The World Health Organization urged countries to invest in getting their healthcare systems fit to fight the next pandemic rather than scrambling around in panic when it hits.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said investing now would save lives later, as the death toll from COVID-19 surged past 250,000.

"The COVID-19 pandemic will eventually recede, but there can be no going back to business as usual," he told a virtual briefing in Geneva.

"We cannot continue to rush to fund panic but let preparedness go by the wayside.

"As we work on responding to this pandemic, we must also work harder to prepare for the next one."

Tedros said the world spends around $7.5 trillion on health each year - almost 10 percent of global gross domestic product - but investing in preparation for emerging pathogens had been ignored for far too long.

He said not only was prevention better than cure, it also proved cheaper in the long run.

"If we learn anything from COVID-19, it must be that investing in health now will save lives later," he said.

"History will judge all of us not only on whether we got through this pandemic, but also on the lessons we learned and the actions we took once it was over."

Source: Gulf News

BDST: 1300 HRS, MAY 07, 2020
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