The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday called for international coordination and cooperation in response efforts against the COVID-19 outbreak worldwide.
WHO has been discussing with G20 leaders and will continue to do so as a coordinated approach, said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The other coordination mechanisms, he said, are regional political organizations, which WHO is working with, such as the European Union, the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and others. "Having a collective or coordinated approach using the regional political organizations is as important" as having the global coordination, he said.
"So G20, G7 and overall, of course, under the United Nations, all countries and then the regional political organizations will be really key," he said, urging all countries to put aside their differences and face COVID-19 as a common enemy.
"I know many countries have differences. But when a common enemy comes, I think we have to focus on the common enemy rather than on our differences. This is a time when we need to come together to protect ourselves and to protect humanity."
