‘Paradigm shift’ needed in way WHO is funded, says director general

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says Covid pandemic has proven that health is an international issue'

The head of the World Health Organization has warned member countries that the UN's global health body is being set up to fail" without a paradigm shift" in the way that it is funded and supported.

In stark language delivered to the WHO's executive board, the organisation's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 5.5 million lives, had underlined the need to strengthen health systems as well as pandemic preparedness plans.