It is intended for “Become the benchmark training structure in public health”. French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday, May 24, at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO), that the World Health Academy would open its doors in Lyon in 2023 The project of this academy was launched in June 2019, before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to “Train public officials, business leaders and the driving forces of global civil society in global health issues”.
“Two years later, I am very happy to announce, with you, dear doctor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus [directeur général de l’OMS], that the World Health Academy is launched ”Mr. Macron said in an address posted online at the start of the 74e World Health Assembly, which takes place in Geneva until 1er June.
“France is committed to investing more than 120 million euros (…). Its doors will open in Lyon in 2023 but it will offer a first online training catalog this summer ”, he added. This WHO structure, partly funded by local communities, will be located at the Gerland biotechnology research center, which houses the International Cancer Research Center and pharmaceutical groups such as Sanofi.
A shortage of 18 million health workers by 2030
According to the WHO, the need for training is immense; the agency estimates that there will be a shortage of 18 million health workers by 2030, especially in poorer countries. For Emmanuel Macron, “The current pandemic, with its train of disinformation, has enabled us to see the importance of science and robust health systems” :
“Access to scientific data, to reliable information, training for the general public as well as for health personnel are essential in the current fight against the pandemic. They will be at least as important in the face of all the shocks that we are sure to experience in the years and decades to come. “
The French Head of State reaffirmed the need to strengthen, by reforming, the WHO, which “Must be both robust in times of crisis, agile enough to react in an emergency, solid in the face of controversies, completely transparent to inspire confidence, with clear and transparent governance so as not to be subjected to any diplomatic pressure and which cannot be suspected of” no such pressure “.
The WHO has been criticized since the start of the pandemic, in particular by former US President Donald Trump, who considered it too influenced by China.