DUBAI: The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged all governments in the world to depoliticize the pandemic situation and cooperate to accelerate the studies on locating the origins of the Covid-19 virus.
In a statement on Thursday, the WHO said the governments need to work together to develop a common framework for future emerging pathogens of pandemic potential.
WHO’s priority is for scientists to build on the first phase of studies, implement the recommendations outlined in the March 2021 report and accelerate scientific efforts on all hypotheses, the statement said.
“Searching for the origins of any novel pathogen is a difficult process, which is based on science, and takes collaboration, dedication and time,” it said.
The search for the origins of the virus is not and should not be an exercise in attributing blame, finger-pointing or political point-scoring, the statement reads.
“It is vitally important to know how the COVID-19 pandemic began, to set an example for establishing the origins of all future animal-human spillover events” the statement said.
“Building on what has already been learned, the next series of studies would include a further examination of the raw data from the earliest cases and sera from potential early cases in 2019. Access to data is critically important for evolving our understanding of science and should not be politicized in any way,” the statement said.
The International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO, is a new advisory group for WHO, which will be responsible for advising WHO on the development of a global framework to systematically study the emergence of future emerging pathogens with pandemic potential. For Covid-19, it will support the rapid undertaking of recommended studies outlined in the March 2021 report.
“By issuing an open call for nominations to SAGO, WHO is providing a transparent foundation for the new scientific advisory group that we expect all Member States will engage with. WHO hopes for continuity from previous missions to China for SARS-CoV-2, as well as other missions studying the origins of, for example, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, avian influenza, Lassa and Ebola,” he said.