WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the 71st session of the Regional Committee for Europe

Your Royal Highness, Crown Princess Mary,

Your Excellency Ogerta Manastirliu, Minister of Health of Albania, and President of the Regional Committee,

Honourable ministers and heads of delegation,

Dr Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe,

Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

Good morning to all of you.

I thank Your Royal Highness for your continued support for the work of WHO in Europe.

I deeply regret that for the second year, we are not able to meet in person. But I hope that we will be able to next year.

Whether we can or not is up to us. It's in our hands - we have all the tools to stop transmission and save lives: effective public health and social measures; rapid, accurate tests; life-saving oxygen; and vaccines.

We know what works. But the pandemic is still with us because globally, we have not put that knowledge to work.

Increased mixing and mobility, premature abandonment of public health and social measures, the emergence of more transmissible variants, and the inequitable distribution of vaccines, are all driving transmission and deaths.

It seems that some countries have decided that thanks to vaccines, the pandemic is over. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Vaccines are a powerful tool that will help to bring the pandemic under control, once we have reached a sufficiently high level of coverage globally.

But we're not there yet. And in the meantime, every country must continue with a comprehensive, risk-based approach of tailored public health and social measures, in combination with early clinical care and equitable vaccination.

It's not vaccines only - it's vaccines and.

One year ago, we were still waiting for, and hoping that, a safe and effective vaccine would be developed, and that if it was, it would be available equitably to all countries.

The first part of that hope was realized - the development and approval of several safe and effective vaccines in record time has given the world real hope of bringing the pandemic under control.

But the shocking inequity in the global distribution of vaccines is a stain on our collective conscience.

More than 5.5 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally, but almost 80% of those have been in high- and upper-middle income countries.

WHO's global targets are to support every country to vaccinate at least 10% of its population by the end of this month, at least 40% by the end of this year, and 70% of the world's population by the middle of next year.

I'm pleased that in Europe, almost 90% of Member States have reached the 10% target, and 60% of countries have already reached the 40% target. This is the region with the highest vaccination rates in the world.

But other regions need your support. That's why I have called for a global moratorium on booster doses until at least the end of the year, to allow us to achieve our global vaccination targets.

A small number of immunocompromised people may need third doses. But we do not want to see widespread use of boosters for healthy people when so many health workers and at risk-people around the world are still waiting for their first dose.

The fastest way out of this pandemic for all of us is to vaccinate the most at-risk people in all countries, while working to minimize the spread of the virus. The longer vaccine inequity persists, the more opportunity the virus has to circulate and change into variants that could potentially evade vaccines.

I'm also concerned by reports that some European countries are refusing entry to people who have received a vaccine that has WHO Emergency Use Listing, but which has not been approved by their own national regulator or the European Medicines Agency.

This is creating more chaos, confusion and discrimination, with some countries even refusing to use certain vaccines because of concern their citizens will be denied entry to other countries.

WHO Emergency Use Listing follows a rigorous process based on internationally recognized standards. All vaccines that have received WHO Emergency Use Listing are safe and effective in preventing severe disease and death, including against the Delta variant.

We thank those countries that recognize all vaccines with WHO Emergency Use Listing, and we call on all countries to do the same.

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Excellencies,

Even as we work to end the pandemic, we must learn the lessons it is teaching us, and your agenda this week reflects many of those lessons.

The pandemic is a powerful demonstration of the importance of primary health care as the foundation of both global health security and universal health coverage.

COVID-19 has also reminded us of the power of immunization.

And it is has reminded us that there is no health without mental health.

So I welcome the agenda items on each of those topics that you will consider at this meeting.

I also welcome the report of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development, and especially its focus on integrating a truly One Health approach.

I thank the former Prime Minister of Italy, Professor Mario Monti, and the other members of the commission for their work, and I look forward to hearing more about the Reginal Committee's discussion and response. Grazie mille, Professor.

Their findings and recommendations of this report have much in common with those of the other reports and reviews of the global response to the pandemic.

There are hundreds of recommendations and proposals to sort through. Our collective challenge now is to come to a global consensus about the way forward.

Inaction is not an option. If we fail to prepare now for future epidemics and pandemics, we are preparing to fail.

Whatever structures and mechanisms emerge, WHO believes they must be grounded in these core principles:

They must have the engagement and ownership of all countries;

They must be multisectoral, involving partners from across the One Health spectrum;

They must be linked to, and aligned with, the constitutional mandate of WHO, rather than creating parallel structures;

They must ensure coherence with the International Health Regulations and other international instruments;

And they must be accountable and transparent.

Reflecting these principles, we see four critical areas for action.

First, we need better global governance.

The existing global health security architecture is complex and fragmented, and voluntary mechanisms have not led to the level of commitment and action required.

The vaccine crisis illustrates the fundamental weakness at the root of the pandemic: the lack of global solidarity and sharing - sharing of information and data, biological samples, resources, technology and tools.

New governance mechanisms are needed, supported by high-level political engagement and legally-binding instruments that are inclusive, coherent and accountable.

That's why I believe a treaty or other international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response will provide a much-needed overarching framework for global cooperation, setting the rules of the game, and enhancing solidarity among nations.

An every-nation-for-itself approach did not work this time, and it won't work next time.

We seek the support of all European Member States for this important initiative at the Special Session of the World Health Assembly in November.

Second, we need more and better financing for national and global preparedness and response.

Cycles of panic and neglect have contributed to unstable international financing for global health security, with catastrophic consequences.

