The foreign minister said the spread of monkeypox makes it crucial to uphold the professional and pragmatic operations of the World Health Organization, adding that the politicization of the WHO's work could put lives in danger.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told the 75th session of the general assembly of the WHO in Geneva that though experts believed monkeypox was very different from coronavirus, it required caution. It is therefore important that the WHO approach the issue with the necessary level of expertise, Minister Szijjártó said. If things are politicized even in the WHO, the world will not be able to prepare for this new epidemic, Minister Szijjártó said, adding that even lives could be at risk. The WHO will need to provide countries with the right recommendations so that the world can succeed in taking the fight to monkeypox and so that it does not cause as severe a health-care, economic and social shock as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic did, he added. The minister underscored the importance of the WHO’s ability to uphold its professional, pragmatic and practical operations. Earlier in the day, Minister Szijjártó met WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter