Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.

Last Friday, the Ministry of Health of Guinea informed WHO of a case of Marburg virus disease in the country’s south-west, in a man who died 8 days after onset of symptoms. This is the first known case of Marburg in West Africa.

WHO and our partners are supporting Guinea’s Ministry of Health to investigate the source of the outbreak, trace contacts, and inform the local community about how to protect themselves.

About 150 contacts have been identified and are being followed up, including three family members and a health worker, who have been identified as high-risk close contacts.

Marburg is a very different virus to the one that causes COVID-19, but many of the elements of the response are the same: isolating and caring for those infected, tracing and quarantining their contacts, and engaging local communities in the response.

There is no licensed vaccine for Marburg, although there are vaccines under development, and WHO is working with our partners to seek opportunities to assess them during this outbreak through the R&D Blueprint for Epidemics.

By contrast, we have several effective vaccines for COVID-19, and yet cases and deaths continue to rise.

Last week, the 200 millionth case of COVID-19 was reported to WHO, just six months after the world passed 100 million reported cases. And we know that the real number of cases is much higher.

As I said recently, whether we reach 300 million, and how fast we get there, depends on all of us.

At the current trajectory, we could pass 300 million reported cases early next year. But we can change that.

We’re all in this together, but the world is not acting like it.

We already have many tools to prevent, test for and treat COVID-19, including oxygen, dexamethasone and IL-6 blockers. But we need more, for patients at all ends of the clinical spectrum, from mild to severe disease. And we need health workers that are trained to use them in a safe environment.

In October, WHO reported results of the Solidarity Trial, which tested four treatments for COVID-19, involving almost 13,000 patients in 500 hospitals, in 30 countries.

That trial showed that the four drugs had little or no effect on hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We expect final results from that trial next month.

Today we are pleased to announce the next phase in the Solidarity trial, called Solidarity PLUS.

Solidarity PLUS will test three drugs: artesunate, a treatment for severe malaria; imatinib, a drug for certain cancers; and infliximab, a treatment for immune system disorders such as Crohn’s disease.

These drugs were chosen by an independent panel of experts that evaluates all the available evidence on all potential therapeutics.

The trial involves thousands of researchers at more than 600 hospitals in 52 countries.

I would like to thank the governments, hospitals, researchers and patients who are participating in the trial, as well as the three manufacturers who have donated the drugs for the trial: Ipca, Novartis and Johnson & Johnson.

One of the first countries to enrol patients in the Solidarity PLUS trial is Finland.

Today, we’re honoured to be joined by Finland’s Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Her Excellency Hanna Sarkkinen.

Your Excellency, thank you so much for joining us today. You have the floor.

[MINISTER SARKKINEN ADDRESSES THE MEDIA]

Thank you, Your Excellency, and thank you for your leadership in advancing research on therapeutics.

One of the strengths of the Solidarity PLUS trial is that it is a truly global study, with researchers all over the world participating.

Today we’re joined by two principal investigators in the Solidarity PLUS trial: Professor Samba Sow, Director of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali, and Professor Marco Medina, from the National Autonomous University of Honduras.

Professor Sow is also WHO’s Special Envoy for COVID-19 in Africa.

Samba, thank you for your leadership in the pandemic, your participation in Solidarity PLUS, and for joining us today. You have the floor.

[PROFESSOR SOW ADDRESSES THE MEDIA]

Thank you so much, Samba.

Professor Marco Medina is also no stranger to WHO. He is a neurologist and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Community Intervention in Epilepsy in Honduras.

Professor Medina, thank you for joining us. We know Honduras is one of many countries now facing an increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths. We look forward to hearing from you about the situation in Honduras and how you think the Solidarity PLUS trial can help.

You have the floor.

[PROFESSOR MEDINA ADDRESSES THE MEDIA]

Thank you, Professor Medina. We welcome your engagement and support. My sincere hope is that one or more of the drugs being tested in the Solidarity PLUS trial will prove to be effective in treating COVID-19.

WHO remains committed to working with you and with all of the researchers and patients in the trial to advance the science, find new solutions, and to do it all in solidarity.

Tarik, back to you.

About WHO

The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.