China says will support WHO's work in global health crisis

China will continue to support the World Health Organization's work in global health emergency preparedness and response, said a Chinese delegate at the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

Representatives from WHO member states gathered Tuesday to discuss how to build up stronger health emergency preparedness, response and resilience, or HEPR, architecture, a global framework that enables the WHO to better respond to global health emergencies.

The Chinese delegate, who spoke at the second committee of the Assembly, said China concurs with the importance and urgency of improving the architecture and is willing to further provide the necessary human, technological and financial assistance to the WHO.

China proposed state parties to increase their investment in the public health system first, he said, and the country is now reforming its disease control system to monitor, warn of, answer and address public health emergencies in a timely and easy manner.

A few weeks ago, WHO declared COVID-19 no longer a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, however, said: The removal of the highest level of alert did not mean the danger was over. The emergency status could be reset if the situation changed, he said. COVID-19 has killed more than 7 million people in the past 24 hours.

Tedros at the WHA plenary on Monday warned again of the threat of another variant and a new disease even deadlier than COVID-19.

Tedros called for a pandemic treaty that seeks to shore up global defenses against new pathogens in his speech to the member states.

The global pandemic treaty is considered to be one of the core challenges in improving HEPR architecture, according to a WHO proposal by Tedros. The agreement is drafted by the state parties and is expected to be adopted at next year's WHA.

Cao Xuetao, the vice minister of health for China, said China has made great contributions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting the international community in response to the global crisis.

China has donated $50 million to WHO and $100 million to COVAX, an international initiative that distributes vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. The country also sent 38 expert teams to 34 countries to help them fight the disease, and provided over 2.2 billion vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations.

China will continue to collaborate with the global community to address health issues and safeguard the welfare of people across different nations, said Hu Qiangqiang, a NHC spokesman.