The World Health Organization on Monday asked China to share data and access to understand how Covid-19 started, five years after the start of the pandemic that upended the planet.
Covid-19 has killed millions of people, destroyed economies and destroyed health systems.
“We continue to call on China to share and access data so we can understand the origins of Covid-19. This is an ethical and scientific imperative,” the WHO said in a statement.
“Without transparency, sharing and cooperation between countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future outbreaks and pandemics.”
The WHO recounted how on December 31, 2019, its country office in China received a media statement from health authorities in Wuhan about cases of “viral pneumonia” in the city.
“In the weeks, months and years that followed, Covid-19 came to shape our lives and our world,” the UN health agency said.
“As we mark this milestone, let’s take a moment to honor the lives changed and lost, recognize those suffering from Covid-19 and Long Covid, let’s express gratitude to the health workers who have sacrificed so much to keep us take care and commit to learning from Covid-19 to build a healthier tomorrow.”
Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the question of whether the world was better prepared for the next pandemic than for Covid-19.
“The answer is yes and no,” he told a news conference.
“If the next pandemic arrived today, the world would still face some of the same weaknesses and vulnerabilities that gave Covid-19 a foothold five years ago.
“But the world has also learned many of the painful lessons the pandemic has taught us and has taken important steps to strengthen its defenses against future epidemics and pandemics.”
In December 2021, horrified by the devastation caused by Covid, countries decided to begin drafting an agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The 194 WHO member states negotiating the treaty have agreed on most of what it should contain, but are stuck on minutes.
A key rift lies between Western nations with major pharmaceutical industries and poorer countries that stand to be sidelined when the next pandemic hits.
While the outstanding issues are few, they include the heart of the deal: the obligation to quickly share emerging pathogens and then the pandemic-fighting benefits that come from them, such as vaccines.
The deadline for negotiations is May 2025.
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