The World Health Organisation on Wednesday launched a new initiative to help strengthen countries’ ability to plan for and deal with another deadly pandemic like COVID-19.
WHO said the latest figures showed a huge fall in COVID deaths this year.
The guidance provides a joined-up approach for responding to the threat or arrival of any respiratory pathogen such as flu or the range of coronavirus, that has the ability to rapidly mutate into different variants.
The new Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Initiative, or PRET, incorporates the latest tools and approaches for shared learning and collective action established during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other recent public health emergencies, according to WHO.
WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said at a press briefing that the agency would launch its fourth Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SRP) next week since the first at the start of the COVID-19 emergency, in February 2020.
He said PRET answered the call for technical guidance, and support for promoting and strengthening integrated preparedness and response, as outlined in World Health Assembly resolutions.
