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World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday the leaders of the G-20 nations have the ability to end the COVID-19 pandemic now, if they make the political and financial commitments to do so.
Speaking at his usual COVID briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Tedros announced a new strategy for the WHO-managed global Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT), which calls for a $ 23.4 billion international investment to solve inequities in global vaccines, tests and treatments.
Tedros noted that the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths increased this week for the first time in two months, driven by an ongoing surge in Europe that outweighs declines in other regions. He said it is another reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
With the G-20 - the grouping of the world's 20 largest economies - meeting in Rome Saturday, the WHO chief said the world is at a decisive moment, "requiring decisive leadership to make it safer." He called on the G-20 to fully fund the ACT programs and take additional steps to prevent future pandemics.
He said, "Together, these countries have the ability to make the political and financial commitments that are needed to end this pandemic, and to prevent future crises."
Regarding the COVID surge in Europe, the WHO noted it was the only region in the world to show an increase in cases and deaths over the past week - for the second week in a row. The agency says Europe reported 1.6 million new cases and 21,000 deaths during the seven-day period, increases of 18 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
The United States recorded nearly 513,000 new cases during the same period, the most of any individual nation, although it was a 12 percent decrease from the previous week, and more than 11,600 deaths. The United Kingdom had the second highest number of new cases with 330,465, an increase of 16 percent, while Russia posted 248,956, a rise of 15 percent.