Five years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday renewed its call for China to share data and information to understand how the pandemic began.
The WHO urged China to provide access to data to help decipher the origins of Covid-19, calling it both a moral and scientific necessity. "Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation between countries, the world cannot adequately prepare for or prevent future epidemics and pandemics," stated the WHO in a press release.
The United Nations health agency recalled how, on 31 December 2019, its China office learned of a report from Wuhan health authorities regarding cases of "viral pneumonia" in the city.
"In the weeks, months, and years that followed, Covid-19 turned our lives and world upside down," the agency noted.
Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus questioned if the world is better prepared for a potential next pandemic.
"The answer is yes and no," he said during a press conference. "If a pandemic occurred today, the world would still face the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities that allowed Covid-19 to take hold and spread five years ago," he added.
"However, the world has also learned numerous painful lessons from the pandemic and has taken significant steps to bolster its defences against future epidemics and pandemics."
