On Wednesday, December 15, the World Health Organization expressed its hope that COVID-19 and monkeypox will not remain global health emergencies in 2023, the year in which it expects these two diseases to end their most dangerous phase.

We've come a long way

During a press conference in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that one of the main lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is that countries must respond quickly when an infectious disease suddenly breaks out.

With regard to COVID-19, the Director-General said that the number of weekly deaths from the disease is now about a fifth of what it was a year ago.

Last week, less than 10,000 people died from Covid-19 (Reuters)

He explained that "in the past week, less than 10,000 people died" as a result of Covid-19, stressing that he does not underestimate this number and that "all countries can still do a lot to save lives."

"But we have come a long way. We hope that sometime next year we will be able to say that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency," he added.

But the director-general stressed that "this virus is not going away. It is here to stay, and all countries will have to learn to deal with it along with other respiratory diseases."

"We will face many uncertainties and challenges in 2023. In low-income countries, only one out of every five people has been vaccinated," he added.

To date, more than 82,000 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in 110 countries (Shutterstock)

An epidemic that surprised the world

Regarding monkeypox, Ghebreyesus indicated that this epidemic surprised the world.

To date, more than 82,000 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in 110 countries, but the death rate from this disease has remained low, as the death toll has not exceeded 65 deaths worldwide.

"If the current trend continues, we hope that next year we will also announce the end of this health emergency," added the Director-General of the World Health Organization.