The COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned for the WHO European Region

A living document - version 1.0, 15 September 2020

Although it is too soon for a comprehensive and critical evaluation of the support provided to countries and areas during the pandemic, the measures put in place by countries and areas, and the evaluation of these measures with a view to reassessing the status of countries’ IHR core capacities, this document provides a starting point for regional discussions on how to improve preparedness for and response to future events, and “build back better”. The following broad lessons are based on ongoing intra-action reviews in countries and areas, focus group discussions among WHO teams, and the companion document, A timeline of WHO’s response to COVID-19 in the WHO European Region (version 1.0) (document EUR/RC70/Inf.Doc./7).