As the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to circle the globe, nations look to a strong source that can help coordinate information and provide insight for all people. Under the leadership of the director-general, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been that trustworthy entity. Tracking, reporting, and coordinating COVID-19’s many aspects, WHO is a hub that allows public health officials worldwide to receive information in real time.   

“To slow the spread of COVID-19, many countries have introduced unprecedented measures, at significant social and economic cost—closing schools and businesses, cancelling sporting events, and asking people to stay home and stay safe," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, said in a March 25, 2020, media briefing. 

Recommendation 

WHO established crucial factors that help countries coordinate and move forward. The organization urged world leaders to implement programs with six key recommended actions: 

  • Expand, train, and deploy healthcare and public health workers.  

  • Implement a system to find every suspected case at community level.  

  • Ramp up the production, capacity, and availability of testing.  

  • Identify, adapt, and equip facilities to treat and isolate patients.  

  • Develop a clear plan and process to quarantine citizens.  

  • Refocus the whole of government to suppress and control COVID-19 transmission.  

Taking an aggressive approach will help stop the spread and flatten the pandemic’s curve. Outlining the vulnerable countries and those populations most at risk, the director-general called on every country to employ plans to curtail future outbreaks.   

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for compelling and creative communications about public health,” Ghebreyesus said.