The head of the World Health Organization on Monday warned that conditions remain ideal for more coronavirus variants to emerge and said it was "dangerous" to assume that "we are in the endgame."

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the acute phase of the pandemic could still end this year — if some key targets are met.

The WHO chief laid out an array of achievements and concerns in global health over issues like reducing tobacco use, fighting resistance to anti-microbial treatments, and risks of climate change on human health.

However, she stressed that ending the "acute phase" of the pandemic must remain a collective priority.

Tedros insisted that “we can end COVID-19 as a global health emergency, and we can do it this year,” by reaching goals like WHO's target to vaccinate 70% of the population of each country by the middle of this year, with a focus on people who are at the highest risk of COVID-19, and improving testing and sequencing rates to track the virus and its emerging variants more closely.

“It’s true that we will be living with COVID for the foreseeable future", he said, “but learning to live with COVID (...) cannot mean that we accept almost 50,000 death a week from a preventable and treatable disease."

In stark terms, Tedros also appealed for strengthening WHO and increasing funding for it to help stave off health crises.

“Let me put it plainly: If the current funding model continues, WHO is being set up to fail", he said.

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