By Asma’u Ahmad
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank Group on Thursday launched the joint Global Preparedness Monitoring Board to observe how ready the world is to tackle outbreaks and pandemics, the WHO said in a statement.
“The board will be co-chaired by Dr Gro Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and former WHO Director-General, and Mr Elhadj As-Sy, Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“It will include political leaders, heads of UN agencies and world-class health experts, serving in their individual, independent capacities,” the statement read.
The WHO noted that the board would not only monitor the situation but also prepare annual reports on the developments in this area.
“The board will monitor emergency preparedness across national governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector. It will report annually on adequacy of financing, progress on relevant research and development, and the strength of health crisis preparedness at the global, regional and national levels,” the
statement added.
The move has been made amid the recent Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The WHO has taken a number of steps to assist local authorities in containing Ebola, including via delivering vaccines and providing information and material support.
