Of Course They Did

According to an interim report by the World Health Organization on the performance of the World Health Organization, the World Health Organization has done a bang-up job in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 11-page report covering January to April, released Wednesday, is a classic example of why you don’t let organizations investigate themselves.

The “Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the WHO Health Emergencies Program” that wrote the report has seven members, all appointed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

One of them is also Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam.

Tedros has been criticized for cheerleading for China’s government throughout the pandemic, failing to realize the seriousness of the coronavirus until it was too late because the WHO relied on China’s data without independent verification, and refusing to criticize China for initially hiding the crucial fact COVID-19 was spreading by human transmission.

But the WHO report praises Tedros and never criticizes China. Under Tedros, it says, the WHO’s “response to COVID-19 was faster” than for previous epidemics.

Tedros “reached out to public health experts to review the situation on a daily basis and seek independent advice in formulating the response strategy” and “numerous new initiatives have been put in place with various stakeholders …”

As a result, “The leadership role of WHO within the United Nations in global health emergencies has been strengthened through the COVID-19 pandemic”, because Tedros and senior staff “demonstrated leadership and … made important progress in (their) COVID-19 response” through “dedication and hard work.”

The report doesn’t mention China’s secretive handling of the outbreak during its crucial early weeks when it might have been contained in Wuhan — including arresting and intimidating doctors who were telling their colleagues and the world the truth, that what we now call COVID-19 was spreading by human transmission.

Instead, according to the WHO report: “The virus was sequenced with great speed, and the WHE (World Health Emergency) Program began providing updates and guidance to WHO Member States almost immediately.