Review committee to start work on Covid-19 response: WHO

Geneva: The Review Committee of the International Health Regulations (IHR) will begin its work on Tuesday to evaluate the functioning of the IHR during the Covid-19 pandemic so far, chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

“The International Health Regulations is the most important legal instrument in global health security,” Xinhua news agency quoted WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as saying a virtual press conference on Monday.

“As a reminder, the review committee will evaluate the functioning of the IHR during the pandemic so far, and recommend any changes it believes are necessary.

“It will review the convening of the Emergency Committee, the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, the role and functioning of national IHR focal points, and will examine progress made in implementing the recommendations of previous International Health Regulations review committees,” Tedros added.

Depending on the progress made, he said, the committee may present an interim progress report to the resumed World Health Assembly in November, and a final report to the Assembly in May 2021.

According to the WHO’s website, the review committee is expected to hold its first meeting soon.

It will be co-chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The announcement comes as the number of global coronavirus cases has topped 27.2 million, while the deaths have increased to over 891,000.

As of Tuesday morning, the total number of cases stood at 27,002,224 and the fatalities rose to 882,053, according to the Johns Hopkins University.