06 Feb 2022
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach and World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 to discuss ways to further strengthen collaboration between their two organisations.
The meeting took place after the WHO Director-General ran with the Olympic torch on the day of the Opening Ceremony, and said: “The Olympics are about, hope, solidarity, unity and peace. Especially hope to end this pandemic. I hope we will achieve the 70 per cent vaccination in each and every country around the world by mid this year, and hope the acute phase of the pandemic will be over, so that people will come together like always.”
During the meeting, the IOC President reaffirmed the IOC’s support for this desire of WHO: “We have been given a way forward with a safe and effective vaccine that can help save precious lives,” Bach said. “Let us all join hands in giving free and equal access to the vaccine for everybody across the world to pledge our collective responsibility to protect those who are the most vulnerable, because everyone on this planet has a right to live a healthy life. We are stronger together when we stand in solidarity and care for each other.”
The IOC and WHO formalised their collaboration to promote public health with a Memorandum of Understanding in 1984. The partnership has grown since then, resulting in a series of projects promoting grassroots sport and healthy lifestyles for all, and leveraging WHO expertise in health emergencies, mass gatherings and water quality in the context of the Olympic Games. The two organisations signed a new Cooperative Agreement in 2020 to strengthen and expand on these dimensions.
On Olympic Day in June 2020, the IOC, WHO and the United Nations (UN) joined forces against the pandemic with the help of athletes. The “Healthy Together” partnership co-signed by the UN was built on the need for collective action to reduce the spread and COVID-19. The IOC helped to further bring that commitment to life last month by releasing a video that uses the persuasive power of athletes to encourage vaccination. More than 20 Olympians and Paralympians called on world leaders and decision-makers to ensure free and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, and widely shared the video on social media.
