WHO downplaying coronavirus led to increase in number of cases

The World Health Organization, they say, is the 'keeper' of the global knowledge on public health.

Present in 147 countries, it has existed for seven long decades with the sole purpose of 'foreseeing' and 'eradicating' global health calamities.

The WHO's successes have been monumental so have been its failures. The coronavirus is among the biggest. It may very well be the last. First, it downplayed the threat and then, it tried to cover-up. Eventually, it delayed the global response. Now, instead of admitting mistakes, it is preaching the world on how not to politicise a pandemic.

But why did the w.H.O downplay human-to-human transmission?

The coronavirus isn't new. The transmission to humans is. That is the whole problem. On January 14, WHOsaid that 'preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus'. They bought china's word for it. When in fact just 10 days back, 41 patients had been admitted to a hospital in Wuhan and 14 of them had no direct exposure to the Huanan sea-food market.

If this isn't human to human transmission, what is?

Chinese scientists at the epicentre of the outbreak themselves confirmed this. Meanwhile, on January 13, Thailand reported its first imported case of the coronavirus. This has been documented on the WHO website. Taiwan repeatedly warned them of such transmission. Yet the WHO remained in denial.

Why did the WHOrefuse to brand the outbreak a pandemic?

By 15th January -- the coronavirus was breaching borders. There was a trickle of cases in some countries and WHO did not declare a global health emergency.But, another month and a half went by, the trickle of cases turned into a flood. By the end of February -- there were cases on almost every continent but the WHO did not call it a 'pandemic' --- it said the term 'won't be appropriate yet.It was only on March 11, after 57 days, when its director-general declared it appropriate.

4,000 people died in those 57 days and 1,80,000 have been infected.Declaration of a pandemic is so important as it makes governments and health systems prepare for community transmission.

Why did the WHO change the name of the Wuhan virus?

On February 11, there were coronavirus cases as far as the UK and the United States and the WHO still hadn't declared a pandemic.

Also, the virus was not named Wuhan virus but COVID-19 as they did not want to say anything that links this virus to China..

In its attempts to not upset china, WHOhas failed to live up to its core mission -- protecting human lives. It is time to demand accountability.