“Nothing is hidden from the United States,” says WHO director-general of the Covid-19 pandemic | Coronavirus

Tedros said that since the organization works directly with members of the CDC (species of American Anvisa), some of them at the WHO itself, the entity never hid anything.

“The presence of CDC officials means that from day one nothing is hidden from the United States,” said the WHO director-general.

Last week, Trump announced that he would withdraw US funds from the organization, accused that the organization had withheld information from the United States about the severity of the pandemic. The next day, Tedros regretted the US president’s decision, but had not yet directly addressed the matter.

On Monday (20), during a press conference in Geneva, the WHO director-general said that, contrary to what Trump said, the organization reported on the danger of the disease from the beginning. Nearly 168,000 people have died in Covid-19 so far worldwide, according to monitoring by the American Johns Hopkins University. In the United States alone, there are more than 40,000 victims.

“We have warned, we have warned. From day one,” said Tedros.

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Tedros recalled, in his speech, his own origin to speak about the fight against the pandemic. First African to send to the WHO, he is Ethiopian and was born in Asmara, Eritrea (which later belonged to Ethiopia). Both countries are on the United Nations list of the least developed in the world.

Before coming to WHO in 2017, Tedros was Ethiopia’s Minister of Health and Foreign Affairs. As a child, he lost a younger brother, killed by an undiagnosed illness, possibly measles.

“This is a tragedy that is already affecting many families,” said the director general of the pandemic. “I see the tragedy that can happen to a family. I see and I know. I speak with first-hand experience. I know what it means to lose a brother in childhood. I can count all the tragedies I have seen. So we do not hide information.” he said.

“Let’s consider those who die as individuals. They are not numbers or statistics. You know where I come from. I know the war I know poverty. I know the disease I know how people suffer in our conditions. I know how they kill people because of poverty, “he said.

Tedros criticized the “political problem” that fuels the pandemic: “it is fueling the divisions among people. The solution we propose? We need national unity. Strong national unity. All fighting against this virus. Caring for our citizens, for real people. “He asked.

“Without national unity, without global solidarity, believe us, the worst is yet to come. Hundreds of thousands of people die seriously.”