WHO and the Covid-19 Pandemic

What did the leader of the World Health Organization know and when did he know it?

First, let’s look at some background information about the World Health Organization and it current director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

What is the mission of the World Health Organization (WHO)?  According to its charter it is supposed to “aim for the attainment by all peoples of the highest standard of health.”  It’s object is “to improve peoples’ lives and reduce the burden of disease,” and it is supposed to be the “coordinating authority on international health.” However, regarding the coronavirus pandemic it has failed miserably in its stated objectives. Much of the responsibility for this failure can be laid at the feet of its current Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.  He is not a physician though he has a master’s degree in immunology and PhD in community health from colleges in Great Britain. He is Ethiopian and served as minister of health in Ethiopia from 2005-2012 and then minister of foreign affairs for Ethiopia from 2012-2016 following which he became Director General of the World Health Organization in 2017. It should be noted that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who apparently according to Ethiopian tradition prefers to be addressed as “Tedros,” won the election for Director General of the World Health Organization largely because of the support of China which may explain why the WHO has seemingly become a tool of China in regard to the current coronavirus pandemic. It should be noted that the U.S., Canada and the UK supported British physician, Dr. David Nabarro for this position. The U.S. has been by far the largest financial supporter of the WHO for decades.

Tedros’ tenure as Director General of the WHO and before that as health minister for Ethiopia has not been without controversy.  The most recent of which has been his handling of the coronavirus pandemic (see below). While minister of health in Ethiopia he was accused by some of his country men of covering up Cholera epidemics. The organization “Human Rights Watch” also criticized Tedros during his campaign for the Who Director General position accusing him of being a proponent of an authoritarian regime in Ethiopia that persecuted its political opponents (Tedros). At one time he appointed Zimbabwe dictator Roger Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador for WHO. His appointment of a Russian to head WHO’s tuberculosis program was also regarded as controversial because of Russia’s poor history of tuberculosis management. Putting aside some of the controversial issues regarding his tenures as health minister and foreign affairs minister for Ethiopia, let’s focus in on how his actions concerning the coronavirus led to a worldwide pandemic.

How WHO’s Actions Promulgated  the Coronavirus Pandemic.

To do so Let’s look at the timeline beginning when the virus first arose in China.

• Various reports suggest that the first case arose in Wuhan, China in early December or perhaps as early as November
• December 30, 2019 an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital alerted other physicians about the emergence of a SARS like illness. He was subsequently detained by police. Reports indicate that China also took measures to prevent information about the human to human transmission of the disease from being disseminated by people in its medical and scientific communities.
• In late December 2019 the Wuhan Health Commission reported 27 cases of viral pneumonia.
• On December 31 the Taiwan government contacted WHO and expressed its concern that that there was human to human transmission of this virus. WHO ignored this report in deference to China because Taiwan is not an official member of the WHO and China does not acknowledge Taiwan’s independence. 
• January 1, 2020 Wuhan official close the Hunan wet market in an apparent attempt to blame the wet market as the source of the infection as opposed to the virology lab in Wuhan. We now know that it is much more likely that the virus somehow escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology either accidentally (or intentionally if  you suspect that China has some ulterior motives).
• Beginning in January  2020 China begins a campaign to acquired more medical supplies in anticipation of the pandemic occurring.
• By January 14 the WHO is still reporting that investigations by the Chinese found no clear evidence of human to human transmission. This is the official position that the Chinese maintained until January 21 in spite of protests to the contrary by some of its own physicians and scientists. However, internal documents obtained by Associated Press indicate that Chinese officials knew a pandemic was occurring much earlier (AP) .
• The Chinese New Year was on January 25th. Many Chinese returned to Wuhan in January to celebrate the holiday after which they returned back to various parts of the world where they were living and working carrying the virus back with them to be disseminated throughout the world.
• Jan 23 China puts Wuhan in lockdown. Chinese nationals can apparently leave Wuhan for other parts of the world, but are prohibited from flying to other parts of China in an obvious attempt to prevent the spread of the virus within China.
• Jan 21 First Case Confirmed in the US.

At no point through all of this did the World Health organization under Tedros leadership raise any warning signs about the coming pandemic. Instead, it took the World Health Organization until March 11, 202 to declare the pandemic (WHO).