Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros

Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Secretary Blinken and Director-General Tedros discussed opportunities for collaboration to continue reforming and strengthening the WHO, while also building greater global pandemic preparedness and response capacity across the board.  Secretary Blinken affirmed U.S. support for the WHO’s plans to conduct additional studies into the COVID-19 origins, including in the People’s Republic of China, to better understand the current pandemic and prevent future ones. He stressed the need for the next phase to be timely, evidence-based, transparent, expert-led, and free from interference. Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of the international community coming together on this matter of critical concern and reiterated our support for a multilateral approach to global health security more broadly. Secretary Blinken and Director-General Tedros committed to work together and with all Member States to make meaningful, concrete progress in strengthening global health security to prevent, detect, and respond to future pandemics and health threats.