WHO 'overstretched' in response to increasing health emergencies

Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 21, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

LONDON (Reuters) - A growing number of health emergencies around the world, from COVID-19 to cholera, have left the World Health Organization's response "overstretched", a senior advisor said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the U.N. agency's annual meeting, Professor Walid Ammar, chair of a committee reviewing the WHO's emergency response, said funding and staffing gaps were widening in the face of ever-increasing demands.