Opening remarks by WHO Director-General at a media briefing with Svenja Schulze, German Minister

for Development — January 24, 2022

The WHO Director-General welcomed Minister Schulze. Germany is a long close friend and partner of
WHO, and it is now the organization's largest donor

January 24, 2022- WHO Director - General have a press conference with Minister for Economic
Corporation and Development Svenja Schulze. World Health Organization (WHO) was grateful to the
Germany's leadership and uwavering support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its efforts
to forge a stronger multilateral health system, with a strong WHO at the center . Dr Tedros was
honoured to join former chancellor Angela Merkel to open the WHO Hub for pandemic and epidemic
intelligence in Berlin,which will play a vital role in fostering greater sharing of data and information
between countries and he look forward to work with chancellor Angela to achieve these ambitious and
criticals.

According to Dr.Tedros, Germany's newly adopted G7 presidency program includes an admirable

commitment to equitable distribution of vaccines and other COVID-tools to help end the pandemic;
support for health system strengthening in low-income countries; and strengthening the global health
architecture, which includes securing reliable and sustainable funding for WHO. Germany's support for
mRNA vaccine manufacturing in Africa complements WHO's efforts to develop self-sufficiency in vaccine
production capacity. This is a wise investment in global health security that has the potential to benefit
underserved communities significantly.All of this demonstrates Germany's forward-thinking approach,
which is based on partnership, solidarity, and multilateralism.

He explaining that The COVID-19 pandemic is now in its third year, and we are at a crossroads. We must
all work together to bring this pandemic's acute phase to a close. We cannot allow it to continue
lurching between panic and neglect. We predicted vaccine inequity because our experience with HIV,
the H1N1 flu pandemic, and other global health challenges taught us that market forces alone will not
achieve equity.

On the other hand, They set up the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and its COVAX pillar.
ACT-A is a historic global partnership that we launched at the start of the pandemic to bring together a
diverse group of partners and stakeholders to accelerate the development and equitable distribution of
diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. ACT A financing, going above and beyond in its support for life-
saving tools such as testing, oxygen, and personal protective equipment (PPE).The ACT Accelerator and
COVAX have the potential to alter the course of this pandemic.

In conclusion