The current financing ecosystem of pandemic preparedness and response is insufficient in scale, complex, fragmented and inefficient, and does not ensure equity.

We need a substantial increase in domestic investment, including for primary health care, as well as in international financing to strengthen capacities in low- and lower-middle income countries, and to finance global goods such as vaccines.

This financing must be truly additional, predictable, equitable, aligned with national, regional and global priorities and plans.

A mechanism financed solely from voluntary development assistance will only increase competition for already scarce resources.

Crucially, any financing facilities must be built using existing financial institutions, rather than creating new ones that further fragment the global health architecture.

Third, we need better systems and tools, across the One Health spectrum.

Already, WHO has taken steps to start building some of those tools.

In September, I was honoured to join Chancellor Angela Merkel to open the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin, a new centre designed to foster greater sharing of data and information between countries and to improve global surveillance for epidemics and pandemics by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other cutting-edge technologies.

Other initiatives are in development, including the WHO BioHub, a new facility in Switzerland for storing and sharing pathogens, and the Universal Health and Preparedness Review, a new peer-review mechanism for enhancing national preparedness modelled on the Universal Periodic Review used by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Recently, the Secretariat also announced the establishment of a permanent International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO, to establish a more systematic way of identifying the source of new outbreaks.

As you know, we have shared the draft terms of reference with Member States, and have issued an open call for experts to join SAGO. We urge experts from Europe to apply.

I wish to emphasise that SAGO is not only about the next phase of studies into the origins of SARS-CoV-2; it is a long-term initiative to support studies into the origins of all future emerging pathogens. We are institutionalizing this.

And fourth, we need a strengthened, empowered and sustainably financed WHO at the centre of the global health architecture.

With 194 Member States and 152 country offices, WHO has a unique global mandate, unique global reach and unique global legitimacy.

But over several decades, it has been progressively weakened by a debilitating imbalance between assessed and voluntary, earmarked contributions that distort our budget and constrain our ability to deliver what our Member States expect of us.

Redressing this imbalance is critical if WHO is to be the independent and authoritative institution the world needs it to be.

Currently, only 16% of our funds come through assessed contributions. Adjusted for inflation, our assessed contributions today are 340 million US dollars less than they were in the 1980s.

And of WHO's remaining funds, about 80% now are earmarked.

The situation was the exact opposite in the 1980s, with more than 80% assessed contributions and with less than 20% voluntary contributions.

This imbalance means we cannot do the long-term programming at the country level that the biggest health challenges require.

It also means we have an over-reliance on consultants and temporary contracts, which destabilizes our workforce and makes it difficult for us to train and retain the experts we need.

I thank those Member States that have engaged in the Member State Working Group on Sustainable Finance, which will make its recommendations to the Executive Board in January. I would like to thank Björn Kümmel for his leadership.

Just as we have a historic opportunity to transform global preparedness and response, so we have a historic opportunity to transform the funding model for WHO. This is something only you can do as Member States.

Of course, you are right to expect accountability for the resources you give us. We welcome that, and have already taken substantial steps to deliver it. And as your Secretariat, we are committed to further improvements to make WHO the modern, agile, impact-focused organization you want, and you need.

We started our transformation even before COVID, but we have to do more.

Sustainable and predictable funding is one of seven areas in which we have been working for more than four years as part of the WHO Transformation.

The Transformation is anchored in 40 core initiatives that are designed to enable a more agile, results-focused WHO, which you can track with our online Transformation Monitoring tool.

When the crisis hit, our reconfigured business, partnership and external relations functions were immediately tasked to operate at scale.

Our new Science Division established a fast-track review mechanism to ensure the timeliness, coherence and quality of all WHO guidance.

The new WHO Emergency Preparedness and Response divisions have supported pandemic efforts around the world, including, under this new operating model, by co-leading the Supply Chain Task Force.

And as part of our more expansive approach to partnerships, we established the ACT Accelerator, which has distributed vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and PPE all over the world.

In the wake of the pandemic and the external evaluation of the WHO Transformation, we plan to undertake a stocktake before the end of the year to identify next steps.

The evaluation recommended we pay particular attention to transformation at the country level. In that regard, I welcome the European Region's country office functional review process, which will provide essential inputs for WHO's country-level transformation efforts around the world.

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Excellencies,

With the UN General Assembly in September, the G20 Summit in October and the Special Session of the World Health Assembly in November, the next three months will be a critical period for shaping the future of pandemic preparedness and response.

We must seize the moment. In the coming months and years, other crises will demand our attention, and distract us from the urgency of taking action now. If the world continues down the same path, it will continue to get the same result, which is a world that is less healthy, less safe and less fair.

WHO is committed to supporting each of your countries to respond to the pandemic, and to build forward better.

I would like to leave you with four specific requests:

First, we seek your commitment to stay the course with a comprehensive, risk-based approach to preventing transmission and saving lives.

Second, we seek your support for WHO's vaccination targets, in Europe and around the world, by swapping near-term vaccine deliveries with COVAX; by fulfilling your dose-sharing pledges immediately; and by facilitating the sharing of technology, know-how and intellectual property to support regional vaccine manufacturing.

Third, we seek your support for the idea of a treaty or other international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response.

And fourth, we seek your support for building a stronger WHO that is empowered and financed sustainably.

Thank you all once again for your hard work and support for WHO at this critical time.

And we look forward to your continued support as we work together to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank the President of Kyrgyzstan, the Prime Minister of Slovenia and senior officials from San Marino and Russia for joining us today.

Thank you.

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