On Jul. 9, 2020, PWHO Director-General announced the initiation of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR) to evaluate the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating independently, they will choose other Panel members as well as members of an independent secretariat to provide support.

At the historic 73rd World Health Assembly in May, Member States adopted a landmark resolution that called on WHO to initiate an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the lessons learned from the international health response to COVID-19.

“Even as we fight this pandemic, we must be readying ourselves for future global outbreaks and the many other challenges of our time such as antimicrobial resistance, inequality and the climate crisis,” said Dr Tedros. “COVID-19 has taken so much from us. But it is also giving us an opportunity to break with the past and build back better.”