Geneva: The head of the World Health Organisation said Thursday that former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark will head a new panel tasked with giving an honest assessment of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose agency is facing a US pullout following Trump administration complaints about its early handling of the virus emergency, announced the appointments to the newly created Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. He reiterated his calls for global unity and decried a general lack of leadership, but made no reference to the Trump administration intent to withdraw from WHO. (AP)