WHO Declares End to Global Health Emergency for Latest Outbreak

The World Health Organisation has officially declared the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern status for the latest viral outbreak after new case numbers fell to near-zero for eight consecutive weeks.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the response demonstrated that the international community had learned lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The emergency lasted 14 months in total and affected 34 countries, with confirmed cases exceeding 2.1 million and deaths estimated at 47,000.

The WHO called for sustained investment in pandemic preparedness infrastructure, warning that the threat of future outbreaks remained high.