COMMENT | On the advice of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee, the World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared an end to Covid-19 as a public health emergency.

This is based on the global downward trend of the pandemic in the last 12 months, the increasing population immunity from vaccination and natural infection, decreasing mortality, better access to diagnosis, vaccines and treatment, and the easing of pressure on the health systems.

According to the chair of IHR, Dr Didier Houssin, only two or three people on the 18-member committee displayed hesitation about declaring an end to the pandemic as a global threat. Houssin emphasised that after more than three years, it was “time to confront the Covid-19 pandemic”.

He acknowledged that there are still many uncertainties remaining, particularly regarding the evolution of the virus, which continued to circulate in every country.

According to Ghebreyesus, the declaration does not mean that...