COVID-19: ‘Phased process’ for lifting restrictions is key, WHO chief urges G20
COVID-19: ‘Phased process’ for lifting restrictions is key, WHO chief urges G20
Author: UN News Centre
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a virtual meeting of the G20 leading global economies on Sunday that although it was encouraging for some countries to be planning to ease lockdowns against COVID-19, “it is critical that these measures are a phased process”.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated the UN’s appreciation committing to further strengthen WHO’s mandate in coordinating the international fight, noting that “all of your countries have been affected, and you are all at different stages of the response.”
With some countries such as Austria, Germany and Italy, beginning to announce an easing of restrictions in line with encouraging data such as falling caseloads and hospital deaths, Tedros said it was key to see lifting so-called lockdown restrictions as “not the end of the epidemic in any country; it’s just the beginning of the next phase.
“It’s vital in this next phase that countries educate, engage and empower their people to prevent and respond rapidly to any resurgence”, he said adding that it was essential to ensure they have capacity to “detect, test, isolate and care for every case, and trace every contact, and to ensure their health systems have the capacity to absorb any increase in cases.”
CIRSD Vice President Stefan Jovanović Speaks at Regional Conference on China’s Role in the Western Balkans
Belgrade, June 5, 2025 – Stefan Jovanović, Vice President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), participated in the regional conference “Democracy Meets Strategy: Parliament’s Place in China Policy”, held in Belgrade. The event gathered parliamentarians, policymakers, and experts from across the Western Balkans to examine the region’s evolving cooperation with the People’s Republic of China.
Read more
Despite Enticing Narratives, the International Community Has Fueled Bosnia’s Instability
In 1984, during the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, Bosnia and Herzegovina was presented to the world as Yugoslavia’s poster child—a picture that would fall apart only eight years later.
Read more
Democracy in Iraq: A Facade for Corruption and Human Rights Violations
To guarantee the protection of the rights and freedoms of its people, the Iraqi government must be a true democracy.
Read more
CIRSD Hosts Horizons Discussion with Professor Andrey Sushentsov on Russia’s Global Role and the Future of Multipolarity
Belgrade, April 2025 — The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) hosted a special edition of its acclaimed Horizons Discussions series, featuring an in-depth conversation between CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić and Professor Andrey Sushentsov, Dean of the School of International Relations at MGIMO University and one of Russia’s most influential strategic thinkers.
Read more