A lack of leadership from global powers had prolonged the coronavirus pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said on Monday as he called on the world's biggest economies to “step up”.
“If you take the whole of the UN, it doesn't work without global leadership by the countries themselves, especially the major powers,” Mr Tedros told the FT’s Africa Summit.
Without explicitly criticising any nation, Mr Tedros said the UN’s role was to facilitate, but the power lay in the hands of member countries. “They should step up and lead, which is not the case in this pandemic, which is causing the pandemic to actually continue,” he added.