Five years ago on 31 December 2019, WHO’s Country Office in China picked up a Wuhan Municipal Health Commission media statement from their website on cases of ‘viral pneumonia’ in Wuhan, China. In the weeks, months, and years that unfolded after that, COVID-19 came to shape our lives and our world.
At WHO, we went to work immediately as the new year dawned. WHO employees activated emergency systems on 1 January 2020, and informed the world on 4 January. By 9-12 January, WHO had published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries, and on 13 January, we brought together partners to publish the blueprint of the first SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test.
All along, we convened experts and ministries of health from around the world, gathered and analyzed data, and shared what was reported, what we learned, and what it meant for people. Read about WHO’s actions in this interactive timeline.
As we mark this milestone, let’s take a moment to honor the lives changed and lost, recognize those who are suffering from COVID-19 and long COVID, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from COVID-19 to build a healthier tomorrow.
We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative. Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.
In early December 2024, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was asked whether the world was better prepared today for a possible future pandemic. “The answer is: both yes and no. If the next pandemic were to happen today, the world would face the same vulnerabilities that allowed COVID-19 to establish itself and spread five years ago,” said Dr. Tedros. “But the world has also learned many painful lessons from the pandemic and taken important steps to strengthen its defenses against future pandemics,” he added.
In December 2021, international consultations began to agree on measures to prevent, prepare for, and respond to a new pandemic. The 194 WHO member states that participated in the negotiations accept the agreement's content but not its practical aspects. The deadline for concluding the negotiations is May 2025.