In a plan expected to run between the months of February to April 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) says it needs Sh67.7 billion ($675 million) for preparedness and response to the novel coronavirus in countries considered at-risk.
“My biggest worry is that there are countries today that do not have systems in place to detect people who have contracted with the virus, even if it were to emerge. Urgent support is needed to bolster weak health systems to detect, diagnose and care for people with the virus, to prevent further human to human transmission and protect health workers,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said at a news conference in Geneva.
According to WHO, the objectives of the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) are to limit human-to-human transmission of the virus, especially in countries most vulnerable if they were to face an outbreak.
The plan is also said to identify, isolate and care for patients early, communicate critical risk and event information, minimize social and economic impact, and reduce the spread of the virus from animal sources, and address crucial unknowns.
“The effectiveness of outbreak response depends on preparedness measures put in place before the outbreaks strike. That is why we are seeking resources to safeguard the most vulnerable countries to protect people from the new coronavirus before it arrives on the doorstep,” said Dr Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.
Dr Tedros said Sh6 billion ($60 million) of the funds will be for WHO operations and the remainder for countries requiring assistance to guard against the deadly virus. The organization will send 500,000 masks and 40,000 respirators to 24 countries from its warehouses in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Accra in Ghana.
Last week, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced earlier on Wednesday a donation of Sh10 billion for testing, treatment and vaccine research for coronavirus. Five countries have confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, with 24,363 cases in China and 191 in all the other countries.
However, is the WHO program urgent? In 2017, The AP obtained documents showing that WHO has routinely spent about $200 million a year on travel expenses, more than what it doles out to fight some of the biggest problems in public health, including AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.
In a 2015 seminar on accountability, WHO finance chief Nick Jeffries said that WHO employees “can sometimes manipulate a little bit their travel.” He admitted that WHO couldn’t be sure that staff travel was booked cost-effectively, or was even warranted. Moreover, the $803 million WHO has paid for travel since 2013 doesn’t include costs often covered by host countries seeking to curry favor, yes all these are off WHO’s books.
WHO’s malfeasance has gone on for too long, with no accountability to U.S. taxpayers. But it’s the world’s poorest who have the most to lose.
