limited ... Otherwise, selecting two people involving 194 countries could be very, very difficult. And we didn't want to delay the process also," Tedros stated.

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Separately, World Health Organization (WHO) said that at least one in 10 people may have been infected with deadly COVID-19, leaving the vast majority of the global population vulnerable to the disease. Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergency expert said that the Coronavirus outbreak was surging in parts of southeast Asia and that infections and fatalities were rising in parts of Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region.

Based on the current estimates, Ryan said, about 10% of the global population may have been infected by this virus, varying from country to country, putting the vast majority of the world remains at risk. He said the world is now heading into a difficult period as the disease continues to spread.

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(With inputs from ANI)

Image credits: AP