The WHO sees the World Cup in Qatar as an opportunity to “improve health worldwide”

The CEO of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has highlighted that the Soccer World Cup in Qatar, which begins this Sunday, is an opportunity to “improve health throughout the world.”

At a press conference this Wednesday, Tedros, who will travel to Qatar this Thursday to participate in the opening of the World Cup, stressed that it is “one of the greatest shows in the world, with an estimated audience of 5,000 million people”, and that it can “drive progress towards the WHO goal of ‘Health for All'”.

“We are collaborating with Qatar and FIFA so that the World Cup is healthy, with a series of activities to promote the physical and mental health of all the inhabitants of Qatar and the world,” said the leader of the United Nations international health organization. .

In this sense, he recalled that measures have been designed “to reduce the risk of disease spread at the World Cup”, and “healthy food options in stadiums and fan areas” are also being promoted, a study on the ways to influence consumers to make healthier dietary choices. The WHO has also encouraged smoking to be prohibited in seating areas inside stadiums.

In addition, WHO has collaborated with FIFA to promote physical activity, healthy diets and other elements of healthy living among the World Cup audience, with “advertising panels next to the pitch, videos in the stadiums and in the areas of the fans, extensive messages on television and on social networks, etc”.

Apart from these actions, Tedros did not refer in his speech to the violation of fundamental rights and the complaints about the numerous deaths of workers during the construction of the stadiums.

Several rights organizations have described the soccer event as “the World Cup of shame”, after verifying violations and labor abuses during the construction of the stadiums that will host the matches of the 32 teams that will play the tournament.

The figures for deaths range from the most conservative, which speak of around thirty deaths, which are those offered by the executive committee in charge of organizing the World Cup; fifty according to a 2021 report from the International Labor Organization (ILO); or the 6,500 deaths reported by some media, such as the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’.

Message to the G20: “when health is at risk, everything is at risk”

On the other hand, Tedros has sent a message to the G20 after concluding their meeting in Bali (Indonesia), in which he has been present: “As COVID-19 has shown, when health is at risk, everything is at risk”.

The director general of the WHO has warned that conflicts around the world, climate change and the global crises of food and energy security “have profound implications for health”.

“The lack of food and energy, or its excessive consumption, can have serious consequences for health and the economy. Protecting health against the impacts of these crises is essential, but it also helps to protect economies and societies,” he detailed. .

In any case, Tedros has congratulated the G20 leaders for their statement, in which they make “strong support for health and health security.”

Likewise, they have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen global health governance, with the leadership and coordination role of the WHO; and have expressed their support for the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, which is negotiating the International Treaty on Pandemic.

G20 leaders have also shown their support for the work of the WHO mRNA Technology Transfer Center in South Africa and the creation of the new Pandemic Fund, which was launched in Bali on Sunday.

Yesterday, WHO also signed an agreement with the Indonesian Health and Defense ministries to establish a new emergency medical team training center to boost national, regional and global preparedness for health emergencies.