WHO’s Director-General has denied that the organisation’s decisions over swine flu were influenced by commercial considerations.
The statement came in response to reports, in the BMJ and elsewhere, that accused WHO of being led by the pharma industry to exaggerate the potential impact of the pandemic.
In a public letter to the editors of the BMJ, Director-General Dr Margaret Chan said that “at no time, not for one second, did commercial interests enter my decision-making”, though she admitted that stricter rules of engagement with industry need to be put in place.
The letter commended “good investigative journalism”, but took issue with the BMJ report’s conclusion that WHO dismisses this questioning of its decisions. Chan pointed to the recently appointed review committee that WHO has commissioned to evaluate the organisation’s performance during the pandemic.
She added: “I have publicly expressed my desire to see a critical, independent, and transparent assessment of WHO’s performance.”
Regarding the accusation that WHO deliberately caused ‘unfounded panic’, the letter said simply: “The record is otherwise, and not a matter of interpretation.” Chan stated that she had drawn attention to the small number of deaths around the world and had also emphasised that most people would experience mild symptoms.
In response to claims that the names of WHO’s emergency committee advisors at this time were kept secret, Chan said: “Our decision not to make these names public was motivated by a desire to protect the experts from commercial or other influences. The members themselves welcomed this decision as a protective measure, and not as an attempt to veil their deliberations and decisions in secrecy.”
She concluded: “A full record and timeline of events leading to the publication of the 2009 plan have been placed at the disposal of the Review Committee. Should this Committee decide that the current definition of a pandemic and the phases leading up to its declaration need to be tightened or otherwise revised, this will be another recommendation that we will welcome, and act on.”
