Invitation to join the virtual press conference on the opening of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence
(Berlin, August 30,2021)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will open the World Health Organization’s (WHO) international pandemic preparedness center, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin. Chancellor Merkel will also be recognized by WHO for her commitment to global health.
The aim of the WHO Hub is to detect, prevent, and respond to future pandemics at an early stage. Partners of the international Hub include Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The opening ceremony is co-organized by the World Health Summit.
“The new WHO Hub is an important signal for Berlin as a center of science, where major players from the fields of health and digitization come together. It is also a clear signal for international research cooperation: without cooperation, the problems of global health cannot be solved. This is one of the fundamental lessons of COVID-19: viruses do not stop at borders,” says World Health Summit President Prof. Dr. Axel R. Pries, who is also Dean of Charité.
Opening of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence:
Wednesday, September 1, 2021, 3:00 – 4:30 PM (CEST) followed by a virtual press conference.
Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus, Luisenstr. 58/59, 10117 Berlin, Germany
The opening event and the press conference are available as livestream: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2021/09/01/default-calendar/inauguration-of-the-who-hub-for-pandemic-and-epidemic-intelligence
Speakers of the inauguration:
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General World Health Organization (WHO)
- Jens Spahn, Federal Minister of Health
- Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin
- Michael J. Ryan, Director WHO Health Emergencies Programme
- Fabiola Gianotti, Director General CERN
- Katalin Karikó, Senior Vice President BioNTech
- Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
- Sabine Gabrysch, Professor of Climate Change and Health, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) & Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
A TV pool has been set up: RTL will provide the signal.
Press conference:
4:30 – 5:15 PM (CEST)
- Jens Spahn, Federal Minister of Health
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General World Health Organization (WHO)
- Michael J. Ryan, Director WHO Health Emergencies Programme
- Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
Journalists are cordially invited to join the press conference via Zoom.
Link: https://who-e.zoom.us/j/95788620647 Passcode: Berlin%HUB
