Name? Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Westphalian identity? Ethiopian
Age? 57
Why is he in the news? Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared that the end of the Covid-19 pandemic could be in sight. At a press briefing yesterday, Tedros cited the virus’ lowest number of recorded cases since March 2020, a turning point in the pandemic that has seen millions of deaths and hundreds of millions of infections.
Why do we care? To be honest, not a lot of people have paid attention to Covid anymore, but the WHO have published six policy briefs to aid in minimising risk as much as possible. Tedros implored world leaders to examine their Covid-19 policies and comply as well as possible. The WHO has also warned that governments must vaccinate 100% of their high-risk groups, while continuing to test for the virus.
Why should you care? We have all been affected by Covid-19 somehow, whether it be as trivial as a cancelled holiday or as serious as losing loved ones; now, both deaths and cases are in decline. Still, the WHO is trying to manage expectations, highlighting the possibility of future variants and the need to remain vigilant. Still, you should care 8/10 about the potential light at the end of the tunnel.
Who else cares? Chinese President Xi Jinping. The leader made his first foreign trip in over 1,000 days today, travelling to Kazakhstan before attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan later this week. President Xi’s return to international travel marks an important point in Chinese diplomacy and a potential easing of Xi’s ‘zero-covid’ policy back home. His first outing is to meet Vladimir Putin, their first face-to-face meeting since February, when they declared a ‘non-limits’ friendship.
Any further comments? According to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the Human Development Index has declined for two consecutive years since 2020 for the first time since its creation.
