Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, delivered a keynote video address at Omnia Health Live in which he stressed the need to build a better world with the global healthcare industry playing a critical role in its development.
Speaking on Tuesday, he highlighted the broader impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, underlining that the crisis touches on all areas of society, and that it will be long-lasting:
We’re now 6 months into the defining health crisis of our times.
More than 8.4 million cases have been reported to the WHO.
More than 150,000 have lost their lives.
The situation is improving in some countries, globally it’s worsening.
For the last 2 weeks, more than 100,000 cases have been reported daily.
It’s so much more than a health crisis. Millions have lost their jobs. The global economy is headed for the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression. The political, economic and social effect of the pandemic will be felt for years to come.
The health industry has never been more important.
The pandemic has told us that health is not a luxury item, but a human right and the foundation for social and economic development.
We learned the hard way that health is central to everything.
The health industry will play an essential role in creating a healthier, safer and fairer world we all want.
We should be all in this together.