Good afternoon everybody, thank you for joining us on a Saturday.
Today I am going to break with tradition and start with a brief update on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Along with novel coronavirus, it is one of the many disease outbreaks that WHO is combatting around the world. At this moment, our Emergencies division is dealing with 216 ongoing events.
Since the start of February, there have been three cases of Ebola in the DRC. It is clearly too soon to celebrate while there are cases anywhere in DRC, because the risk of spread within the country and to neighboring countries remains very high. But we see a positive trend.
However, the progress deserves recognition. Despite ongoing security challenges, responders – the majority of whom are local people – have adapted and localized the response to increase its effectiveness and acceptance.
Side-by-side with improved therapeutics -- which are substantially decreasing mortality, as well as a safe and effective vaccine that has now been licensed -- the response has dramatically been strengthened over time and provides a preparedness blueprint to fight future Ebola and other disease outbreaks.
We must use the momentum in the DRC to finish off this Ebola outbreak and then look to the future by investing in building a strong and resilient health system that can quickly snuff out outbreaks in the future. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Government of the DRC for its leadership and to health workers and responders and all partners who have supported the fight against Ebola.
On the new coronavirus, here are the latest figures: As of earlier today, there were 34 598 confirmed cases in China, and 723 deaths.
Outside China, there were 288 cases in 24 countries, with 1 death.
I would also like to speak briefly about the importance of facts not fear in the new coronavirus outbreak. People must have access to accurate information to protect themselves and others.
While the virus spreads, misinformation makes the job of our heroic health workers even harder. It is diverting the attention of decision makers. And it causes confusion and spreads fear to the general public.
At WHO, we’re not just battling the virus; we’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response.
As a Guardian headline noted today, “Misinformation on the coronavirus might be the most contagious thing about it.”
However, WHO and partners are fighting back with a four-pronged approach.
First, we’re leveraging our existing network called EPI-WIN – which stands for WHO Information Network for Epidemics. The WHO’s risk communications and ‘infodemic’ management team actively trackmisinformation, in multiple languages,
Second, WHO’s ‘infodemics’ team is working hand in glove with our communications department to deliver information to a broader public audience.
This includes addressing rumors by publishing “myth busters” and Live Q&A interviews with experts -- on our website and social channels and through the media.
Third, we are also engaging with search, social and digital companies such as Facebook, Google, Tencent, Baidu, Twitter, TikTok, Weibo, Pinterest and others.
We are asking them to filter out false information and promote accurate information from credible sources like WHO, CDC and others. And we thank them for their efforts so far.
Finally, we are connecting with influencers, through Instagram and YouTube, among others, to help spread factual messages to their followers, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
In essence, to fight the flood of misinformation, we are building a band of truth-tellers that disperse fact and debunk myths.
Before concluding, I want to thank those donors who have made contributions in the past few days since we launched the US$675 million appeal to fuel the new coronavirus response.
It is really important to make sure that all activities of the response are adequately funded at WHO and key partners. Just to mention the donors so far and to thank them: the US, the UK, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Japan and the Wellcome Trust.
But the response requires more funding and we call upon all donors to please step up.
I thank you.