WHO urges governments to invest in public health as global COVID-19 case count climbs above 27 million

The World Health Organization (WHO) is pleading with governments around the globe to invest in public health after the worldwide number of reported COVID-19 cases climbed above 27 million.

According to data available on WHO’s website, there were 265,818 new cases of the coronavirus reported to them in the past 24 hours, bringing the worldwide total number of cases since Dec. 30 to 27,032,617.

India recorded the highest number of new infections of anywhere in the world, reporting 90,802 new cases in the last 24 hours, breaking its own record, which it set yesterday, for the highest single-day increase of new cases ever reported by one country.

The United States reported 45,350 new cases, the second most of any nation, followed by Brazil, which reported 30,168 new cases in the past 24 hours.

India, Brazil, and the United States, which are routinely reporting more than 30,000 new cases a day, accounted for 62 per cent of all new cases reported within the past 24 hours.

The number of new cases has surged in recent weeks, particularly in India, which has routinely reported more than 50,000 new cases a day throughout August and early September. This time last month, there were just 19 million cases reported worldwide.

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During a media briefing on Monday, WHO’s director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the coronavirus pandemic is teaching the world some hard lessons and urged countries to invest in their own public health systems.

“COVID-19 is teaching us many lessons. One of them is that health is not a luxury item for those who can afford it, its a necessity and a human right,” he said. “Public health is the foundation of social, economic, and political stability. That means investing in population-based services for preventing, detecting, and responding to diseases.”

Despite advances in medicine, Tedros warned that far too many countries have neglected to invest in their own basic public health systems, which he said are critical and necessary to effectively respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

“Part of every country’s commitment to build back better must therefore be to invest in public health, as an investment in a healthier and safer future,” he said.

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Tedros cited Thailand, which has reported less than 3,500 cases of COVID-19, as an example of a country that has benefited from years of regular investment into its public health system.

“Thailand is reaping the benefits of 40 years of health system strengthening,” he said. “A robust and well resourced medical and public health system, allied with strong leadership informed by the best available scientific advice, a trained and committed community workforce, with one million village health volunteers, and consistent and accurate communication have built trust and increased public confidence and compliance.”

Uruguay has reported a total 1,669 cases of COVID-19, the lowest of any nation in Latin America. Tedros said the fact that the South American country has the lowest total number of reported COVID-19 cases and the lowest number of cases on a per capita basis in Latin America is no accident.

“Uruguay has one of the most robust and resilient health care systems in Latin America, with sustainable investment based on political consensus on the importance of investing in public health,” he said.

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Tedros, during his address to the media, also talked about the important steps a handful of countries took early on in the pandemic, specifically praising the efforts of Cambodia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain and Vietnam.

“Many of these countries have done well because they learned lessons from previous outbreaks of SARS, MERS, measles, polio, Ebola flu and other diseases,” he said. “That’s why it is vital that we all learn the lessons that this pandemic is teaching us.”

Tedros also credited Italy for making hard decisions that saved lives, praised Mongolia for acting quickly by activating its state emergency committee in January, and highlighted Mauritius for taking quick and divisive action early on in the pandemic.

“Mauritius has a high population density, with high rates of non-communicable diseases and many international travellers, which meant it was at high risk,” he explained. “But quick comprehensive action in January by Mauritius, and previous experiences with contact tracing, paid off.”

Germany has responded well to the pandemic but has also its challenges and is still learning lessons, according to Tedros. He said, however, that he was pleased with a recent announcement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the government will invest €4 billion ($6.1 billion Canadian) into the public health by 2026.

“I call on all countries to invest in public health and especially in primary health care and follow Germany’s example,” he said.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic won’t be the last pandemic in human history said Tedros, adding that when the next pandemic comes, the world must be far more ready than it was with the coronavirus.

“It’s vital that we all learn the lessons this pandemic is teaching us,” he said.

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Editors note: The World Health Organization has previously stated that information published on its website can be different from information published by an individual country’s public health authority or another reporting source such as John Hopkins University for various reasons such as data cut-off times.

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