The World Health Organization opened in Berlin on Wednesday a center for research and early detection of epidemics with the aim of “better responding to health emergencies.”
The center was inaugurated by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“The world must be able to detect new events that may lead to a pandemic and monitor disease control measures,” Gebresus explained. real-time planning for effective epidemiological and disease risk management.”
The COVID-19 pandemic, he says, has shown that a “great leap forward in data analysis” must be made.
He added, “The virus travels quickly, but scientific data can transmit faster. With the right information, countries can anticipate emerging risks and save lives.”
This center, which is partially funded, will collect From Germany, experts in various fields of specialization are based in Berlin and put the latest technology at their service, the WHO said. Data around the world will also be collected and stored in this center.
“Research results should be shared with all countries,” Merkel said, stressing that the current epidemic “showed what we can achieve when we work together.”
For his part, Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Program at the World Health Organization, said in a statement: “Despite decades of investment, the Covid-19 epidemic has revealed significant gaps in the world’s ability to predict, detect, assess and respond to epidemics that threaten world population”.
