Covid. WHO emergency chief wants to believe in a better future

Two years on the front line against the Covid-19 pandemic and Michael Ryan, responsible for emergency operations at the WHO, continues to display his optimism, convinced that humanity will change course and take the necessary measures to tame the virus.

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However, he recognizes that the crisis could worsen yet at a time when Omicron, a new variant of the virus that gives Covid-19, seems ready to resurface infection rates and fill hospitals.

And it is not impossible that the world has to face new, more dangerous variants which in successive waves will collapse health systems.

“It’s a plausible future if we don’t treat the virus properly,” Michael Ryan told AFP in a recent interview.

But “that’s not what I see at the moment. I see a better future“, He said. The 56-year-old epidemiologist, former surgeon, believes that if “we get serious about health measures (and) increased vaccine coverage”, we can overcome the pandemic phase.

While the SARS CoV-2 virus is unlikely to go away, Dr. Ryan believes thatit could become just another endemic respiratory virus, like the flu.

This optimistic outlook may seem to go against the grain of the situation on the ground. The Covid-19 has officially killed 5.3 million people worldwide, but probably three to four times more.

– “Pathological optimist” –

The Omicron wave that is coming, does not fundamentally change things, explains Michael Ryan: “We were in difficulty long before Omicron”. And those who affirm the contrary “use it as an excuse”, says the doctor, recalling: the vaccine inequity, the politicization of the pandemic or a generalized disinformation and also the premature lifting of health restrictions which facilitated the diffusion of the Delta variant.

But, for him, the world can change course, remembering the “incredible resilience” of communities, the service disinterested health workers and unprecedented scientific cooperation since the start of the worst health crisis in a hundred years.

“I am filled with optimism for what we can accomplish collectively,” he says.

In fact, the Irishman has been diagnosed by his colleagues as a ‘pathological optimist’ – a quality that has come in handy since he took over as head of the WHO emergency program in 2019, shortly. before the pandemic hits.

– Blame –

And the organization found itself in the heart of the storm, criticized for having reacted too slowly at times or having been slow to recognize its errors of assessment but also the scapegoat of political authorities overwhelmed by events.

“It has been difficult at times,” admits Dr Ryan, who, along with his director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is one of the most recognizable faces in the WHO’s fight against Covid-19. “We took a few hits” but “that’s part of the job”.

The hardest part for the “general” – the nickname given to him by Dr Tedros – is the impact on the families of the WHO experts who work tirelessly.

He has only seen his three children who live in Ireland four times in two years. “It’s difficult,” he said, hastening to add that it was nothing compared to what healthcare workers are going through in the field.

“There is nothing more exhausting, more stressful than being on the front lines of an epidemic,” says Dr. Ryan, who himself has spent much of the last quarter of a century in the field at fight against epidemics of Ebola, cholera or polio.

– “It’s a bonus” –

The outlook on Dr. Ryan’s life changed in Iraq in 1990, where he was taken hostage during the Gulf War. He operated with a gun pointed at his head.

“I was hostage in Iraq, and (…) several times in my life, I thought my life was over”, he confides, “now, for me, most of the time, it’s as a bonus. “

The field experience is useful for his current work, helping him to cultivate an “ability to cope with the stress of an emergency”. “It’s very difficult to stay engaged and respectful when things are going badly,” he says.

On the other hand, one thing for which his experience in the field has not prepared him is the politics of power. “I am not a natural politician,” admits the doctor whose frankness can offend.

But, he says, “I’m learning” and “I’m maybe a better diplomat after the last few years.”

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