Statement – Sign up to be part of a new culture of health, an economy of well-being

Statement on COVID-19 to diplomatic missions in Denmark by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe

7 July 2020

Good morning your Excellencies, welcome my dear colleague Dr David Nabarro, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure, as it has been a while, to be speaking to you once again, to all the ambassadors before some of you may go on leave.

Last week marked 6 months since WHO received the first reports of a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause. As of today, there have been over 10.7 million cases of what we now call COVID-19, and half a million people have tragically lost their lives to this virus. It is a health emergency that will leave a social and economic legacy for years to come.

However, on the positive side, the response by people and authorities has been monumental. Across the WHO European Region, the public health and social measures introduced in the spring have brought a fragile stability for the summer. Weekly cases of COVID-19 have fallen by 50%, and deaths by 87% since early April.

But let me repeat, the situation is fragile. Half of the countries in this Region have seen new cases increase by more than 10% over the past two weeks. Opening up our societies must not mean letting down our guard.

Once again, I have 3 messages to convey to you today.

• Stand firm and stay focused on what we know works to hold the virus at bay.
• Step in swiftly at the first suggestion of local surges.
• Sign up to be part of a new culture of health.

On my first message, to stay firm and stay focused: In the 6 months we have been fighting this virus, the cornerstone of the public health response has remained clear – to find, isolate, test and care for every person with COVID-19 or suspected of having it, and trace and quarantine every contact.

At home, at work, on holiday, every person must protect themselves and others. We must remember and repeat the golden rules of physical distancing, practising hand hygiene, covering coughs, staying home when sick, wearing masks when appropriate and getting information from reliable sources.

All of us, citizens and leaders, must keep focused on and committed to actively stopping the virus in its tracks.

Second, the virus has not gone away. It will exploit any crack in our defences. The localized surges we have seen across the Region are a clear indication that people’s behaviour determines how COVID-19 behaves.

With summer upon us, more socializing and travel and the return to school and workplaces will increase the risk of a COVID-19 resurgence in the weeks ahead. Additionally, an influenza season is approaching. Vaccinating people at high risk from influenza, and health-care workers, will go some way to reducing the burden on health systems that must also provide care to COVID-19 patients. Risk communications and community engagement are crucial.

Stay vigilant and act fast when clusters of COVID-19 cases occur and put flu prevention and control measures in place.

Your excellencies, my third message today is about building a better future. This pandemic has compounded the inequalities and divisions that are paralysing our societies and preventing progress on sustainable development.

And yet, our response in the coming months and years also provides us with an opportunity, a new chance to reconsider how we work together and the societies we want in the future. We must foster a more effective, integrated approach to health and well-being where health and economic recovery go hand in hand – a so-called economy of well-being. Health is not pitched against economy: no health means no economy.

In September, I will be putting the new European Programme of Work – the EPW – to the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region for endorsement. The 70th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe will take place virtually, in shortened form, on 14–15 September.

This ambitious EPW sets out a vision of how the WHO Regional Office for Europe can support countries in meeting citizens’ expectations about health. Currently, the EPW is open for consultation, with people and partners invited to share their feedback by 18 July. I hope I can count on your engagement and support to take its agenda forward.

Dear colleagues, many countries have done amazing things and shown amazing solidarity. I am pleased to inform you that tomorrow I will travel internationally for the first time since February. I will be in Turkey to sign a financial agreement for a new Regional Office centre of excellence on emergency preparedness, to participate in a scientific advisory board in Ankara, and to visit refugee camps close to the border with Syria.

This is at the core of the EPW – leaving no person and no country behind and maintaining direct contact with countries. Ultimately, we need to move to a culture of health to build a safer and fairer world.

Thank you.